VisaAu pairs in the Netherlands need an agreed household schedule
The cultural-exchange route requires a recognised agency, limited household duties and separate checks on documents and application costs.
Official announcement date: not established (undated guidance)
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Check the applicant and placement before making commitments
The Netherlands’ au pair residence route is a temporary cultural-exchange arrangement, not an unrestricted domestic-work permit. IND’s current application page requires applicants to be eighteen to twenty-five when applying, unmarried and without children or foster children. The host household must contain at least two members and meet the applicable income conditions. Prior work for that family, including abroad, and family relationships with the hosts are disqualifying conditions described on the page.
A recognised au pair agency submits the residence application; a family’s offer alone is insufficient. The current page also prohibits agency fees charged to the au pair and contractual penalties for failing to fulfil the arrangement. It limits specified preparation costs to EUR34. Compare proposed payments with those conditions before agreeing to the placement. IND gives a ninety-day decision period, which can be extended, rather than a guaranteed arrival date.
Agree the daily duties and genuinely free days
The Netherlands Labour Authority describes a maximum of eight hours of light domestic work per day and thirty hours per week. It also requires at least two entirely work-free days each week. A daily written schedule must be understandable to the au pair. The limits operate together: staying below the weekly total does not make a nine-hour working day acceptable.
As an illustrative planning check, five days of six hours would reach thirty hours, leaving two days without household duties. The family should compare the actual tasks and timings with that schedule instead of treating the au pair as continuously available because they live in the home. This example illustrates the arithmetic, not approval of a particular placement. The Labour Authority says it can investigate suspected breaches and impose a fine where violations are found. Keep the written schedule usable for checking what actually happens.
Prepare foreign documents in the accepted language and form
IND’s separate document guidance explains that legalisation checks whether an official document came from the competent organisation; it is not the same as translation. Start with the document’s issuing country and the country-specific instructions linked through Netherlands Worldwide. The IND itself does not provide legalisation or translation services.
Documents outside Dutch, English, French or German require translation into one of those languages. A translation made in the Netherlands must be by a translator sworn in by a Dutch court; translations made abroad usually require legalisation of both the document and translation. The guidance treats the age of a single-status declaration differently from documents recording fixed facts: it accepts that declaration only when it is no older than six months. Order it with the expected application timing in mind instead of assuming every certificate has the same validity period. The agency should identify which evidence the particular file needs.
Separate the government application fee from placement charges
The IND fee schedule lists EUR423 for an au pair application. Use that category rather than a tourist-visa or ordinary employment fee when checking the government charge. The exchange brochure says the sponsoring organisation pays the IND on the applicant’s behalf, and that an unpaid application will not be processed. The government fee and the separate restrictions on payments to an intermediary therefore need to be identified clearly in any cost explanation.
This review did not establish an individual travel, insurance or document-preparation total. Ask the agency to identify each proposed payment and its purpose rather than treating a single quoted package price as an official tariff.
Know what the agency must do after placement
IND’s exchange brochure describes the sponsor’s continuing duty of care: explain the programme and both parties’ obligations, regularly check the placement, and address problems between the au pair and hosts. That responsibility continues after submission.
Report a changed schedule, a proposed move to another host or a problem with the placement promptly to the agency. The brochure requires the sponsor to retain relevant records, including the signed schedule and household information, and report material changes to IND. It also distinguishes an agency’s report from an immigration decision: only IND can withdraw the permit. A host or agency saying that permission has ended is therefore different from an actual IND decision. This public-source guide does not confirm acceptance of a particular contract or permission to continue after a disputed placement ends.
