# VISA options for Au Pair



## hopefulaupair (Mar 21, 2013)

Hello everyone!

As you can assume by my username, I intend to be an Au Pair in Spain beginning this summer (July 15th) and continuing for 11-12 months. Due to the length of the stay exceeding three months, I know that I must apply for a VISA, but I'm not exactly sure which one to apply for. I emailed my jurisdictional Spanish Consulate and they responded with a PDF labeled "Au Pair VISA" which instructs me to apply for a Student VISA, which would require me to be enrolled full-time in a degree/certificate-granting program for the duration of my time in Spain. My question is: is this my only option for getting a VISA? 

I will arrive in Spain with an intermediate level of Spanish knowledge (I took a Barcelona language school test) after having not taken Spanish for two years, so I don't feel that it's necessary that I be enrolled in such a rigorous course, as I hope to get most of my Spanish education through immersion--I will, after all, be living with a Spanish family. And frankly, I will not be able to afford to take 20 hours/week for nearly 52 weeks. That said, should I apply for a Residence VISA to Work in Spain as an Employee? The only requirement for that type that I'm unsure about is: *Authorization of residence and work permit issued by the Spanish Ministry of Labor (“Subdelegación del Gobierno”), with the N.E.V. and N.I.E. numbers assigned. (Original + one copy)*. Another option may be Residence VISA for Activities Exempt from Work Permit? I say this because I'm not sure that being an Au Pair is recognized by the government as "work", because I am only allowed to be given "pocket money". Nowhere on the site are there examples of exempt activities.

Sorry for such a cumbersome post! I've attempted to call the Spanish Consulate twice, but each time I get no answer after listening to a string of automated messages that tell me that all VISA info is on the consulate's website (not the case). This may be an indication of the bureaucracy that awaits me...But I need to get everything straightened out before making the eight hour trek to my nearest consulate...

I appreciate any advice you can offer!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

hopefulaupair said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> As you can assume by my username, I intend to be an Au Pair in Spain beginning this summer (July 15th) and continuing for 11-12 months. Due to the length of the stay exceeding three months, I know that I must apply for a VISA, but I'm not exactly sure which one to apply for. I emailed my jurisdictional Spanish Consulate and they responded with a PDF labeled "Au Pair VISA" which instructs me to apply for a Student VISA, which would require me to be enrolled full-time in a degree/certificate-granting program for the duration of my time in Spain. My question is: is this my only option for getting a VISA?
> 
> ...


:welcome:
the consulate is the only place to get a definitive answer - but here's my two pennorth........

there ARE other visas for both working here & also for 'non-lucrative' residency

the working visa requires a company to sponsor you & the non-lucrative requires that you have LOTS of money - there's info on our FAQs thread above

from other enquiries we've had about this I'm pretty certain that a student visa is the ONLY way for you to do what you are planning - & you HAVE to enrol in a recognised course


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

I was trying to find a previous post on this issue - I'll post it when I do

Jo xxx


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## ejtheis (Mar 6, 2014)

*Same question*

Hi -- having a lot of the same questions as I look to au pair in Spain for 6 months or more. Would love to hear how you solved the problem: which visa, did you enroll in a program, etc etc.?


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