The Au Pair program participant gets the opportunity to live with a family free of charge on a full board basis and attend language courses 2-3 times a week. Their duties include housework, childcare – activities, games, walks, accompanying to school, etc. And some parents take thorough care of their children - they look for a chocolate fountain for rent<\/a> for a birthday, hire animators for a children's party. So the program participant must be ready for such a turn of events.<\/p>
The basic requirements for participants are roughly the same for all countries – age from 18 to 30, completed secondary education, experience with children. Participants must not be married and must not have children. Preference is given to students and graduates of philological and pedagogical specialties, as well as those with experience working with children and adolescents. For childcare, naturally, preference is given to girls. Young men are in demand less often – mainly as drivers, and sometimes for garden care work. They have higher language proficiency requirements, and often require a driver's license.<\/p>
WHERE WE ARE NOT ACCEPTED<\/p>
Unfortunately, many developed English-speaking countries – such as the USA, Canada, the UK, Malta – do not support cooperation under the Au Pair program with Ukraine. Other countries, for example France, impose excessively high requirements. In Italy, for a very meager salary, often without days off, our girls have to do all the housework, and the Spanish consulate will take so long to process the visa that the family that invited you will have found another helper seven times over.<\/p>
As practice shows, it is easiest for Ukrainian girls to go as au pairs to Germany. Good knowledge of English will allow you to go as an au pair to Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, Switzerland. If in addition to English you also know or are learning the language of that country, you are simply invaluable. And in that case you have the opportunity, besides English, to also learn the language of the host country.<\/p>
WE CHOOSE, WE ARE CHOSEN<\/p>
You need to submit an application to participate in the Au Pair program at least six months before the desired departure date, since finding a family usually takes from two months to six months, plus add at least two months for visa processing.<\/p>
After you fill out the necessary questionnaires, provide all the required documents, and pass an interview, the agency will start looking for a family. As a rule, several options are offered; the choice is yours. Once, a student from Ternopil who wanted to go to Germany under the Au Pair program only chose the fourth family offered to her. But she made the right choice: the family turned out to be the owner of a five-star hotel in the mountains of southwestern Germany. Of course, not everyone is so lucky, and you must understand that the higher your demands, the more time will be needed to find a family.<\/p>
When a family is found and all details are agreed, they send a contract on the basis of which a visa is issued. The contract is usually signed for one year. Alas, under the Au Pair program you can visit one country only once, and if you want to participate in the program again, you will have to go to another country.<\/p>
During your stay abroad, you will be supervised by the local Au Pair agency. If problems arise, the agency staff will always help solve them, and in the worst case, they will even try to find you another family.<\/p>
The Au Pair program in Western Europe is regulated by various organizations – from the local immigration department to the European Parliament, so families participating in the Au Pair program are strictly selected and monitored. But do not forget that compliance with the program conditions will also be required from you first and foremost.<\/p>
