Become an au pair in Germany
Legal status, visa, age, duration, contract, salary and contributions: the verified guide to prepare your au pair stay in Germany.
Prepared by AuPair Connect — Compliance Team
Every legal, tax or safety detail in this content is verified by the AuPair Connect Compliance Team against official sources and dated.
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The official data for Germany
Legal status(es)
Age 18–26 years
Standard au pair contract (Au-Pair-Vertrag)
Visa
Required
National (type D) “Au-Pair” visa for third-country nationals
Where no explicit legal rule exists (hour cap, police clearance), AuPair Connect recommends relying on consolidated practice (~30 h/week, ~€280/month), references and a thorough interview before hosting.
Age
18–26 years
Under 27 years old required (26 completed at departure); host family with no specific legal age limit.
Working time
30 h/week
Germany has no fixed legal weekly hour ceiling: the European Au Pair Agreement grants at least one full free day per week. The accepted practice and standard Au-Pair-Vertrag settle on ~30 h/week.
Contract / Agreement
Au pair contract — Au-Pair-Vertrag (model contract published by the Bundesagentur für Arbeit)
Bundesagentur für Arbeit · Prior employment approval for third-country nationals; residence permit from the Ausländerbehörde after entry
A private room and full board are provided by the host family, in line with the Au-Pair-Vertrag.
Steps
- 1 Conclude a model au pair contract (Au-Pair-Vertrag) with the host family — Host family / young au pair
- 2 For third-country nationals: apply for the national Au-Pair visa with the prior approval of the Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Auswärtiges Amt / German representation
- 3 Provide proof of health insurance from the first day of work — Host family / insurance company
- 4 After entry: apply for the residence permit at the Ausländerbehörde before the visa expires — Ausländerbehörde
Salary / Pocket money
280.00–280.00 EUR/month
≈ €280/month (reference value published by the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, set by contract — the official reference published by the Bundesagentur für Arbeit). Added on top of a private room, full board and health insurance.
Contributions
No employer-type social contributions; compulsory health insurance from the first day
Pocket money (Taschengeld) is not a salary
The host family takes out the insurance; the au pair must provide proof of it for the visa.
Tax advantages
No specific tax advantage related to hosting an au pair
Pocket money generally tax-exempt as it stays below the tax-free allowance (Grundfreibetrag ~€11,604/year in 2026)
The specific tax treatment of au pair pocket money is not explicitly documented by the German tax authorities.
Official sources
- Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Au-pair (employeurs) · verified on 2026-08-17
- Auswärtiges Amt — Visa und Aufenthalt (nationales Visum) · verified on 2026-09-18
- Bundesagentur für Arbeit — BA — Au-Pair-Vertrag modèle (PDF) · verified on 2026-08-17
- Bundesagentur für Arbeit — BA — Merkblatt « Au-pair bei deutschen Familien » (assurances, argent de poche, cours de langue) · verified on 2026-09-13
- Bundesagentur für Arbeit — BA — Fact Sheet « Au pairs in German families » · verified on 2026-09-13
- Gesetze im Internet — Beschäftigungsverordnung (BeschV 2013) · verified on 2026-08-17
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