How to Apply for the German Au Pair Visa at the Immigration Office in Berlin
This page looks at how, where and when to apply for the German Au Pair Visa in Berlin. It lays out who is eligible for the German Au Pair Visa and covers the application requirements, including a detailed look at what documents you need to submit at the immigration office in Berlin.
The German Au Pair Visa allows you to live in Germany for a maximum of one year and is a great way to experience German culture and develop your language skills. Through interacting with your host family on a daily basis, you will be immersed in German family life, while also getting ample opportunity to experience all Berlin has to offer.
❗ Note: We endeavour to keep our visa information up to date. However, before applying, we recommend always cross-referencing our information with the official application information from the Berlin immigration authorities.
Who is this page for?
🌍 This page is for applying for the Germany Au Pair Visa at the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) after entering Germany. If you are from Australia, Canada, the United States, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Israel, or the United Kingdom, you may enter Germany without a visa for 90 days and apply for the German Au Pair Visa during this period.
🛑 Citizens from all other countries must apply for the German Au Pair Visa at a German embassy or consulate before entering Germany. To help you out, we have also put together a guide for applying at a Germany embassy or consulate.
Who can apply for the German Au Pair Visa?
Anyone between the ages of 18 and 26 can apply for the German Au Pair Visa. You are eligible to apply for the visa right up until your 27th birthday.
General requirements for the German Au Pair Visa
✔️ You must have a basic understanding of German (at least A1).
✔️ The host family you intend to work for should speak German at home but do not need to be German citizens. However, at least one adult family member must be a German citizen or a citizen of an EU/EEA member state or Switzerland.
If the host family does not speak German as a mother tongue but uses it as a 'family language', a German Au Pair Visa may still be granted so long as the host family does not come from the same country as the au pair.
✔️ You must obtain an au pair contract from a host family prior to applying. This contract must contain the following specifications as a minimum:
Exact description of the parties to the contract (au pair host family and au pair).
Start date and duration of the contract.
General responsibilities of the host parents and the au pair.
Agreement regarding the 'pocket money' that will be paid to the au pair (at least €260 per month).
Agreement regarding the working hours (at most 6 hours per day and a maximum of 30 hours per week).
Details of the health insurance provided by the host family which must cover the au pair in the event of illness, pregnancy and birth as well as an accident.
Au pair's holiday entitlement.
Number and age of the children to be looked after.
We have expanded on these contract conditions below.
Working conditions for au pairs in Germany
👩👧👦 There are some guidelines for working as an au pair in Germany as well as some general working conditions that are laid out below. The daily work of an au pair varies from host family to host family, but in general it includes:
Light housework – washing and ironing clothes and keeping the home tidy.
Preparing simple meals.
Looking after young children (e.g. supervising them in the home, taking them to kindergarten or school, taking them to the park).
House sitting and taking care of pets.
Your tasks as an au pair should not extend to looking after sick or elderly family members.
Working conditions generally follow the European Agreement on Au Pair Placement, which lays out regulations regarding language learning, working and living conditions, insurances, etc. These regulations (and certain norms in the au pair sector in Germany) have been expanded on below and should form the basis of your au pair contract:
✔️ Duration of contract – your au pair contract should be for at least 6 months but no longer than 1 year. You are not able to extend the period even if you did not initially apply for the full year.
✔️ Work and time off – an au pair can work for a maximum of 6 hours a day and no longer than 30 hours per week. If these working hours are exceeded, then this must be agreed in advance and the additional hours worked must be paid back in the form of additional time off.
The au pair should have at least 1 full day off a week. While this can be on any day of the week, the au pair should have at least one Sunday a month completely off. On top of this, the au pair should have at least 4 free evenings per week.
✔️ Holidays – if working as an au pair for a full year, you are entitled to 4 weeks of paid holiday. If working for a shorter period, you are entitled to 2 working days of paid holiday for every full month you work.
If an au pair joins a family holiday, then this is not considered as the au pair's own holiday if they are required to carry out specific responsibilities like taking care of the children. If you do not join your host family on their family holiday, then you are not permitted to carry out au pair work for another family during the time they are away.
✔️ Language learning – au pairs should be offered the opportunity to do a German language course in their spare time as well as participate in scholarly or cultural activities. The host family is required to pay €50 per month towards the cost of the language course (on top of the monthly 'pocket money' payments).
✔️ Travel – in general, the au pair bears the cost of their travel to and from their home country.
✔️ 'Pocket money' – as the primary purpose of working as an au pair in Germany is to better your language skills, improve your knowledge and understanding of German culture, and gain work experience, you do not receive a salary for your work but rather 'pocket money'. As a minimum, this should be €260 per month, and is not linked to the number of hours of work you perform.
✔️ Accommodation and meals – the host family is responsible for providing accommodation and meals, and costs associated with this. The au pair is generally provided with their own room in the family home and eats with the family. Any dietary requirements should be clearly laid out in the au pair's application.
✔️ Pregnancy, health and accident insurance – the host family must take out insurance which covers the au pair in the event of illness, pregnancy and birth as well as an accident.
✔️ Ending the au pair contract – the au pair contract ends on the agreed contract end date. If there is no notice period specified in the au pair contract, then it is possible to terminate the contract earlier only in the case of mutual agreement. Usually, it is agreed that the au pair will stay until they are able to find a new host family.
In exceptional cases, the au pair contract can be terminated without notice, although it is expected that the au pair and host family will first work together to try and smooth out any initial differences they may have. If the relationship between au pair and host family is unworkable, then the au pair agency should be informed immediately.
How to Apply for a German Au Pair Visa at the Immigration Office in Berlin
1️⃣ Move to Berlin. Enter Germany visa free for up to 90 days, find a host family and officially register at their address (Anmeldung).
2️⃣ Apply for the German Au Pair Visa at the immigration office in Berlin
3️⃣ Collect your German Au Pair Visa at the immigration office in Berlin
1️⃣ Move to Berlin. Enter Germany visa free for up to 90 days, find a host family and officially register at their address (Anmeldung).
After arriving in Germany, you have two important tasks before you can apply for the Au Pair Visa at the immigration office in Berlin:
👨👩👧👦 Find a host family
Before you can work as an au pair in Germany, you naturally need to find a host family. At the bottom of this page, we’ve listed a host of au pair agencies and platforms that can help you find a suitable family in Berlin.
Once you have applied and been accepted by a host family, they are required to draw up an au pair contract that you will be required to submit at your German Au Pair Visa appointment in step 2 below.
🏠 Complete your Anmeldung in Berlin
To apply for any form of visa at the immigration office in Berlin, you must first have officially registered at an address in the German capital, a process that is known as Anmeldung.
In almost all cases, an au pair will register at their host family’s address. For full instructions on how to complete your address registration in Berlin, see our Anmeldung page.
Once you have completed these two essential tasks, you are ready to move on to step 2 and apply for the German Au Pair Visa at the immigration office in Berlin.
2️⃣ Apply for the German Au Pair Visa at the immigration office in Berlin
When submitting your application, you are required to provide the following to the immigration office in Berlin:
Essential documents for the German Au Pair Visa
✅ A valid passport
Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months longer than the intended stay, have at least 2 free pages, and not be older than 10 years old.
✅ One current biometric passport photo
Guidelines recommend a 35mm x 45mm frontal shot with neutral facial expression and closed mouth, looking straight into the camera with a light background. You can obtain a biometric photo from the silver photo booths at the main train stations in Berlin. There are three photo booths located at Alexanderplatz train station.
Here is a useful map of all places you can obtain passport photos in Berlin.
✅ Au pair contract with the host family
See the guidelines above about what should be included in the au pair contract.
✅ Completed “Antrag auf Erteilung eines Aufenthaltstitels” form (Application for issuance of a residence permit form).
✅ “Au-Pair Fragebogen” form (Au Pair Questionnaire form)
This is a job description form to be completed in German by the host family.
✅ Proof of main residence in Berlin (address registration certificate)
See our Anmeldung page for full details about how to register your address and receive your address registration certificate (Anmeldebestätigung or Meldebescheinigung).
✅ Health Insurance
Prior to your appointment at the immigration office in Berlin, your host family should arrange for you to be added to their German health insurance policy or they should take out a separate policy for you.
As an au pair in Germany, your policy needs to cover you in the event of illness, pregnancy, childbirth and accident. You must bring a copy of the policy confirmation and your policy documents with you to the appointment.
While your host family will arrange your German health insurance policy, if you also plan to travel around Europe while au pairing, we suggest also having a European-wide travel insurance policy that will cover any travel-related expenses. For this, we like World Nomads, which can be signed up for while already overseas and is well regarded by travellers all around the globe.
How do I book an Au Pair Visa appointment at the immigration office in Berlin?
Follow the link to book an Au Pair Visa appointment on the immigration office's online booking platform.
Once on the booking platform, click on the ‘Book Appointment’ button to start the process.
Select the visa you wish to apply for. You will then be shown a calendar with available appointments:
Available appointments show up in blue. Select an available appointment from the calendar and enter your personal details in the appointment booking form to complete the booking.
If there are no appointments currently available, you will be shown the following message:
If you are shown this message, you need to wait for the next batch of appointments to be released by the immigration office. Visa appointments are released sporadically throughout the week so we recommend checking the appointment booking platform multiple times a day from around 7 a.m.
Once you have secured an appointment, you will receive a booking confirmation in your inbox that will detail the time, date and location for your Au Pair Visa appointment.
The booking period for Au Pair Visa appointments in Berlin is generally 1–3 months. Therefore, once you have successfully scheduled your visa appointment, be aware that your appointment date may be up to 3 months away.
📅 For more detailed instructions, see our website guide or YouTube guide on how and when to book an Au Pair Visa appointment at the immigration office in Berlin.
Where do I apply for the German Au Pair Visa in Berlin?
🧭 As of 01.03.2020, the Residence Permit to Work as an Au Pair is processed at the immigration office located at Friedrich-Krause-Ufer 24, 13353 Berlin.
The immigration office at Friedrich-Krause-Ufer 24 is split into a number of 'Haus' depending on where you are from:
Australia – Haus B, 3rd floor, waiting rooms E 1.1 and E 1.2.
Israel – Haus D, waiting room E 3.1
Canada – Haus C, 2nd floor, waiting rooms E 2.1, E 2.2, E 2.3 and E 2.4
Japan – Haus B, 2nd floor, waiting rooms E 4.1 and E 4.2
New Zealand – Haus B, 3rd floor, waiting rooms E 1.1 and E 1.2.
On your appointment confirmation, it will specify the exact 'Haus', floor and waiting room that you must go to at the time of your appointment. This information will likely correspond with the 'Haus' details above.
Below is a picture of the immigration office so that you know you’re in the right place when you arrive at the address:
Processing of the German Au Pair Visa at the immigration office in Berlin
📄 As mentioned above, once you have successfully booked an appointment at the immigration office, you will be emailed a booking confirmation detailing the date and time you must attend your immigration office appointment. The confirmation will also include your Waiting Number (Vorgangsnummer):
When arriving at the immigration office at Friedrich-Krause-Ufer 24, bring a copy of your visa appointment confirmation to show the security guard. Go to the waiting rooms specified on your visa appointment confirmation and wait for your Waiting Number (Vorgangsnummer) to be displayed on the screen.
When your number is displayed, it will be accompanied by a room number, which is where your German Au Pair Visa will be processed. All you are required to do is go to your designated room and hand over all of the documents to the immigration office staff member. The immigration office staff member will now process your application.
Will the German Au Pair Visa be provided on the spot at the immigration office in Berlin?
📅 In most cases, no. Your physical Au Pair Visa will take 4 to 6 weeks to be prepared from the date of your appointment. You will be contacted by the immigration office once your Au Pair Visa is approved and ready for collection.
In some circumstances, your Au Pair Visa will be mailed to your registered address. If this is the case, you will not be required to return to the immigration office to collect your visa.
3️⃣ Collect your German Au Pair Visa at the immigration office in Berlin
As mentioned above, the immigration office will contact you with regards to collecting your German Au Pair Visa. This will likely be 4 to 6 weeks after your initial appointment. When returning to the immigration office, ensure you bring your passport and your address registration certificate.
🎉 At this point, you will be issued your German Au Pair Visa - hooray!
The German Au Pair Visa costs €100 and must be paid for in cash or with a German EC card.
Au Pair Agencies that can help you arrange a host family in Germany
While not mandatory to use an au pair agency to find a host family in Germany, this is generally recommended. The agency will not only match you with potential host families but also help you prepare and complete the au pair contract, and may help you with other administrative tasks related to your application.
We recommend that you only employ the services of an au pair agency which promises to assist you throughout your stay, e.g. in the event that you run into problems with your host family. In Germany, au pair agencies are restricted to charging au pairs a maximum fee of €150 for placement with a host family, which is only payable when the au pair contract comes into effect.
We recommend contacting Jeanne Michel (aupair@euroconnections.de) who runs Euroconnections. Jeanne has been placing au pairs with families in Berlin for over 14 years – she works with some great families and we have been in contact with her for a number of years.
Below, we have provided a list of some au pair agencies that can help you find a suitable host family in Germany:
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