Au pairs
You must hold a residence permit in order to function as an au pair with a host family in Denmark, if you are a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA.
It is your own responsibility to obtain a residence permit.
The purpose of an au pair stay
The term au pair means 'on equal terms'. The idea of an au pair stay is for a young person to stay with a host family with children under the age of 18 'on equal terms' with the other members of the family. The purpose is for the au pair to improve language and/or professional skills as well as broaden his/her cultural horizon by becoming more acquainted with Denmark. In return, the au pair participates in the host family's domestic chores (e.g. cleaning, washing clothes, cooking, babysitting) for a minimum of three and a maximum of five hours a day, and no more than six days a week.
Conditions
To ensure that you have a chance to improve your language and/or professional skills and broaden your cultural horizon as described above, it is a condition for getting a residence permit as an au pair that you already have the necessary linguistic and cultural foundation to receive the full benefit of your stay in Denmark.
Below you can read about the conditions which must be met, either by you, your host family, or both of you, as well as the requirement that you are able to fully benefit from your au pair stay.
Conditions to be met by you
You must be between the ages of 18 and 29 (both years included) at the time of application
You may not be married or be in a co-habiting relationship or registered partnership
You may not have been married in the past or have been in a co-habiting relationship or registered partnership
You may not have any children
You may not be expecting a child of the time of application. However, this condition does not apply if you are already residing in Denmark as an au pair at the time of application
Conditions to ensure you can receive the full benefit of your stay
To ensure that your au pair stay can help improve your language and professional skills as well as broaden your cultural horizon, the following conditions must be met:
Your au pair stay must have a natural connection to your life so far, including your educational background and employment history. You must have completed the equivalent of nine years of schooling. In special cases, and if you come from a country where the general school programme is normally completed after eight years, having completed eight years of schooling may be sufficient. Based on an individual evaluation of your case, the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration may decide that an au pair stay would not have a natural connection to your life so far, if you have completed further education and have worked for several years
You must have a working knowledge of either Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, English or German
Normally, you may not previously have had two or more au pair stays in other EU/EEA countries or Switzerland
Normally, you may not previously have held a Danish residence permit
Normally, you may not previously have stayed in Denmark as an au pair with different host families for more than one year
Normally, you may not have the same nationality as one or more members of the host family
Normally, you may not be related to one or more members of the host family
Conditions to be met by your host family
Your host family must be comprised of at least one parent and one child under the age of 18 who is living at home. The child must be registered at the family's address. If the parents of the child do not live together and you have agreed to live intermittently at both parents’ homes, then each parent must draw up an individual au pair contract with you, and each parent must also meet the conditions for being a host family. If you are not to live intermittently at two divorced parents' homes, but only with one of the parents, then this parent can be a host family provided that there a child under 18 is registered at the address
Normally, at least one parent must be a Danish citizen in order that your host family can introduce you to the Danish language and culture. However, this does not apply if the parents are EU/EEA or Swiss citizens residing legally in Denmark, or if they are foreign nationals who have lived in Denmark for a long time and have a strong attachment to Denmark
At the point of application, your host family may not receive public assistance as their primary means of support under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act. They must declare this by signing a statement in the application form. However, they are allowed to have received certain types of financial aid
Your host family may not have been given a ban or penalty period as a result of previous abuse of the au pair scheme. Your host family must declare this by signing a declaration in the application form. Below, you can read more about the possible penalties resulting from abuse of the au pair sch