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.

Mmm! Not really a bullshit claim. It just means that a government Dept will get to au pairs, along with lots of other non essential stuff and new paperwork will be created, probably much along the lines of how it was done pre EEC.

As enny loyer shud no!

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

A job for a young British girl that allows them to live in a different place?

I have an au pair who is on an au pair salary. She has more disposable income than her friend who is a nanny and paid a nanny wage. My au pair has no overheads to pay.

I for one worried about what to do after Brexit for my childcare needs.

A job for a young British girl that allows them to live in a different place?

or another ... country?
You would assume that a British girl has enough fluency in the English language to find better employment than an au-pair role
Au-pairs go to college, learn English, pass their TOEFL or other.

Brit au-pair go to other countries, it would be a bit pointless to stay in your home country.

I say "girl" but to be fair many families prefer employing a young man, it's not a female role.

Myusernameismud for some of those 7 years, I did qualify for tax credits. Not sure what the point there is?

It just means that a government Dept will get to au pairs, along with lots of other non essential stuff and new paperwork will be created, probably much along the lines of how it was done pre EEC.

And there's another bullshit claim!

The fact is that you don't know if any of this WILL happen, for a start. There are no guarantees at all. And if there is legal provision made for EU national au pairs, you have no idea whether it will be on pre-EEC immigration law grounds or not. You just don't. There are no govt policy proposals to this effect at the moment. Actually, do you even know what the relevant laws were pre 1973?

Glad you're not trying to defend the easy to complete paperwork part now though!

OP, I think I'm on the same page with MarchCrocus on looking at post 2021 where there's currently no provision. I agree that extending tier 5 YMS would seem sense, and not just for au pairs. There's some reference to this in the immigration white paper, but short on detail at the moment.

I also continue to love people who say "they'll just have to apply for visas" as if that's a simple process....

If there are all these British girls (or boys) they are going to be available after 29th March for these jobs - why aren’t they applying for them now ?

It won't hit this skiing season too hard, but most of the Chalet staff at the big resorts will no longer be allowed to be Brits if there is no deal ...

Margo because you can't claim the childcare element to pay an au pair. The provider has to be ofsted registered.

It’s only a shit job if the employer treats the au pair like shit. I don’t, and it’s not.

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

Hmm, see, I didn't vote leave, but I do understand why people did.

“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.”

No biscuit, I was replying to a PP poster who seems to think that without the benefits of learning English that au-pairing would amount to slave labour.

So which is it? If it’s a reasonably paid job once rent and living expenses are taken into consideration (and it probably is in the SE) then why would it be so terrible for British people to be allowed to do it? Wouldn’t even need to spend the two years at college first training for a childcare qualification than anyone would need to work in a nursery.

“ unemployed people in the north will be forced to accept underpaid jobs in the south as childcare workers.”

Yeah, because we don’t have ordinary working-class people in the South anywhere (!)

This government includes students in its insanely low immigration target. It’s delusional to think they’re about to organise a nice smooth transition to new rules for au pairs.

I'm sure they existed before we joined the EU. Two if my aunt's were au pairs in France and Germany

It'll just need the same easy to complete paperwork it used to need. Like many other things people seem to want to scaremonger about

This is really rather an illuminating insight into the mindset of Brexiteers. Do they really believe that all we have to do is to turn the clock back to 1972 and dust off all the old forms, treaties and regulations and carry on as if the last 46 years never happened? It could explain an awful lot.

I don't expect anyone to get out their little violins for those of us who use au pairs, yes there are much bigger fish to fry when it comes to Brexit problems. I'm aware it's a privilege in terms of having the room to have someone, but, oy, you try finding reliable wraparound school care! Not every school has an after school club and not every such club fits every parents' working hours.

You might be able to find an after school nanny but most will, understandably, take the job as a stopgap until they can find longer hours unless you get super lucky and find someone who genuinely just wants only those hours. So it's generally a total scramble. Having an au pair has massively improved my life as a working mum and enabled me to actually start to think of my future career rather than just trundling along trying to balance everything.

IMO, they're not going to come for the au pairs any time soon because, again, there are bigger fish to fry. It's just one of the 1000s of things no one in government has even bloody considered.

I don't think he demographic that predominantly voted leave will be over concerned, they might even think its a good thing. He is more jobs for local youngsters and the "rich" will have to pay properly.

I understand that you're not necessarily rich to employ an au to help you unless pair but your life is very far removed from poor

Unemployed people will be forced to move from areas of high unemployment to areas of low unemployment to take these jobs. That movement is almost always north to south. Nothing to do with whether there are ordinary working people in the south. It must be exhausting wilfully pretending these unicorn interpretations are true.

Which unemployed people?
Statistically there are very few fit young unemployed people.
And very few of them will be able to get jobs that pay enough to rent a property where the vacancies will be.

I also continue to love people who say "they'll just have to apply for visas" as if that's a simple process....

Yes, that alone is an indication that the person is, shall we say, not someone who has a great deal of recent experience in this area. Honestly, I don't understand why, if you're aware you don't know anything about the process of applying for entry clearance to the UK, you feel the need to make pronouncements about how it'll work and how straightforward it'll be. It's ok just to not have an opinion on something!

Wow my phone invented all sorts of words there, but you get the gist.

It's this massive gulf between what the ruling classes think of as normal/necessary that caused this situation in the first place. The failure to even try and understand the very real concerns of the working poor, which makes up much more of society than the middle classes would like to believe.

I'm a remainer but rather than be cross with the electorate, I'm furious that Dave and his cronies refused to even acknowledge their concerns.

Sadly far too many people voted with no thought at all whatsoever to the global economy.

I know two Canadian English speaking girls who went to London to work as au pairs to discover the city. Nothing about language, culture maybe.

How on earth did we manage before?