Become an au pair in Spain

Legal status

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

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.

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).

Pocket money

≈ €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

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.

Official sources

• Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones — extranjeros.inclusion.gob.es · verified on 2026-08-17
• Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores — consulats (exteriores.gob.es) · verified on 2026-08-17
• BOE — Real Decreto 1155/2024 (Reglamento de Extranjería ; transposition Directive UE 2016/801 « colocación au pair ») · verified on 2026-09-11
• Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea y Cooperación — Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores — Servicios consulares: visados nacionales de estudios · verified on 2026-09-11
• BOE — Real Decreto 1620/2011 (relation spéciale employés de maison, art. 2.2) · verified on 2026-08-17
• BOE (Boletín Oficial del Estado) / Council of Europe — Consejo de Europa — Acuerdo Europeo sobre la Colocación «Au Pair» (Estrasburgo, 24.11.1969 ; BOE-A-1988-21042, art. 3 durée, art. 4.1 âge 17–30, art. 8 jour libre/cours de langue, art. 9 tâches ≤ 5 h/jour) · verified on 2026-09-11
• Spanish Social Security (SEPE)

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