Who needs a visa?

For stays longer than 90 days, foreign citizens generally require a visa. Excluded from this are EU citizens (European Union), citizens of the EEA (European Economic Area) and citizens of Switzerland.

Citizens of Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the United States of America and the UK and Northern Ireland can also obtain a required residence permit after entering Germany from the immigration authorities responsible in Germany. You do not need to apply for a visa before moving to Germany.

For all other nationals residing in France, the following applies: visas for a long-term stay must be obtained from the Embassy in Paris before entering the country.

General information

The aim of an au-pair stay is to improve German language skills and to broaden your horizons and general knowledge through experience. To work as an au-pair in Germany you must be at least 18 years old and not older than 26 years at the time of the application. You must stay for a minimum of 6 months. The maximum stay is 12 months. You may not have more than one au-pair stay, even with a different family.

A visa or residence permit will not be granted if the host family and the au-pair are related to each other. In general, German must be the native tongue spoken in the host family. If German is not spoken as native tongue but as the host family’s usual language of communication, an au-pair may not originate from the home country of the host parents. This is to ensure that communication in the family takes place in German and not in the language of the country of origin.

How do I get an appointment to submit my application?

Under the following link you can register free of charge on the waiting list for an appointment to apply for a visa at the Embassy in Paris: Visa section Appointment waiting list

Please expect a waiting time for an appointment. Approximately two weeks before your appointment, you will receive an e-mail with the date and time.
In the meantime, please refrain from making written or telephone appointment requests. Due to the high volume of applications and limited processing capacities, it is not possible to shorten the waiting time.

Which documents are required?

Please bring the following documents:

• one complete printout of your electronic visa application: VIDEX
  
  Using VIEDX speeds up the processing time at the Embassy. If you cannot fill out the application online, you can download the application form here:
  Form: Application for a national visa (German/English)
  Form: Application for a national visa (German/French)
  Form: Application for a national visa (German/Arabic)
• one current biometric passport photo: photo template
• valid passport, original and one copy (the passport must have at least two blank pages)
• valid French residence permit and one copy
• A1 language test result (if available) and one copy
  The test may not be older than one year. If you have not yet undergone a formal CEFR language test, your language skills will be evaluated during your visa interview.
• Host family’s questionnaire to be completed by the host (available for download here) and one copy
• Au-pair contract (sample available for download here) and one copy
• Confirmation of health insurance cover (including accident insurance, Unfallversicherung) commensurate with the level of statutory German public health insurance (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung) (must be presented at the latest when picking up the visa)
• Curriculum vitae and one copy
• Motivation letter explaining your reasons for taking part in an au-pair programme and what you expect to achieve through this programme and one copy

Occasionally, the submission of additional documents may be required.

Fees and costs

The processing fee for a national visa is 75,00 euros in most cases. The fee is to be paid in cash when the application is submitted to the Embassy. Please bring the correct amount with you.

The processing fee cannot be reimbursed, this applies also when the visa has been denied.

Important : Apart from the processing fee mentioned above payable to the embassy in Paris, there are no further fees (e.g. for arranging an appointment). Only expenses for e.g. returning your passport containing the visa by post must be borne by the applicant.

How long does it take to obtain a visa ?

The mbassy in Paris will decide on your application after the responsible immigration authorities in Germany have been involved. On average, the processing time from the day of your appointment is a few months. Please refrain from making inquiries regarding the developement during this time.

We will contact you once your visa application has been processed. If your application is approved, we will email you when and how to submit your passport to obtain the visa.

If your visa application has been rejected, there can be various reasons. We will tell you these reasons in a rejection notice. You can submit a new application with complete, meaningful and verifiable documents at any time.

For how long is the visa valid?

If you are granted a visa to enter Germany, it will be valid for three months from the date of being issued.

Your visa will contain your full name, passport number and photo. The number of days of stay and the period of validity of the visa are specified, i.e. the time you have until you receive your domestic residence permit.

Please remember to register with the residents' registration office immediately after entering Germany. The visa allows you to travel within the Schengen area.

Privacy policy

Information in accordance with Art. 13 and 14 of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation) on data protection in the visa application process can be found here: Information on data protection (in German language)