• “Au Pair In Spain” charges a registration fee to au pairs as interview and screening fee. You will not have to pay this fee until we find a family for you and there is a written agreement between both parties. Internet agencies charge also a registration fee in exchange of just contact details that you would have to work on your own and find a family by yourself without any guarantee or added value service.
• “Au Pair In Spain” matches carefully screened Host Families and Au Pairs through a customer-driven and streamlined matching process. We conduct home visits, interviews and check references to assure compatibility and suitability in order to make this cultural exchange experience as more effective and comfortable as possible for both participants.
• You must be conscious that you could be putting yourself at risk when you do not know anything about the family. The family could be one who exploits au pairs and is really looking for cheap domestic help without taking care of your integration in the spanish culture.
• We just select host families that are really conscious that this is a cultural exchange program and that au pairs must be treated as part of their family. Rights and obligations for both parties will be included in a written agreement between au pair and host family before the beginning of the placement in conformity with the European Agreement on Au Pair Placement, Strasbourg, 24.XI.1969 (ETS No 068), article 6. A copy of the agreement must be deposited with the appropriate authority appointed for that purpose. Au Pair In Spain team will do this for you.
• The staff at “Au Pair In Spain” shall provide orientation and support services throughout your stay in order to make the program a rewarding and educational opportunity for all : orientation materials about Spain, pre – departure assistance, help with the adjustment to the spanish way of life and culture, ensure that the agreement between both parties is kept, when necessary act as mediator between the au pair and the host family, secondary placement if initial placement is unsucessful, information about language schools and study opportunities, information about social and cultural opportunities, contact lists of other au pairs …
• Cheap things may turn out to be really expensive, and not just in economic terms.

We recommend that you apply as soon as you have made the decision to participate in our program. The sooner we have your application the better the chances of being placed on the dates you desire are. A minimum would be to apply 6-3 months before you wish to depart. But do not hesitate to contact us even if you decide to apply too late, we usually have host families all year round. Check our applying early discounts.

“Au Pair in Spain” can not guarantee placement. The success of your placement depends on the time of the year you decide to apply and join our program, lenght of your stay, your abilities, as well as the interviews you may have with the families selected for you. Make sure you list all your childcare experience in your application and that it is clearly presented. Any extra skills you have , such as music, dance, first aid, swimming or a hobby which can be used to entertain or educate the children will also help your application.

The more the au pairs are prepared for their cultural experience , the easier it should be for them to adapt to the role of au pair. It is important that you know that being an au pair in Spain is more about language interaction rather than childcare, so it is important that you are a communicative person and talkative with the kids. The following initiatives will help you a lot: regular babysitting, practice in kindergarten or other social institution, 10 or 20 hours volunteering in a child care centre, getting some skills in cooking (baking), getting information about activities to do with kids, getting a first aid certificate. As families will require you to teach your language to the kids, having the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate will be very valued.

Our aim is that both the au pair and host family have a happy and successful year, that’s why we follow a rigourous selection and matching process. Should a conflict occur, the staff of “Au Pair In Spain” would assist you and would act as mediator between you and the host family. If it is an extreme situation then we may make a transfer to another family as soon as possible.

When you arrive in Spain, it is natural to feel a little homesick at the beginning of your stay, specially when it is your first time living away from home. For those with enough maturity this passes quickly, and with the help of your host family and the staff of “Au Pair In Spain”, you should quickly overcome this. You should think carefully before you apply and take into consideration that you will be away from home and friends for an extended period of time. If you have serious doubts, wait until you are more comfortable with the idea. A good advice would be to try first during a short period of time, during summer time for example.

AU PAIR In Spain recommends that Au Pairs should not be left in sole charge of children under 2 years old, unless they have a childcare qualification or a lot of full-time experience looking after children. If you have the experience and willingness to care for them this will greatly increase your chances of being placed. If this is the case, you may be interested in the Baby Care program, which offers you the same benefits as the standard Au Pair program but you get paid more. If you do not feel comfortable in looking after young babies, we would not place you with such a young age group.

AU PAIR In Spain recommends that Au Pairs should not be left in sole charge of children under 2 years old, unless they have a childcare qualification or a lot of full-time experience looking after children. If you have the experience and willingness to care for them this will greatly increase your chances of being placed. If this is the case, you may be interested in the Baby Care program, which offers you the same benefits as the standard Au Pair program but you get paid more. If you do not feel comfortable in looking after young babies, we would not place you with such a young age group.

Yes, but sincerely, not many. Most of the families demand females au pairs, but you should apply, there could be a family interested in male au pairs.

Most of families demanding au pairs live in Madrid, but we also arrange placements in other big cities all over Spain. During summer time most of the families in Madrid go on holidays for part or for the whole summer, to another area of Spain, usually the coast (Levante, Andalucia, Norte…) or the mountains. Please, fill free to include any preference you may have over location in your application form, we will try to satisfy your preferences as far as we can.

Most of families demanding au pairs live in Madrid, but we also arrange placements in other big cities all over Spain. During summer time most of the families in Madrid go on holidays for part or for the whole summer, to another area of Spain, usually the coast (Levante, Andalucia, Norte…) or the mountains. Please, fill free to include any preference you may have over location in your application form, we will try to satisfy your preferences as far as we can.

We would always try to place friends in the same city and even area. We understand this can be very helpful especially at the beginning of your stay. But the Au Pair In Spain team will always try you make friends quickly.

If you want to benefit from our orientation and support services throughout your stay, you and your family just need to pay half of our fees.

If you have already registered with an au pair agency in your country you could participate in our program if it is a reputable au pair agency and follows IAPA (International Au Pair Association) standards like Code of Conduct and Guidelines. We will contact your au pair agency to see if they are available to co-operate with us in your placement. In this case you do not have to pay any fee to our agency because you have already paid the fee to the agency in your country, and they will do the interview and the screening process.

When you are planning your trip to Spain it is important that you think of your monthly costs. You may need to buy a monthly transport card which costs around 50€, you will have to pay your telephone calls, Spanish lessons (may go from 100€ monthly 3 hours per week, up to 580€ monthly 20 hours per week), optional health or travel insurance (from 20€ to 40€ monthly), a day trip from 35€, when you go out at night with your friends you may spend from 12€ to 20€ on average … all these costs depend on your preferences. In order to enjoy your time in Spain as much as possible, we recommend to bring some extra money with, apart from the pocket money you will receive from your host family.

In order to be an au pair in Spain it is important that you have experience with kids, but you do not need to have professional experience, it is ok if you have experience with family members, as babysitter in your neighborhood; you just need the parents of the kids to complete the reference letters for you, and could be family members. So if you have experience taking care of your cousins, nieces, nephews or brothers and sisters that is perfectly valid. If you do not have any experience with kids you can apply to be a language tutor to practice English or teach English to kids. For both positions, au pair standard or language tutor, you need to complete same documents and the application process is the same. You can learn about language tutor or other programs here.