Au-Pair in Germany
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Who needs an Au-Pair visa
All persons who wish to work as an Au-pair in a family in Germany are required to obtain a residence permit in the form of a visa. To do an Au-Pair is a work permit required. A work permit will be included in the visa issued for this purpose.
Citizens of Canada, Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea and the United States, Switzerland as well as EU citizens may apply for their residence permit after entering Germany without a visa.
The application can be submitted at the competent Aliens Authority after arrival in Germany. You don't have to apply for a German visa before leaving Canada. However, we recommend that a visa (which includes the work permit) is being issued in advance, especially in cases where an Au-Pair employment is intended to begin directly after arrival in Germany, since the employment cannot be started before having the obligatory work permit!
Citizens of other countries are required to apply and obtain a residence permit prior to entry (an option also open to Canadian citizens).
This information is specifically made for applicants who intend to work as an Au-Pair in Germany.
To work as an Au-Pair in Germany you must be at least 18 years old and should not be older than 25. For your stay a minimum duration of 6 months is required. According to the visa regulations you are not allowed to work as an Au-Pair in Germany for more than 12 months.
Where and how to apply
The German Foreign Missions only accept applications from Canadian residents. Applications from persons holding a Canadian student visa, work permit or long-term visitor’s visa are also accepted.
You have to submit your application in person at one of the German Foreign Missions listed on the right side. You must book an appointment when applying at the German Consulate in Toronto or Vancouver.
Request an appointment with the Visa Section in Toronto
Request an appointment with the Visa section in Vancouver
Upon submission of ALL the required documents the application will be forwarded to the competent German Aliens Authority (“Ausländeramt”). Au-Pair visa applications take upto 12 weeks to be processed. After the application has been approved by the Aliens Authority, the German Foreign Mission will issue a residence permit in the form of a visa with the duration for the first three months. A final residence permit for the whole duration of your Au-Pair employment will be granted in Germany by the Aliens Authority. The Aliens Authority requires all residence permit holders to register upon their first arrival.
Required documents
Please download the checklist below to overwiew the documents have to be submitted upon application.
Checklist Au-Pair visa [pdf, 80,23k]
Please note:
Only applications which include ALL the relevant forms fully completed, signed by the applicant and being submitted with ALL the relevant documentation will be accepted!
In individual cases, you may be required to provide additional documents.
Passport requirements
Please note these important regulations concerning the passport for all applicants:
- Its validity has to extend the duration of the visa you are applying for by at least three months.
- It has to contain at least two blank pages.
- It must have been issued within the last ten years. A passport older than ten years that has been extended for a period exceeding ten years from the time of issuance cannot be accepted.
German language skills
You need to prove basic German language skills when applying for the Au-Pair visa.
Competency in the German language in this case means that the applicant has the ability to communicate in German on at least a basic level, i.e. holds a certificate of successful completion of a German language course level A1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Certificates issued by an institution which performs testing in accordance with the standards of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) are accepted. These requirements are met by the Goethe-Institute.
For information on language tests at the Goethe-Institute please visit their webpage:
www.goethe.de
Exception: If the applicant shows sufficient German language skills by the time of the visa application at the consulate, no further proof would be required.
