Au pair from outside Europe

[agnesrose86]

I kind of assumed that we would have a European au pair but we've had some great applications from Canadian people. How does it work with au pairs from outside Europe? Will they need to/be able to get a visa for a full year? As flights are more expensive, is it likely they will stay with us over the holidays etc? Anything else I need to think about? Be great to hear people's experiences.

they may have a British (or eu) parent, so they themselves will have a British passport. commonwealth countries have visa schemes, either ancestry or a young person visa.
I came over from Canada in an ancestry visa, it was very straightforward.

Youth Mobility Scheme is also an option for those without British ancestory.

Wise to think about costs of flights - is it worth while for them to come, would they go back very often or stayvthe entire time with you?

We were due to have an Australian au pair from April, turns out she actually couldn't get a VISA as she'd already had a tier 5 previously and you can only have one ever!

Instead we are actually having a lovey South African girl who can get an ancestry visa - so valid for 5 years. She has a grandparent who was british.

She will stay with us over the holidays, but I don't host over Christmas, so if she's still with us, I've made it clear that she will need to go home over that time.