To ask if you realise au-pairs are seriously under threat after Brexit?

[Dontblameitontheboogie]

On another thread discussing a potential au-pair who would be starting this summer, I was struck that not a single poster pointed out that it’s far from certain au-pairs will be able to arrive or even stay after 29 March!?!

I thought this deserved its own thread, and in AIBU rather than the “Brexit” echo chamber. People may not even realise they could be affected.

Even in a “Deal” scenario, au-pair status isn’t guaranteed, as far as I know. They won’t qualify for pre-settled status, as they’re here temporarily and won’t be able to provide proof of ordinary residence. So technically they could be here illegally from 29 March. Access to health care would be a worry, as would re-entering the UK after trips home - or getting here in the first place.

The current au pair scheme is an EU-wide arrangement, that allows young EU nationals to temporarily live in another EU country without exercising Treaty rights. Some countries, like France or Germany extend the scheme to au-pairs from outside the EU too, but the U.K. doesn’t.

In case of a no deal Brexit, the Immigration Bill that was passed last Monday means that EU citizens wishing to come here must have a job offer worth at least £30,000k. Some exceptions I believe, such as nurses and doctors, but I haven’t seen any mention of au pairs anywhere.

Check out www.saveaupairs.uk for more info.

I'm suggesting that young brits do this, for pretty much the same benefits as current Europeans get. A chance to move out of the home, explore a new city; the light duties only would allow them time to find a job/continue studying as they wish. My only hope would that there would be a slight change in that they would be paid more.

Staunch remainer and immigration adviser here.

Why do you say au pairs can't apply under the EU settlement scheme? If they are resident here, even temporarily, they can apply and will be granted pre-settled status.

Under no deal post 29th March, the proposal put forward states they can come for 3 months visa free then apply for European leave to remain for 3 years. (I think this is a shit, poorly put together scheme, but it would still accommodate au pairs.)

Post 2021, I agree it will be a problem.

I hear you re the difficult hours Mighty but some of us simply couldn’t afford child care of any kind without tax credits.

😂😂😂😂😂😂 at an au pair not being considered a luxury. Of course it is
well, technically children are a luxury in the first place, so you might have a point CostanzaG

Oh no! Whatever will I do? ( This post vividly illustrates why the haves who benefit massively from the EU can never understand why the "have nots" who will never go on student exchange trips, have an au-pair, be able to afford "cheap" wine etc. voted to leave the EU).

Fucking hell, it’s not difficult to understand immigration rules are not the same now as in the 1950s. That’s why the government are deporting the wind rush generation instead of welcoming them. How do people who think like this get to the shops without getting lost because they’re not in the same place as they were in 1956?

arethereanyleftatall they can do that today. In 27 EU countries. They are also supposed to attend language lessons. That’s the whole point of the scheme. What you’re suggesting would be enabling exploitation. And if families had to pay more, eg nanny rates, surely they’d expect the relevant qualifications?

Fucking hell, it’s not difficult to understand immigration rules are not the same now as in the 1950s.

You would think...

I'm not even particularly pro or anti au pair generally either, it's not a subject I had given much thought to until now. And if people just object to them on principle or whatever, fine. But there's far too much assumption that because things were a particular way before the UK joined the EEC, that means they'll just go back to being the same if we leave.

I'm a single mum and had au pairs for 7 years. It was the only affordable childcare option for me. I'm astonished at all the posters on here who think people with au pairs are wealthy! The wealthy have nannies!

why the "have nots" who will never go on student exchange trips, have an au-pair

it's exactly the "have nots" who benefit from being au-pair.
The "haves" don't need to because they can afford to be sent abroad and boost their cvs at the same time with an interesting gap year.

You have it so completely wrong. No wonder the really wealthy are laughing when the "have not" are at each other throat on petty things like this.

“You do realise that au pairs only earn pocket money?”

It’s £600 pcm to rent a room in a shared house in my small, dull suburban town. Once bills and food are counted for as well, I’d bet there are a great many full-time workers who’d have less than the minimum £70 a week pocket money au pairs get.

“Au pairs aren’t stealing British jobs. Those aren’t jobs, it’s an exchange system, designed to promote cultural awareness”

Yes, I’m aware of that. Always surprises me that people would consider leaving their small child with an unqualified stranger with poor English to be a plus point of the au pair system.

Margo if you don't need to claim tax credits in order to be able to afford childcare, then you're doing OK 👍🏻

Gerdaloveslili

Fair enough. I hope you enjoy the decades of austerity your vote has condemned us all to.

Once bills and food are counted for as well, I’d bet there are a great many full-time workers who’d have less than the minimum £70 a week pocket money au pairs get.

this is exactly what people are saying,
and exactly why young people are not being exploited when they are au-pairs and it's a win-win scheme for everybody.

Having a home with sufficient spare room to have an au pair (particularly in London) is definitely a luxury

Surely if the worst comes to the worst, there is such a thing as a British au-pair? I suppose you also might have to pay more to attract the best au-pairs, supply and demand and all that...

I suppose you also might have to pay more to attract the best au-pairs, supply and demand and all that...

as part of the attraction is learning the language, what's the point of being a British au-pair?

We have 3 young kids. We looked into childcare options (too expensive), after school clubs (not enough of them to cover the hours required), an au pair (would require putting two of the kids in one bedroom) or cutting working hours in half.

In the end I've requested to cut down to half days but that's not been approved yet. It will result in a considerable loss of income but we can remortgage to reduce payments and see how it goes for the time being.

The main disadvantage of an au pair for us was the loss of privacy as we have a small flat. I think the EU au pair scheme is a good one as it allows young people to try living in different countries at a very low cost and is beneficial to families too.

Brontolo see post by MarchCrocus (immigration lawyer) above. And check out www.saveaupairs.uk

Brexiteers love the multi-millionaire Johnson/jrm/Banks/Farage two nanny types but sneer at the idea of a normal family having an au pair or a wc kid getting to live overseas as an au pair.

Brexiteer logic.

As someone who Au Paired as a teen, yes it's shit.

It probably will end up in the DM, which is hilarious because I bet their writers are all rich enough for nannies

Except that most of them are the same age as the au pairs - like most of these churn it out rags now, it is run on interns and competitive short term trainee contracts with a few ‘name’ contributors on freelance rates. Have you seen the quality of the writing and complete lack of sub editing ?

Replacing European au pairs with British people is exactly the sort of thing Rees Mogg wants. Instead of being able to claim benefits until an appropriate job locally comes up, unemployed people in the north will be forced to accept underpaid jobs in the south as childcare workers. They won’t be allowed to worry about the minimum wage because their room is worth £600 a month rent in Surrey! Even though they actually want a £200 a month room in Hull and a decent job.

Well done everybody.

As pairs work out cheaper than childcare even with tax credits childcare claim, especially for those with 2 or 3 children. My friend couldn't work her nursing night shifts without an au pair.

Not everyone needs 9 til 5 childcare and not everyone benefits from tax credits making childcare cheaper, even though they qualify for tax credits as have a low income.

TBF OP I've been talking more about post 2020, rather than either of the sets of proposals for the transitional period or the schemes for people resident now.

Have you seen the quality of the writing and complete lack of sub editing?

I will admit I don't keep up to date with the DM!