Hosting an au pair means welcoming a young person from abroad for a temporary period of stay with the family, in return for light everyday family tasks, so that the young person can:

• improve their language skills;
• improve their general culture by improving their knowledge of the country of stay by encouraging them to participate in the country's cultural activities.

In order to prevent abuse, the hosting of an au pair is regulated. The rights and duties of host families as well as of the young au pair are defined.

The host family who employs an au pair in their private household must use the simplified administrative procedure implemented by the Joint Social Security Centre (CCSS) in order to register the au pair for social security.

Who is concerned

All families with at least one child under 13 years of age at the beginning of the au pair's stay.

Prerequisites

The host family must meet the following conditions:

• have at least one child who is under 13 years old at the beginning of the au pair's stay;
• provide proof that daycare of their child(ren) under 6 years of age has been arranged for the duration of the au pair's stay.

The family must be aware that the daily participation of an au pair in everyday family chores cannot be the primary goal of the stay. It may not exceed:

• an average of 5 hours per day over a period of one week;
• an average of 25 hours per week over a period of one month or 4 weeks.

How to proceed

Looking for an au pair

It is the responsibility of the family to find an au pair. Agencies or associations specialising in au pair applications draw up a list of young people interested in becoming an au pair and can also provide assistance.

Filing an application

The host family must have received written accreditation from the Minister of Education, Children and Youth allowing them to host an au pair.

To obtain it, they must send the completed application for accreditation by post to the National Youth Service (Service national de la jeunesse - SNJ).

In order to ensure that the file is processed quickly, it is strongly recommended that the host family submit a complete file to the SNJ, i.e. both:

• the application for accreditation of the family and the supporting documents requested;
  
• application for approval of the au pair and the supporting documents requested;
• the hosting agreement signed by both parties.

Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant.

Supporting documents

The family must add the following to their application:

• an extended certificate of residence less than 3 months old (issued by the communal administration of the place of residence);
• an extract from the criminal record less than 3 months old for each adult family member proving that the standards of good character are met;
• proof of child care arrangements for children under the age of 6: this proof can be provided by a day care facility or by a childminder. It is also possible to submit an affidavit.

The host family must send these supporting documents each time they host an au pair.

Decision

The processing of the complete application may take between 4 and 6 weeks.

The SNJ will return incomplete applications to the applicant.

Accreditation is:

• granted if all conditions mentioned above are met. An original copy of the written accreditation is sent by mail to the host family to serve as an official title. A copy cannot be issued;
• denied if the application contains incomplete or incorrect data or when the conditions mentioned above are not met;
• withdrawn if the host family:
  • ceases to fulfil the conditions of accreditation or their commitments on the basis of which it was granted;
  • by their actions, endangers either the au pair's safety or their physical or mental health;
  • does not respect the commitments stated in the au pair hosting agreement concluded with the au pair.

Agreement

The host family wishing to host an au pair must conclude a hosting agreement with the au pair before the au pair leaves their country of residence. This agreement specifies the rights and duties of each party.

The agreement must include the following elements:

• the duration of the au pair's stay (which may not exceed one year);
• the time devoted to family chores and provisional hours;
• days off;
• the place of stay of the au pair and the housing conditions;
• the tasks to be performed by the au pair and the resources available to them to carry out these tasks;
• language classes for the au pair paid for by the host family;
• the amount of pocket money for the au pair for the full duration of their stay;
• a note that the agreement has been entered into subject to the condition precedent of accreditation by the host family and approval of the au pair.

Declaration of the young au pair with the Joint Social Security Centre

From the moment the young au pair arrives, the host family must register them for the health (healtcare only) and accident insurance legal schemes for the duration of their stay.

Under the simplified procedure, the host family:

• submits an online 'Employee declaration form for a private household / host family' via MyGuichet.lu (available under 'Forms / Online services'). The authenticated procedure requires a LuxTrust product or an electronic identity card (eID); or
• fills in a single form 'Employee declaration form for a private household / host family' (available under 'Forms / Online services') and sends it to the CCSS;

The application submitted to the Joint Social Security Centre (Centre commun de la sécurité sociale - CCSS) must be accompanied by:

• a copy of the ministerial accreditation granted to the host family;
• a copy of the ministerial approval obtained by the au pair;

The section 'net salary' and 'working hours' are not to be completed in the form.

Other obligations of the host family

The host family must:

• submit the certificate of affiliation with the Joint Social Security Centre to the SNJ in the month following the hosting of the au pair;
• take out civil liability insurance from a duly approved insurer in Luxembourg for the au pair, for the duration of their stay;
• allow the au pair to have:
  • at least 3 free evenings per week;
  • a full day of rest each week;
  • 2 additional days of rest per month;
• give the au pair enough time to allow them to:
  • attend language courses;
  • improve their cultural skills;
• cover the costs related to the language courses taken by the au pair;
• provide food and accommodation to the au pair;
• make available a private room for the au pair and ensure he or she has unrestricted access to the home;
• transfer to the au pair a monthly fixed sum corresponding to 1/5^th of the social minimum wage as pocket money. The pocket money:
  • is not subject to the general social security and tax contributions applicable to salaries;
  • must be paid to the au pair even during periods of inactivity;
    
• ensure the possible early repatriation of the au pair in the event of:
  • sickness or accident;
  • withdrawal of the au pair's approval or the host family's accreditation.

The host family may only host one au pair at a time at most.

Income certificate

Each year in March, the Joint Social Security Centre (CCSS) issues a certificate of payment of social contributions to the host family by:

• depositing the certificate in the eDelivery inbox of the private eSpace on MyGuichet.lu; or
• failing that, by post.

This certificate serves as proof to the Luxembourg Inland Revenue (ACD) in order to benefit from tax advantages in the form of a flat-rate tax allowance of EUR 5,400 per year.

Inspection of the au pair's accommodation

The SNJ is in charge of managing, monitoring and coordinating au pair stays. Its missions include:

• managing requests for accreditation of host families and requests for au pair approval;
• providing mediation in the event of disputes between a host family and an au pair in Luxembourg.

SNJ agents can go to the homes of the host families to check if the family meets the conditions of reception. These visits take place between 7.00 and 20.00.

Validity of the accreditation

The accreditation is valid as long as the conditions for awarding it are met. The family must communicate any changes to the SNJ. The accreditation is revoked if:

• the host family ceases to fulfil:
  • the conditions of the accreditation; or
    
  • the commitments the granting of the accreditation was based on;
• if, through its actions, it endangers either:
  • the au pair's safety;
  • their mental or physical health;
• the host family does not respect the commitments resulting from the au pair hosting agreement concluded with the au pair.

The au pair hosting ends automatically:

• at the end of the contract;
• in case of withdrawal of the host family's accreditation;
  
• in case of withdrawal of the au pair's agreement.

Premature end of the au pair hosting

The au pair hosting agreement may be terminated before its term:

• immediately: in the event of force majeure or gross misconduct on the part of one of the parties;
• with at least one month's notice in all other cases.

In this case, the party who intends to terminate the agreement must:

• inform the other party in writing;
• send a copy of the letter to the National Youth Service (SNJ).

In the case of the host family, it must, before any decision is taken, invite the person concerned to an interview. During this interview:

• the reasons for the proposed decision are explained;
• the au pair's explanations are heard.

At the interview, each party has the right to request the attendance of a representative of the SNJ provided that the other party is informed in advance and in good time.

If the hosting of the young au pair ends before the date initially provided for in the hosting agreement, the host family must also inform the Joint Social Security Centre (CCSS). The declaration of departure is done:

• through an authenticated online procedure via MyGuichet.lu (see under 'Forms / Online services'); or
• by means of the departure form ('Déclaration de sortie' - see under 'Forms / Online Services') to be sent by post to the CCSS.

The date of departure corresponds to the day the hosting agreement is effectively ended.

Forms / Online services

Who to contact