Advice for American families on hiring an au pair

We are an American family living in Germany who want to hire an au pair. I am having trouble going through an agency because they don't know what to tell me since neither my husband or I are native German speakers. I have tried contacting several German authorities but they always seem to give me another number to call and then that person is unable to answer my questions. Is there anybody out there who can help me??? I really need somebody but don't know how to go about doing this.

Several people have told me that I can not get a visa for an au pair who does not speak English because we do not speak German in our house. Others have told me that anybody in the EU does not need a visa to work here. However, I still think that I can not register an EU individual as an au pair because of the language issue. I have also heard that I can bring a native English speaker here to au pair but I still don't have any idea if this is true or how I go about doing so.

There MUST be somebody out there who has gone through this or knows all of the ins and outs. If so, ANY suggestions, advice, etc. would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi,

Im an aupair here, I remember when we were filling out my papers for my visa there were clauses about one member of the family speaking native german or something, so I think it is correct to say the aupair probally can't get an aupair visa to work for you.

Maybe someone could come over on a working holiday visa or similar?

not sure but Felicity Nannies are the best near us

What has it got anything to do with one person being able to speak fluent German?

Come on, this is Germany were talking about here. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if this was a requirement..

The whole point of the au pair program is for a young person (there are also age requirements--younger than 25) to come to Germany to learn the culture and language. I have heard, however, that we are eligible to bring over somebody who is from a native English speaking country (such as England, South Africa, Austrailia) but I am having such a hard time getting information about how to do this and what the requirements are. Anybody have any ideas?

See Post #3 and Contact the people at the link.

Thanks! According to their website, it seems they only place au pairs in the Munich area. I have e-mailed them to find out if they can help me or suggest another agency who may be able to help.

I'm not sure about the requirements for an American family. Awhile back there was another English speaking family trying to get an aupair (I think they might've been from the UK somewhere, but I cannot remember). I know they had to go with someone that was an EU citizen since they were not German.

How long do you want an aupair? Where would you like him/her to be from and would you prefer that they also speak English? There are a few ways you could get around the law, but it depends what you want. Since Americans can come for 3months as a tourist you could always have a series of people just come. This could be problematic for you since it'll lead to more work for your family (always finding a new one, adjusting to each other, and the possibility of your kids becoming attached, or other circumstances of continual change/adjustment in a child's life), but at the same time... or if you need an aupair now it's a way to at least get someone short term while you figure out the logistics for a regular aupair.

I'll have to check if I kept it or threw it away when I moved, but I might have the phone number of a woman who runs an aupair agency in Gruenwald. I know you're interested in things for Frankfurt, but she might be able to help you sort out the legalities and what you are able to do.

Hi there, I am an Au pair working near Frankfurt, and although I can't help you in regards to the German criteria involved for Americans seeking Au Pairs (although I have a strong feeling it can't be done, with a traditonal Au Pair visa anywya) I can strongly advice not using a Nanny/Au Pair finding service. Instead do it yourself via a website such as www.greataupair.com . The Germany family I work for, have had several Au Pairs over the years, and have always found searching for themselves is more successful than getting an agency to do it for them. The agency's really don't care who they place and where, as they just want to make money. And if things go wrong the agency will still make you wait 6 weeks to give the Au Pair a chance. I have heard of some pretty bad stories of families getting stuck with girls from Eastern European countries who's mental stability was very questionable, and because there was a clause in the contract saying they had to give the girl 6 weeks trial they were stuck, and trust me there is no way I would have wanted her around my kid for more than 5 minutes!! Of course this is not to discourage you from Easter Europeans at all, just the agencies that place them. Anyway if you do the search yourself, you're more in control, and get a better feeling about the situation. The only other advice I can offer you is to sort out Medical Insurance, before your Au Pair arrives, it is much much cheaper before they arrive in the country! Well good luck

I am an Au Pair from Australia working for a German family in outer Munich... The family and I met through this website
Au Pair World

It worked out really well- and I was able to talk to the family on the phone before anything official happened. The people were really helpful too. I'm not sure how it works for non German families though? My visa still isn't sorted out because I'm from Australia (and other countries like USA) so I didn't need a visa to enter the country. My boss did tell me that when we go to register me I will be asked if I understand German and will have to reply in German that I do. I'm not sure if this is 100% true because my boss might have been trying to scare me