Apply for a visa for au pair employees
In most cases, au pairs must be in possession of a national visa that allows them to take up employment.
Depending on the nationality, entry may be facilitated.
No visa is required for entry:
- Au pair employees who are EU citizens or citizens of Norway, Liechtenstein or Iceland.
- Swiss nationals. However, they must register their stay with the registration office after entering the country.
- Au pairs who are nationals of the following countries:
- Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America
- However, they must apply for a residence permit within 90 days of entering Germany at the immigration authority responsible for their place of residence.
Please note: Au pair employment may not last longer than one year.
A stay as an au pair in Germany is not a tourist or visiting stay. A tourist or visiting stay is always limited to a maximum of 90 days per 180-day period.
You are not allowed to work during your tourist stay, not even as an au pair.
Responsible department
the German mission abroad (embassy, consulate) in whose official district you usually reside or have your place of residence
Details
Prerequisite
You can find out the requirements for the issue of a visa from the responsible German mission abroad (embassy or consulate).
The requirements for obtaining a residence permit are
- You have
- health insurance,
- a signed au pair contract and
- a valid national "visa for au pair employment".
- You should be at least 18 years old and no older than 27,
- You have a basic knowledge of the German language (A1) and
- You have registered your main place of residence with your host family.
- In your host family
- one adult in your host family is a German citizen or a citizen of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland and
- german is spoken as a native language. The family can also come from a German-speaking country or a part of the country where German is spoken as a mother tongue.
If the family does not speak German as a mother tongue but as a family language, the competent authority can only authorise your stay if you do not come from the host parents' home country. A family includes married couples with a child and unmarried couples or single parents with a child in the same household.
- The employment agency will approve your employment.
Procedure
You must apply in writing for the residence permit (national visa) that applies to you using the relevant form.
Application forms for visa applications can be obtained free of charge from the German diplomatic mission abroad.
They are also available for download, depending on the services offered by the respective mission abroad.
You will find details on the respective procedure in the service descriptions.
Deadlines
Submit your application as early as possible.
Required documents
- Invitation letter from the German host family
- Passport (and possibly a copy of the passport)
- Contract with the placement agency in Germany or contract with the host family (au pair contract)
Note: Further documents may be required. Please contact the German diplomatic mission abroad in advance.
Costs
The costs depend on the type of residence permit.
Details can be found in the service descriptions.
Processing time
depending on the residence permit: several weeks or months
Miscellaneous
none
Detailed information
Legal basis
Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG):
- § 6 Absatz 3 Nationales Visum
Aufenthaltsverordnung (AufenthV):
- § 31 Zustimmung der Ausländerbehörde zur Visumerteilung
- § 41 Absatz 1 Einreise ohne Visum
Verordnung über die Beschäftigung von Ausländerinnen und Ausländern (Beschäftigungsverordnung - BeschV):
- § 12 Au-pair-Beschäftigung
Freizügigkeitsgesetz/EU (FreizügG/EU):
- § 2 Freizügigkeit, Einreise und Aufenthalt ohne Visum
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: Justizministerium Baden-Württemberg, 02.07.2025