Au Pair programme
Cultural and language exchange programme for young people aged 17 to 30, up to five hours of duties a day and one year extendable to two. If Spanish is your mother tongue or your country's official language, the language-course route in is not for you; the other study-stay routes are.
💡 What is closed to someone who already speaks Spanish is not the au pair programme — it is ONE of the routes in. Within the training activities, the study stay allows Spanish-language courses only "provided that it is not the mother tongue or the official language of the country of which the foreign national is a citizen" (art. 52.1.e).2.º RD 1155/2024). If you are from Colombia, Mexico or Argentina, that particular door is not for you; the other routes in the same art. 52.1 — higher education (a), post-compulsory secondary (b), pupil mobility (c), volunteering (d) and, within (e), work as a conversation assistant — remain open. And the European agreement governing au pair placement excludes nobody by nationality.
📋 This is not an employment relationship. Maximum 30 hours per week of household tasks and childcare. The host family provides: accommodation, meals, and a monthly allowance.
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Step by step
The application is submitted at the Spanish consulate in the applicant's country of residence. It is processed as a study stay visa.
Mistakes that get applications refused
⚠️ Applying for a study stay for a Spanish course as a citizen of a Spanish-speaking country
Consecuencia: The application does not fit that route — art. 52.1.e).2.º allows it "provided that it is not the mother tongue or the official language of the country of which the foreign national is a citizen". It is not an automatic refusal for being Colombian or Mexican — it is that this particular door asks for something you do not meet.
Solución: Come in through one of the other routes in art. 52.1 and build the au pair placement on top of it. And mind what is usually said about the student visa — work as an employee or self-employed is included automatically ONLY for the higher-education route in letter a); the others need a work authorisation, and in any case the work "may not exceed thirty hours a week" (art. 57.2).
⚠️ Working more than 30 hours per week
Consecuencia: Violation that may result in revocation of your stay
Solución: The legal maximum is 30 hours per week. If the host family demands more, report it to the relevant labor authority.
⚠️ Failing to attend Spanish language classes
Consecuencia: Non-compliance with the program — may affect renewal
Solución: The language component is mandatory. Maintain your enrollment and attendance in the Spanish language course throughout your entire stay.
⚠️ The host family treating the au pair as a domestic employee
Consecuencia: Illegal situation — the au pair does not hold an employment contract
Solución: The Au Pair Program is NOT an employment relationship. It is a cultural exchange. If the host family is abusive, contact the agency or the relevant authorities.
Requirements
- Be between 17 and 30 — the European agreement sets those two limits and allows exceptions to the upper one where circumstances justify it (art. 4)
- If Spanish is your mother tongue or your country's official language, the language-course route is not for you — but the other options in art. 52.1 RD 1155/2024 still are, bearing in mind that several of them require at least 50 per cent of the programme to be taught in person
- Basic knowledge of Spanish (A2 recommended — agency practice, not an agreement requirement)
- No children of your own (placement agencies ask for this; the European agreement does not)
- Have a registered Spanish host family
- Private health insurance
- Criminal record certificate
Conditions of the placement
Hours of duties: The agreement measures it PER DAY, not per week — time actually spent on services "shall not as a general rule exceed five hours per day" (art. 9). Those services are taking part in the family's daily household duties.
Duration: One year to start with, "but may be extended to a maximum period of two years" (art. 3). The 12 months agencies advertise are the opening stretch, not the ceiling.
Board and pocket money: The family provides board and lodging and, "where possible", a separate room (art. 8.1), plus a monthly sum as pocket money whose amount and intervals are set in the written agreement (art. 8.4) — the agreement itself names no figure.
Language classes: You must be left enough time to attend language courses and improve your cultural and professional education, and "every facility shall be granted as regards the arrangement of working hours" (art. 8.2).
Days off: At least one full free day per week, and "at least one free day per month shall be a Sunday", with facilities to take part in religious services (art. 8.3).
Who pays the insurance: Where sickness, maternity or accident benefits are not covered by social security or another official body, "the competent member of the receiving family shall take out private insurance, the cost of which shall be entirely borne by him" (art. 10.2). The family pays it, not you.
Ending the arrangement: If the agreement is open-ended, either side may end it on two weeks' notice; and in the case of serious misconduct by the other party, or other serious circumstances, it may be terminated immediately (art. 11).
Legal basis
European Agreement on Au Pair Placement (Strasbourg, 24 November 1969), ratified by Spain and in force since 12 September 1988 (BOE-A-1988-21042); Organic Law 4/2000 (LOEX), study stay regime
Checked against the consolidated text on 2026-09-01.
Official sources
Última actualización: 2026-09-01