Aupair Visa Netherlands - Au Pair Program in Netherlands

There are Working Holiday visa agreements for candidates from Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. EU nationals do not need a visa to work in the Netherlands, and US citizens qualify for a residence permit to work as an aupair.

The Dutch Immigration Office (IND) has postponed the January 2011 Immigration Act which would force aupairs to go through an agency. Families can continue to sponsor candidates on the Residence permit until further notice.

Working Holiday Agreement

To qualify for a Working Holiday Visa applicants must comply with the following conditions:

1. be an Australian, Canadian or New Zealand national;
2. be aged between 18 and 30 years
3. have a national passport valid for at least fifteen months;
4. have full medical insurance coverage for the Netherlands valid for a minimum of twelve months from date of entry into the Netherlands;
5. have a return air ticket or sufficient funds to purchase one, and
6. not be accompanied by children.

For more information, click here and enter Exchange as your reason for stay: http://english.ind.nl/residencewizard/verblijfwijzer_content.asp?proc=komen&lang=en

Who can come to the Netherlands as an au pair?

Anyone who is older than 18 but not over 25 that wants to be an Au Pair to learn about Dutch society and culture. Qualified Au Pairs must meet the required conditions. There is a Residence Wizard on the Immigration and Naturalization Service website, where you can determine your eligibility and conditions to work in the Netherlands as an aupair. http://english.ind.nl/residencewizard/ US citizens can find Conditions, Documents and Fees at this same link.

If you are an EU citizen, you do not need a visa to work in the Netherlands. After you have been here for three months, you should register with the IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Service). When you register, you must provide documents to verify the purpose of your stay. After registering, you will receive proof of registration in the form of a sticker, which will be attached to your passport (or other proof of identity).

Bulgarian and Romanian citizens still require a work permit in the Netherlands. For additional information: http://english.ind.nl/residencewizard/verblijfwijzer_content.asp?proc=komen&lang=en

Required Conditions

If you wish to bring an au pair to the Netherlands for longer than 3 months, you must meet the following conditions:

• your family must consist of a minimum of 2 persons
• you must support the au pair during his/her stay in the Netherlands
• your family must have sufficient income to support the au pair and yourselves
• the responsible person in your family must sign a sponsor declaration
• the responsible person in your family must sign a declaration of awareness
• family must publish a daily schedule of duties

The au pair must have the following documents and meet the following conditions:

• a valid passport
• health insurance that covers the au pair in the Netherlands
• cannot be married
• cannot have dependents or be responsible for the care of his/her family members
• he/she does not constitute a risk to the public order
• he/she must undergo a tuberculosis test in the Netherlands
• he/she is over 18 but not older than 25
• he/she has not previously stayed in the Netherlands on a residence permit
• he/she did not previously work for your family abroad
• he/she will only carry out light domestic work to assist your family
• he/she will work a maximum of 8 hours per day and a maximum of 30 hours per week; you will have 2 days off per week
• he/she will be supported by your family during your stay in the Netherlands
• he/she must sign a declaration of awareness

Documents

All the documents you need can be found at:
http://english.ind.nl/Brochures_en_Formulieren/index.aspx

Most official foreign documents must be legalised as well as translated by a court-certified translator. "Legalized" means obtaining apostilles, on documents which can be obtained through your Secretary of State. If the aupair arrives in country without these papers, she will not be able to work.

Declaration of awareness

With this declaration the foreign national indicates that he is aware what conditions he must meet, but also that he is aware that he will have to leave the Netherlands again at some time in the future. The foreign national must sign the declaration of awareness. The au pair's host family must also sign this declaration.

Students

If you are a foreign student (non-EU/EEA/Swiss) and you have a valid residence permit for study, you can work while attending school. You can work full-time during the summer or up to ten hours a week during your school period. Under those restrictions your Dutch employer does need to apply for a work permit for you.

EU/EEA/Swiss nationals:
You are free to work unlimited hours during your studies. Your employer does not need to have a work permit for you.

Bulgarian and Romanian nationals:
The rules are a bit different for these nationals (at least until 2012). If you are a student from one of these countries you are allowed to work as many hours as you like alongside your studies. However, the employer does need a work permit and needs to show that there are no Dutch or EU/EEA/Swiss nationals capable of doing the job. This is a difficult process. Therefore, we advise you to work no more than ten hours per week outside the summer period, or full-time during the summer months June, July and August. If you adhere to these conditions, the process to obtain a work permit will be easier.

You can find additional information at: http://www.nuffic.nl/international-students/living-in-holland/working-while-studying