Au Pair

If you are a young foreign national wishing to learn about Danish language and culture, you can apply for a residence permit in Denmark as an au pair.

You must have made an agreement to live with a Danish host family. By taking part in the daily life of the family on the same terms as the other family members, you can gain the desired insight into Danish culture.

You must participate in the domestic duties that are normal in a family, i.e. simple house work and childcare. It must be stated in a weekly schedule when you are supposed to do the different tasks.

You must be at least 18 years old, but you must not have turned 30 at the time of the submission of the application.

If you are changing your host family and apply for a new residence permit, you are allowed to have turned 30 at the time of the submission of the application.

The host family’s household must consist of at least one parent and at least one child under the age of 18 who still lives at home. The child must be registered in the CPR registry as living at the host family’s address.

At least one of the parents in the host family must have a thorough knowledge of Danish culture and be able to communicate that knowledge to you.

In addition, the host family must not be related to you or be of the same nationality as you.

During the entire stay, the au pair must have access to free accommodation in the form of their own room at the host family’s residence.

SIRI can only grant the final residence permit when it has been documented that your host family has taken out the statutory insurance policies for you.

The agreement between you and the host family must be set by a binding au pair contract which establishes the framework for your stay as an au pair with the family.

Contract signed by both au pair and host family (if there are two host parents, both must sign)

Copy of your educational documents

Copy of your birth certificate

Copy of all pages of your passport – including all empty pages and the passport’s front and back cover

You must have your own separate room and eat for free with the host family.

The host family must pay you at least DKK 5,250 (2026 level) pr. month as pocket money. The money must be paid to your Danish bank account no later than the last banking day of each month.

You are allowed to work 3-5 hours per day for a maximum of 6 days per week, i.e. between 18 and 30 hours per week.

The residence permit does not allow you to take paid employment. Therefore, you are not allowed to work outside of host family’s home – unless you undertake voluntary unpaid work in an organisation or an association.

The work must be connected to the key tasks of the organisation or association. The work should be of benefit to persons that neither you, nor your host family is related to.

As an au pair, you can be granted a residence permit valid for a maximum of 2 years. In addition, the residence permit is limited to the validity period of the au pair contract or to the day when the youngest child in the family turns 18.

If you change your host family, you will not be granted an 2 additional years. You can be permitted to stay in Denmark for a total period of 2 years, which is the maximum for an au pair.

If you wish to change your host family, you must terminate the au pair contract in writing at 2 weeks’ notice. After terminating the contract, you have one month to find a new family and submit a new application for a residence permit.

You must not begin working for the new host family before you have been granted a residence permit. You are allowed to stay with the new host family as a guest.

You must not have children.

You must not be or have been married, be or have been in a stable cohabitating relationship or be or have been in a civil partnership.