Au pair visa & program Belgium

Citizens of EU member states do not need a visa or work permit for Belgium.

A Working holiday visa is available for citizens of Canada, Australia and New Zealand:

Have a holiday in Belgium as their primary intention, employment being incidental and accessory.
Be aged between 18 and 30 years at the time of application.
Hold a valid passport.
Possess a valid return ticket, or sufficient funds to purchase such a ticket.
Have sufficient means, i.e. a minimum of €2,500.
Be a first time applicant under this Scheme.
Submit a medical certificate issued by a medical doctor appointed by the Belgian Embassy.
Produce a document vouching for their good character.

Conditions for the au pair/nanny:

Be between 18 and 26, with an additional condition that the au pair/nanny receives her work permit before being 26.
it is forbidden to take any other work in belgium than the one of nanny.
the nanny must have finished secondary school. in case she applies before obtaining her diploma, a certificate of the school, stating she finishes her last year of secondary school is sufficient.
Have a basic knowledge of the one of the national languages, which means french, dutch or german. the language she has a basic knowledge of must be the language she wants to perform. it will also be the language, spoken in the family. if she speaks some french, she will go to a family where french is spoken and that will also be the language of the courses she will follow.
The au pair/nanny must follow language courses regularly. the school where she follows the language courses must give every 3 months a certificate, proving she followed the courses.
The au pair/nanny can not have obtained a work permit of any kind before.

Conditions for the family:

A family must provide the au pair/nanny with her private bedroom.
The family must speak the language that the girl wants to perform and correct her when she makes mistakes.
Families must take an insurance for the nanny for the whole duration of the stay. that insurance will cover illness, hospitalisation and accidents.
The family must give 1 day free/week minimum and 1 full week-end/month.
The family gives a pocket money of €450/month minimum for a 20 hour week. this pocket money will be put on a bank account, only for the girl. nobody else can touch at that money.

General conditions:

the duration of the stay is 12 months
The au pair/nanny must obtain her work permit while she is in her country. when the work permit is ready it is sent to the nanny and a few other documents she can obtain her visa at the embassy.
If the au pair/nanny is not happy in a family she can only change once to an other family.
When she changes to an other family, the duration can never go over 12 months. if she stayed for 2 months in the 1st family, she can only stay for 10 months in the second family.
A temporary residence of 3 months will be issued at the consulate, which will be extended after registration of the nanny in belgium. he/she has to register at the belgian community within 8 days of arrival and to apply for a identity card for foreigner.

05-Feb-2012

Care International