Getting your Au Pair VISA in Spain

Non EU citizens do not need a visa for stays no longer than 3 months ( if their country is exempted from this obligation as Spain is a Schengen country) and they do not need to be enrolled in a Spanish Language course either.

If you are not European and want to be an Au pair in Spain longer than 3 months then you need to apply for an Au Pair or Student Visa. 

You can apply in your home country (either for an au pair or student visa) or you can apply in Spain (just for a student visa) within the first 2 months after your arrival date to Spain/Europe (with a minimum advance of one month to the expiration date of your regular situation).

The option we recommend is to apply for the visa in your home country, because when you apply in Spain, you can not get out from Spain (like going home for Christmas or traveling to other countries in Europe) until you receive your visa, and in Spain it may take several months to receive it.

What is the difference between the Au pair and the Student Visa? Which one do you recommend?

Differences between both visas depend on your home country. So as first step you need to contact your Spanish consulate in your home country and get the requirements for every visa and then you take your decision.

In most consulates, the only difference between Au Pair visa and Student visa is that for the Au pair visa you need to provide the Au pair agreement with the family. But in both cases you need to be enrolled full time in a Spanish language school, normally accredited by Instituto Cervantes, and also provide evidence of enough funds in your bank. In some countries like in Canada or Australia there is a Working Holiday Visa or Youth Mobility Visa which is very good option  as it does not requires that you attend a language school during your stay.

You can check information of some consulates here:

If you are American citizen:

Spanish Consulate in New York, Study&AuPair visa

Spanish Consulate in ChicagoAu Pair visa

If you are Canadian citizen:

Youth Mobility visa in Toronto. The advantage of this visa is that you are not obliged to attend a school.

Study visa in Toronto

If you are Australian citizen. You can apply in Australia up to 3 months before your intended arrival date in Spain. This needs to be done in person at one of the following Spanish missions, depending on where you live in Australia. Please contact these embassies and ask for steps and instructions to follow in order to get either a student visa or Youth Mobility Visa:

Embassy of Spain in Camberra

Consulate General of Spain in Sidney

Consulate General of Spain in Melbourne

For the STUDENT VISA it is required that you provide proof of financial means to cover living expenses and to return home. Normally it is required that you provide bank statements that show an amount that represents 100% of the IPREM monthly (564.90 Euros monthly), unless it is duly proven that the accommodation has been paid in advance for the entire duration of the stay. Normally consulates do not accept the au pair agreement as proof of accommodation during all her/his stay. 10.000€ is the amount that most consulates accept. You can show bank statements of your parents. Based on our experience, when students provide proof of funds below that amount, visa has been denied.

For the Au pair visa it is also required in most consulates to provide same proof of means of support. Just  a few consulates do not require to provide evidence of funds as they accept the au pair contract as proof of living expenses coverage. Financial remuneration, maintenance and accommodation by the host family will be proven by the au pair contract. If this is the case, then we would recommend that you applied for the Au pair visa if you do not have evidence of the amount of funds required.

Said all this, we would recommend to apply for the Au Pair visa only when applicant is not required to provide evidence of funds. Otherwise there is no additional advantage by applying for an Au pair visa instead of a student visa. And the advantage of getting a student visa is that you can work as an au pair or you can do any other paid jobs up to 20 hours weekly.

During the pandemic, only students were allowed to enter in Spain so au pairs had to apply for a student visa in their home country.

Documents required for the Au pair / Student visa

Firstable you need to contact your Spanish consulate in your home country and get a detailed list of all documents required for every visa. Some consulates will have the same list for aupair- student visa.

Normally these are the main documents required, amongst other: 

• 1. Proof of registration with a Spanish teaching institution as the regulations require the applicant to attend a Spanish language school for obtaining a study certificate whilst in Spain. The institution should be officially recognized by the Cervantes Institute. On line courses are not accepted and they mostly require full time courses which are a minimum of 20 hours weekly.But some consulates may accept less hours.

Our recommendations about Spanish language schools in Spain: for those au pairs that require a visa we recommend to go to the city of  Madrid as in Madrid there are many schools accredited by Instituto Cervantes that are affordable and offer good options for au pairs. Some of them just require a deposit of 2 months while most schools require the au pair to pay all monthly fees in advance in order to issue the school certificate that you need for the visa. Nevertheless we know some schools in cities like Valladolid, Barcelona… and we could help you to find schools in other cities, although based on our experience , cost is normally much higher than in Madrid city.

Average costs: between 250€ and 350€ monthly depending on schools. Families do not pay for language costs. Au pairs need to pay for it.

1. 2. Medical Insurance covering the person during his/her stay in Spain, as well as medical expenses and other expenses related to repatriation in case of continuous illness and/or an emergency. Private health insurance needs to be arranged with an insurance entity authorized to operate in Spain that provides total health coverage (similar to what is provided by the National Health System in Spain), with no copayment and unlimited coverage. Needs to be maintained throughout the time period of stay. Insurance document needs to be in Spanish or translated into Spanish. Normally consulates do not accept international travel insurance. Nº1 health insurance that meets requirements for Student Visa and NIE/TIE

Average costs: depending on the insurance company and the age of the au pairs, cost may vary from 45€ monthly up to 55€ monthly. Half of the premiums should be covered by the host family. 

1. 3. Proof of means of support. The applicant needs to have secured the financial means to cover living expenses and to return home. Applicants need to provide a copy of their bank account or notarized letter of parents/custodians assuming full financial responsibility, depends on the consulate. The amount to be proven needs to represent at least 100% of the IPREM monthly(564.90 Euros). For 1 year of stay, normally consulates do not accept amounts below 10.000€. So if you can not provide evidence of this minimum amount, your visa may be denied. You can show bank statements of your parents. Remember normally all documents need to be translated into Spanish.
   4. For stays over 6 months or 180 days, applicants need to provide medical certificate and Police record with Apostille. All documents need to be translated into Spanish. Our recommendation is to apply at least for 7 months, and then once in Spain you can extend. 

In summary, these are the main costs involved more or less:

1. You need to register in a Spanish language school. Average costs of Spanish language schools: between 250€ and 350€ monthly. Minimum budget for 7 months: 1.750€. Families do not pay for school costs, but they provide weekly pocket money of minimum 70€ weekly, which makes around 280€ monthly. Au pairs would need to have some savings in order to cover their stay. Please, plan your trip in advance.
2. Have enough financial means, minimum recommended amount of 10.000€ in your bank statement, unless immigration officer accepts the au pair agreement signed by family, as proof of living expenses coverage. If this may be the case, probably the au pair agreement needs to be notarized or family needs to provide a document called “Acta de Manifestaciones Notarial”.
3. Private health insurance arranged with an insurance company authorized to operate in Spain. Average cost between 45 and 55€ monthly depending on company and your age. Minimum budget for 7 months: 315€. Half of the premiums should be covered by the host family on a monthly basis.
4. Other costs would be visa fees, medical and police check, official translations into Spanish….

Au Pair In Spain team will help you to obtain documentation required. Rules and regulations for Student Visas are constantly changing. We highly suggest that you contact your nearest Consulate immediately to ensure that you have all of the necessary paperwork and that you will have enough time to submit your application. We will help you with this. You should contact the Consulate at least 60 days before your departure. A new and very important change is that now in Spain it is possible to apply for a student visa directly from Spain, so you can come to Spain with a tourist visa and once arrived to Spain, you can apply within the 60 days after your arrival for a student visa.