Here you can get the information about what the au pairs scheme is and how you can apply to come to the UK to work as an au pair.
The au pairs scheme is aimed to provide young people from certain countries with the opportunity to come to the United Kingdom for a short period to work for an English Speaking Family. You will be expected to work up to 5 hours a day for your English Speaking Family. They will provide you with your own room and a weekly allowance/payment.
The au pairs scheme is a short-term immigration scheme. When your visa expires you will be expected to return to your home country.
Please note the au pair scheme is due to be deleted later this year when the new points-based system Youth Mobility Scheme of Tier five is launched.
Eligibility
This page explains the eligibility requirements you need to meet if you want to come to the United Kingdom to work as an au pair.
In order to come to the United Kingdom as an au pair you must:
- Be single;
- Have no dependants;
- Be aged between 17 and 27;
- Plan to stay in the United Kingdom as an au pair for no more than two years;
- Be able to maintain and accommodate yourself without claiming public funds;
- Be a national of one of the following countries:
- Andorra;
- Bosnia-Herzegovina;
- Croatia;
- Faroe Islands;
- Greenland;
- Macedonia;
- Monaco;
- San Marino;
- Turkey; and
- Plan to leave the United Kingdom when you complete your stay as an au pair.
Nationals of European Economic Area countries are not included in the official au pair scheme but are free to come to the United Kingdom as au pairs. If you are a Bulgarian or Romanian national you will need to apply for an accession worker card before you take work in the United Kingdom.
How to Apply
For how to apply to come to the United Kingdom to work as an au pair. Before you read this information you should make sure you meet the eligibility requirements for the au pair scheme.
You may need to apply for a visa before you travel to the United Kingdom. Visa applications are processed by visa services, their website provides a visa enquiry form that you can use to decide whether you will need to apply for a visa. If you need to apply for a visa you should make your application at your nearest British diplomatic post.
Home Office call extending your stay further leave to remain. To apply for an extension of stay as an au pair you must use application form FLR(O). This application form and the accompanying guidance notes are available to download on the home office website. You should make sure you read the guidance notes fully before you make your application.
You will need to provide us with certain documents to support your application. Details of the documents we need are given on the application form. You should provide the original document unless there is a good reason why you cannot.
You need to make your application before your current permission to stay in the United Kingdom ends.
You will need to pay a fee to cover the cost of processing your applications. The fee you pay will depend on how you make your application. Home office offer a premium or postal service for applications. If you choose to use the premium service you will need to make your application in person at one of our public enquiry offices.
Attention Please!
This immigration category closed on 26 November 2008. Please refer to the Youth Mobility Scheme under tier 5 of the points-based system.