Kangaroo Au Pair Blog

How to become an au pair in England

Au pairs can certainly come from many other countries outside the EU. Each country has their own rules and regulations on how to become an au pair in their country. Here's how to become an au pair in England.
STEP 1
Have the correct passport.

• England will only accept au pairs from certain countries. If you live in one of the 25 countries in the European Economic Area, or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, then you can become an au pair in England without any restrictions.
• Bulgarian or Romanian nationals do not need a visa, but they do need to get an accession worker card from the U.K. Border Agency before beginning work as an au pair. They also need to meet certain requirements that are applicable to all but the EEA passport-holding au pairs.
• Nationals from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and Monaco can also apply for a visa to work as an au pair in England under the Youth Mobility Scheme. In order to qualify, you must be over the age of 18 but younger than 31, have at least 1,600 in available funds, and you can stay for up to 24 months. You must also be single, and without children of your own.
• British overseas citizens, British overseas territories citizens and British nationals (overseas) can also apply under the scheme, and do not need a sponsor.
• Citizens from countries not listed are not allowed to work as au pairs in England.

STEP 2
Find your own placement.

• You can use a matching service to help find a host family. These sites are generally free to use, and you either search for families looking for an au pair, or you can submit your own information and hope that a host family contacts you. Our site offers you a safe way to contact families and also you can post your information and hope for someone contact you. Thats our main task in the web sites, to have our au pairs as comfortable as possible, feeling safe among us. If you find your own placement, you will need to negotiate your own contract with the host family.

Tips

Using our website will ensure you confidentiality of your data, as well as ensuring that the families you are contacting are genuine. Our website is continuously monitored to maintain a high quality of service. Alternatively you can contact us at info@kangarooaupair.com and we can organise a placement for you through our au pair agency.

Warnings

You can save money by choosing not to work with an au pair agency, but the risks to you are far greater. Choosing to find your own host family means that you will forgo the protection of your agency, and you will need to work out all the details of your contract with your host family before arriving.
Please visit our website for further information: http://kangarooaupair.com