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Residence permit application for au pair status

Apply with this application for a residence permit if you intend to come to Finland to work as an au pair.

You can apply for a residence permit for au pairing if you have studied or taken an interest in

  • the Finnish or Swedish language
  • Finnish culture, such as Finnish history or politics.

The tasks of an au pair must be organised in the host family in a way that allows you to take classes in Finnish or Swedish while you are in Finland.

You can live in Finland on an au pair status for a maximum of one year.

The purpose of au pairing is to provide a young person aged 17 to 30 an opportunity to become acquainted with the language and culture of the country in exchange of light housework.

  • Expected processing time for electronic application

    2–4 months

  • Expected processing time for paper application

    2–4 months

  • Electronic application fee

    380 €

  • Paper application fee

    480 €

Au pairs are not housekeeping staff. To work as home help, apply for a residence permit for an employed person

If you wish to allow your host family to follow the status of your application, attach a power of attorney to your application.

This is what you should do

Prepare:

Fill in the application:

Right to work

You may not start au pairing until the residence permit has been granted. Your au pairing hours may be 25 hours per week at maximum. 

A residence permit for au pairing allows you to only perform au pair tasks. You do not have the right to work in Finland. You can continue au pairing until your residence permit for au pairing expires even if you apply for an extended permit on some other grounds.  

The rights of an au pair

Your au pairing hours may be 25 hours per week at maximum.

You must have at least

  • one full free day every week, and
  • two successive free days at least every second week.

Your host family must give you enough time to attend language courses and for your cultural and professional improvement.

Your status as an au pair is comparable to that of a family member. You participate in the everyday activities of the family, and the amount of chores you are expected to do must not exceed the amount of domestic work and childminding performed by other members of the family.

If you cannot continue as an au pair with your original host family for some reason, you are allowed to move to a new host family. If your residence permit is still valid, you do not need to apply for a new residence permit. You can stay in Finland on an au pair status for a maximum of one year. If you wish, you can apply for an extended permit on some other grounds.

Residence permit application for au pair status, OLE_AUP

Fill in an electronic application