Become an au pair in Spain

Legal status, visa, age, duration, contract, salary and contributions: the verified guide to prepare your au pair stay in Spain.

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 Spain

🔍 Verified by AuPair Connect Verified by our compliance team · on 09/11/2026

Legal status(es)

Au pair (study-stay, au-pair modality) All

Age 17–30 years

Written agreement signed between the au pair and the host family

Visa

Required

Study authorisation, au-pair modality (long-stay au-pair student visa) for stays over 90 days by non-EU/EEA nationals — Real Decreto 1155/2024

Where no explicit legal rule exists (hour cap, police clearance), AuPair Connect recommends defining hours and checks by written contract, referring to the ~€320/month reference and carrying out a thorough interview before hosting.

Age

17–30 years

For the long-stay au-pair student visa, applicants must be at least 17 and in no case over 30 years old (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores consular instruction; Strasbourg Convention of 24.11.1969). The host family has no specific legal age limit.

Working time

5 h/day

For au pairs from third countries, Spain's long-stay au-pair student visa requires a placement agreement in which household/childcare tasks do not exceed 5 hours a day, with at least one full free day per week (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores consular instruction; placement framed by the Strasbourg Convention of 24.11.1969). The agreement runs for a maximum of one year, renewable up to two.

Contract / Agreement

Written au-pair placement agreement (study-stay au-pair modality) — Written agreement signed between the au pair and the host family

Spanish Social Security (special household-employee scheme) · Registration with Social Security by the family

Lodging and meals are provided by the host family under the au-pair placement (study-stay authorisation, au-pair modality).

Steps

1 Sign the written au pair contract with the host family — Host family / young au pair
2 For non-EU nationals: apply for the long-stay au-pair student visa (study authorisation, au-pair modality) at the Spanish consulate — Spanish consulate (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores)
3 Obtain the NIE (foreigner identification number) — Spanish immigration administration
4 For EU nationals: register after 3 months (Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de la UE) — Spanish local authorities
5 The family registers the au pair with Social Security — Spanish Social Security (SEPE)

Salary / Pocket money

320.00–320.00 EUR/month

≈ €320/month (≈ €80/week): reference value of accepted practice, not fixed by Spanish law; negotiated in the contract. Includes lodging, meals and health insurance.

Contributions

Spanish Social Security (SEPE)

Registration of the au pair under the special household-employee scheme

Registration is assessed case by case; RD 1620/2011 art. 2.2 excludes “family collaboration at par” relationships from the salaried household-employee scheme. Individual advice recommended.

Tax advantages

May need to declare the payments as household expenses

Pocket money generally below the IRPF filing threshold (€22,000/year — one payer; €15,876/year — several payers; in force 2026)

IRPF thresholds are updated every year by the Budget Law (Ley 35/2006 art. 96.9). The tax classification of au pair pocket money is not documented by the Agencia Tributaria; individual tax advice recommended in case of doubt.