United Kingdom
Au Pairs now mainly come to the UK from the European Economic Area
under European freedom of movement regulations. There are arrangements
for Romanian and Bulgarian nationals wanting to come to the UK as Au
Pairs.
Historically, Au Pairs came to the UK under an Au Pair immigration category, which was closed in November 2008 Home Office, when a new points based system was introduced, which included a Youth Mobility Scheme under tier 5 of the points based system Youth Mobilility Sheme(*1) for the nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and Monaco.
In the UK, there are many Au pair agencies that provide assistance to
families looking to engage Au Pairs. These agencies are all privately
owned and are not regulated by the UK government.
The British Au Pair Agencies Association(*2) was established to set standards for the Au Pair Industry and to
promote Au Pair programmes as rewarding cultural exchange experiences.
The BAPAA website contains guidelines for Au Pairs and Families on
typical hours, pocket money and types of Au Pair duties.
BAPAA members are listed on the website and must meet firm business and ethical standards and agree to abide by BAPAA's code of conduct, which signifies competence, fair dealing and high integrity.
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(*1) gov.uk/tier-5-youth-mobility
(*2)bapaa.org.uk/displaypage.asp?page=1