Host an au pair in Belgium

First, does your intended au pair need a Belgian work permit?

Answer the nationality question first, because it changes everything. If the young person is a national of the European Union or the European Economic Area, they can be hosted as an au pair under free movement: no Type-B work permit and, as the host family, you file no 'authorisation to employ' at all. Wallonia's administration states this explicitly.

If the au pair is a national of a non-EU/EEA country, the host family drives the process: you apply to the authority of your Region (where you live) to 'occupy' the young au pair. When granted, that Region delivers a work permit - in practice a type-B permit handled through the municipality - which is then transmitted to the young person, who applies for a D visa for their long stay. Understanding this role split (you make the employment application; the au pair files the visa) avoids the most common online confusion about Belgium.

The two-step permit: your Region, then the D visa - and the money that goes with it

Plan several months ahead if your au pair is non-EU/EEA. First, the Regional step: the host family asks its Region - Flanders, Brussels-Capital or Wallonia, whichever covers your home - for the authorisation to employ the young au pair. The Region issues the work permit to the family through the municipal administration, and the family forwards it. The request generally includes a medical certificate and the hosting/agreement document.

Second, the federal step: once allowed to work, the au pair applies for a national long-stay visa (D visa, for stays over 90 days) at the competent Belgian embassy or consulate. The authorities list among the required pieces the paid fee, the original work permit, a police/criminal-record certificate (casier judiciaire) and a medical certificate.

Finally, after arrival: the au pair registers at the municipality within 8 days, is entered in the foreigners register and receives a residence card (carte A). The residence authorisation is capped - up to 1 year. As host you also provide a private room, cover insurance and pay the pocket money required by your Region.

Flanders, Wallonia or Brussels - where the rules actually differ

Access to the labour market is regional in Belgium, and the Regional rules are where uncertainty usually lives. The general principle (confirmed by the Immigration Office) holds everywhere: you ask for the work authorisation from the Region where your family resides, while the stay itself stays federal (Office des étrangers / SPF Intérieur).

In Flanders (vlaanderen.be - Migration Economic Service, 'Team arbeidskaarten', Department of Work & Social Economy), a non-EU/EEA young au pair must be at least 18 and under 26 at the time the permit is granted, and pocket money must be at least €450/month, paid by monthly bank transfer (including inactive periods). The permits go through the Region (Team arbeidskaarten) then the municipality, not through VDAB.

In Wallonia (SPW - Direction de l'Emploi et des Permis de travail, based on the Walloon Government Decree of 6 June 2024, arts. 61 and 87), the age range is 18-30 and pocket money at least €750/month; Wallonia also requires the au pair to follow language courses (proof to SPW) and may carry out unannounced home checks.

In Brussels-Capital (be.brussels / Actiris) the Regional competence is confirmed, but - as of our 2026-09-06 check - we could not stabilise an official page stating exact age and pocket-money figures, so we deliberately publish no Brussels figure until that is resolved. If you live in Brussels, check directly with be.brussels or Actiris before starting.

Unless a Region explicitly says otherwise, the common teaching-workload caps apply everywhere: no more than 4 hours a day and 20 hours a week of light tasks, one full rest day each week, and a total placement not exceeding 1 year (a single renewable extension, and generally one change of host family).

Before you host: tasks, paperwork and the traps that cost families

Keep the placement clearly educational. Kids and light housework may be asked - up to 4 hours a day and 20 hours a week, with a full weekly rest day - but childcare tasks must never become the main point of the stay. That boundary is what keeps Belgium's au pair scheme a cultural exchange.

Watch the wording of the framework. The au pair stay is legally NOT salaried work: the young person cannot take another job, and a detached-worker status is not allowed in this frame. Terminology is confusing - the Immigration Office can use the words 'employment contract' on the occupancy application, while the Regions describe the stay as a hosting agreement (accord/convention d'accueil). The safe route is an explicit hosting agreement, never a salaried-employment contract. If the conditions are broken (money, tasks, extra job), the situation can be presumed to be a domestic employment contract, bringing social charges onto your family.

Keep your proof trail: the hosting agreement, the work permit, the visa and residence card, health/accident/repatriation insurance documents, records of the monthly pocket-money transfers and a written log of hours worked and free time. In a control, these prove your placement matches the Regional rules and protect you and the au pair.