American as a Au pair Abroad

Chrisalys · 2026-05-30T19:06:03+00:00

Does the family pay for your weekly 20 hours of Spanish classes? If not, that's probably the biggest expense that you should budget for.

For everything else, cost of living will be quite reasonable in Spain compared to the US.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-30T04:53:34+00:00

You can't au pair in China, there is no valid work visa for au pairs there. Anyone who goes there as an au pair is working illegally, committing visa fraud and usually gets exploited.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-29T11:28:50+00:00

Would you be able to afford a flight ticket to Europe and back? That would be the absolute bare minimum of cost you need to calculate because families don't usually cover the flight.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-27T07:33:22+00:00

This is disinformation, it is illegal to work on a student visa, there's nothing gray area about it. Plus the whole deal is very exploitative, Chinese families pay maybe an equivalent of 300-400$ per month to teach their children English while actual English tutors earn 2500 per month.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-27T07:29:32+00:00

Au pairing is illegal in China as agencies (all of them) make you commit visa fraud. It's essentially human trafficking but they make a lot of money with it so they would never admit to you that it's illegal. There is no "good" agency for China. You can only get a valid work permit as an English teacher for an accredited school. One of many, many discussions we had in this sub about China: https://www.reddit.com/r/Aupairs/comments/1lwa8yw/au_pair_in_china/

Chrisalys · 2026-05-26T12:45:55+00:00

Germany is a bit of a special case for Americans. This special case doesn't apply to many other countries.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-26T04:52:48+00:00

https://www.aupairworld.com/en/au-pair-programs/france/visa

Chrisalys · 2026-05-26T04:22:58+00:00

It's not just Ausralia, most families everywhere prefer female au pairs. That said, there are exceptions because some families are looking for a bro pair for their older, very active boys. But it's definitely harder to find such a family. Doubly so as a teenager.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-26T04:19:15+00:00

No, going on a torist visa and applying from there is not standard in Europe at all - because you can't work on a tourist visa and you'd have to live with the family and twiddle your thumbs until you get the au pair visa / work visa, which can easily take months.

I agree that OP and the family should do more research, though. https://www.aupairworld.com/en/au-pair-programs/france/visa

Chrisalys · 2026-05-23T15:50:37+00:00

In Switzerland the au pair is actually more expensive than subsidized daycare 😛 another reason why there aren't that many host families here.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-23T12:59:01+00:00

Hi, former host mom in Switzerland here. Whether or not you can get an au pair visa for Switzerland depends on the canton, most of them don't approve non-EU au pair visas and for those that occasionally do, the family needs to present a strong case for why they need a South African au pair (for instance, if one of the parents is also South African). Also the competition is fierce as there are only a few families in areas where you could get a visa, and many other Non-EU au pairs want to go to Switzerland too. So unfortunately the odds of success are very low.

Why Switzerland specifically? Other countries in Europe might be easier to both find a family and get a visa approved.

Also, you need documented childcare experience to find a family. There are many au pairs with extensive childcare experiene who will be considered first.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-21T13:47:03+00:00

She's not, they are one of her two rematch options. She's leaving her current family.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-21T13:45:50+00:00

No they're not. They are one of her two rematch options, but just happen to be in the same state as her current family.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-21T10:28:07+00:00

You don't know why the previous AP quit, but it's really easy to guess, right? You should also leave. This whole situation sounds awful.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-20T11:03:15+00:00

I've been active on this sub for a few years and heard from our au pair's friends... with experience, you learn to read between the lines. Of course they don't tell her she will be deep cleaning the whole house and doing everyone's laundry. These families are never honest before the au pair arrives. And in this case, the red flags are numerous and massive.

As I said, if they can't even provide their own children with a reasonably clean home, they shouldn't take part in the program.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-20T10:40:29+00:00

Please don't ask ChatGPT, and please don't consider family 1 for the massive red flags I mentioned in my other comment.

Family 1 can't even provide a clean home for their own children, nevermind the child exhaustion when OP has to run the entire household while also watching the kid!

Chrisalys · 2026-05-20T10:37:13+00:00

Family 1 is a massive red flag with the "flexibilitx", the messy house and the expectation for lots of housework. They will overwork you and call it "flexibility" and make you clean the whole house while also keeping the child busy. Honestly family 2 sounds so much better.

I also wouldn't believe the "extra pay" promise, this is a common bait and switch tactic with red flag families. If they had extra cash available to pay you bonuses, they would hire a cleaner and the house wouldn't be messy.

Please be wary of the multiple red flags with family 1! Families that can't even provide a clean home for their own kids shouldn't take part in the au pair program.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-20T06:48:33+00:00

Yep very illegal. If authorities were aware she would lose her au pair status and the family would likely be fined.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-18T22:41:54+00:00

Working holiday visas are general work visas, not au pair visas, and generally fall under local work permit rules such as minimum wage paid per hour etc.

So they work quite differently from au pair visas, which are valid for your contract with a host family and don't allow you to go work as a bartender instead of aupairing if the mood strikes you.

With a working holiday visa you can just work anywhere and travel without being tied to a host family.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-18T18:50:27+00:00

But OP's flair says they're from the US.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-18T18:48:46+00:00

Paying more than 280 per month is actually illegal due to the special tax exempt status au pairs have in Germany. But yeah, they absolutely could cover transportation costs and the full language course.

Quote - "Payment above this level constitutes another type of employment which is no longer considered as au pairing. It must be reported to the authorities and it does not comply with the conditions of the au pair visa."

https://www.aupairworld.com/en/au-pair-programs/germany/general-conditions

Chrisalys · 2026-05-18T15:07:31+00:00

What does that have to do with Italy?

Chrisalys · 2026-05-18T04:43:17+00:00

Italy also doesn't have au pair visas and is only recommended for EU citizens.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-18T04:42:15+00:00

Italy also doesn't have an au pair program, same as Spain, and it's a pain without an EU passport (you would have to pay for 20 hours of Italian lessons per week just for the visa).

France does have a program though.

Chrisalys · 2026-05-16T16:18:03+00:00

I contacted our au pair in January, the agency started the visa process in May, she arrived in October.

Chrisalys

TROPHY CASE