Can you become a Host Family in Spain?
If you invite an Au Pair to stay with your family you won’t just get child care for your niños but also a new temporary family member who will share their culture with your family. Nevertheless, all Host Families need to meet certain requirements. In Spain, they are the following:
If you agree to all the points above then you are ready to become a Host Family. Register on our website today!
After the registration you can create a
profile, tell the applicant something about your family, where and how you live and express your expectations.
Pictures are perfect to make a first impression, so don’t forget about them. Choose some photos that show the whole family. Profiles that are filled out completely have a better chance of attracting a good candidate and are way more successful.
You can choose between two memberships. Once you have registered you have a Basic Membership which lets you add possible candidates to your list of favorites and send standard messages. If you want to be able to write personalized messages to exchange contact details with the applicant you can
become a Premium Member. Besides sending personalized messages you will also get a Host Family handbook with a lot of useful information and a template of the Au Pair contract.
There are certain differences when it comes to requirements and regulations for applicants from EU countries and Non-EU countries. For that reason, you should read the following paragraphs really carefully, so you get to know everything about the
visa to Spain,
insurance and the whole process.
If you have found your match you can prepare and sign the
contract. In this document you come to agreements about the whole stay, just as the
working hours, the schedule, holidays and
duties.
Hosting EU and Non-EU applicants in Spain
All candidates of the program need to meet certain requirements. These requirements depend on the Au Pair’s nationality. If you are willing to take a few extra steps to sort out the visa formalities, you will have a bigger pool of applicants from both EU and Non-EU countries.
Besides specific expectations for the
visa application, the applicants also have to meet other demands, like not being married, not having children of their own and having experience in childcare.
Applicants from the European Union and EFTA do not have to meet as many requirements as visa applicants. They only need to meet the age limit from 17 to 30 years old.
Remember: Although it is not an official requirement the candidate should have a basic knowledge of Spanish. Other languages are not spoken much in Spain and even English might not be understood by some Spanish people. So in case of emergencies the Au Pair should know the language a bit.
1
Check if the Au Pair has insurance in Spain
If the participant stays in Spain for more than 3 months, they should register at the local office. Which documents the Au Pair needs depend on the province of Spain the Host Family is living in. The Au Pair will have to go to the local registration office and request an EU registration certificate. For that matter the participant will need:
-
Two copies of form EX-18
-
A valid passport
-
Proof of health insurance
-
Proof that the Au Pair can afford the stay in Spain. The contract which includes
pocket money and information about the
accommodation may be helpful.
Participants from EU countries can stay as long as they want and can also participate in the program if they have been working in Spain before.
Candidates from countries not belonging to the European Union need a
visa for Spain. They need to apply for it at the Spanish embassy in their home country. The type of visa the participants need depends on their citizenship, because there is no official Au Pair program in Spain and therefore there is no specific visa.
The Au Pair has to fulfill certain criteria to apply for any type of visa. First, you should check if the candidate meets the following points:
-
Age: 18 - 30
-
Basic knowledge of the Spanish language
-
High school diploma that grants a higher education
-
Passport valid for the whole stay
-
Contract signed by both parties
-
Clear criminal record
-
Ability to pay for the visa and trip
-
Proof of enrollment in a language course that takes place at least 20 hours a week
-
The candidate’s native language can not be Spanish
Note: Applicants from Latin America can not apply for a visa to become an Au Pair in Spain!
If your candidate fulfills all the points stated above it’s time to plan the stay. Just follow the next steps:
In order to apply for a visa, the applicant will need a
contract. It also helps to avoid problems and misunderstandings in the future. It should include important information about the schedule, working hours, free time and
pocket money.
Check if your candidate has purchased a
private health insurance. In Spain the participant needs to take care of it and pay for it. To make sure that the participant’s stay is safe you should remind them of it.
Support your Au Pair with the
visa application and provide them with all required documents. The participant needs to find out which visa they will have to apply for. Also if the candidate wants to stay less than 90 days, the Au Pair needs to check if a short term visa (Schengen visa) will work.
4
Prepare for Au Pair’s arrival to Spain
Once you know when the participant will arrive you can prepare their room. You might want to decorate it a little bit or get new sheets. This will help the participant feel at home.
If the participant wants to stay in Spain for more than 6 months they need to request an ID for foreigners (tarjeta de identidad de extranjero) at the immigration office (Oficina de Extranjería) or the local police station right after the arrival.
Do NOT forget that the visa process might take a couple of weeks.
For Registered Members
Login
