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Au pair
Residence permit for au pair
If you are working as an au pair, you must apply for a residence permit. The permit can be granted for up to one year. Extension will not be granted for an au pair permit.
You may be granted a residence permit for an au pair if you meet the following requirements:
you are aged between 17 and 30
you are interested in the Finnish or Swedish language and the Finnish culture
you will live in your host family like a family member
you pay for your up-keeping with light domestic work, but you are not a full-time childminder or housekeeper
you are not related to the host family
you have not worked as an au pair before, in Finland or in another country
If you do not fully meet all the above criteria, you will not be granted a residence permit on the grounds of being an au pair. For example, if you are a full-time housekeeper and childminder, you cannot be granted a residence permit for an au pair. You will need a residence permit for an employed person.
You may not work as an au pair until you have received a permit for it. You may work as an au pair in Finland only if you have a residence permit granted for this purpose by the state of Finland.
If you have a family, you may not bring them to Finland with you.
Finland has not confirmed the European Council’s treaty on the location of au pairs (European Treaty Series – No. 68), and therefore Finland follows this treaty only for applicable parts.