Au-pair Countries Overview
- GermanyCountry guide →Official au pair programmePocket money: €280 per month
- AustriaCountry guide →Official au pair programmePocket money: €551 per month
- SwitzerlandCountry guide →Official au pair programme
- NetherlandsCountry guide →Official au pair programmePocket money: €340 per month
- FranceCountry guide →Official au pair programmePocket money: €320 per month
- BelgiumCountry guide →Official au pair programmePocket money: €450 per month
- LuxembourgCountry guide →Official au pair programmePocket money: €554 per month
- ItalyCountry guide →European Au Pair Agreement
- SpainCountry guide →European Au Pair Agreement
- DenmarkCountry guide →Official au pair programmePocket money: DKK 5,250 per month
- SwedenCountry guide →Official au pair programmePocket money: SEK 5,920 per month
- FinlandCountry guide →Official au pair programmePocket money: €340 per month
- IcelandCountry guide →Official au pair programmePocket money: ISK 15,000 per week
- United StatesCountry guide →Official au pair programmePocket money: $196 per week
We compiled this information to the best of our knowledge from the official sources listed below, each with the date we checked it. Laws and rates change, and an error can never be ruled out entirely — we do not re-check the sources daily. Please do not rely on this alone: verify with the competent authority before you decide. This is not legal advice.
Here are the countries where au-pair works as a cultural exchange with pocket money. For each country it shows what applies to au-pairs and host families – age, pocket money, working hours, language course, insurance, contract and visa. Every figure has an official source and a verification date.
What you can use as a guide
Most of these countries have an official au-pair program: the government has regulated au-pair as its own form of exchange. This determines what an au-pair receives per month, how many hours they care for children, who pays for the language course and insurance, and what must be included in the contract.
Italy and Spain are different: there is no dedicated program, but both countries have signed the European au-pair agreement, and pocket money has long been customary. The amount is agreed between the family and the au-pair – making a written contract that specifies money, hours and days off especially important.
Countries that are missing here are omitted intentionally: au-pair is not a separate status there, but an employment relationship under the general rules of the country. Anyone still wanting to go should contact the relevant authority directly.
What the numbers don’t convey: how the year feels. For that, check our guide – and the au-pair community, where you can see who’s in your area even before you arrive.