I have heard from the family that I currently work for that Switzerland has tightened up the laws on non EU au pairs ie those from Australia, New Zealand , Canada etc. Apparently now it is required that the au pair be a member of a government approved agency before being able to work as an au pair in Switzerland. The problem being that as this law is only in power since January 1 2008 there are as yet no approved agencies.
Again I have heard this second hand so it would be worth looking into .... but it could throw a spanner in the works for those of you looking for a native english speaking au pair that does not have an EU passport...
hey there-do u require the employee to have a swiss work permit or are u freelancing as well?I love kids and have lots of experience organising people and families.I`m canadain,30something and very capabile of looking after your kiddies,and your household orginasational things and a nice balanced more info.meal when u come home.Im in zurich and quite free-email me if you feel wendy
Hi Betsy- and the rest- I just wanted to put my experiences up for grab and hopefully it helps or makes anything more clear-
I was living in Vietnam when my Fiance was relocated to Zurich.
That gave me about 3 months to find a job- I've worked as an English teacher for the previous year or so- ages 4 to 18, and volunteered in orphanages and the local cancer hospital- I thought it would be amazing to be a helpful Au pair- doing something I love (working with children) and getting a great first hand experience of Zurich (learn German and learn the culture through the family).
I found an amazing family (on greataupair.com - an incredibly useful site) - who agreed that I was over qualified but weren't able to pay more than 1,400 a month (before subtractions for insurance, german lessons, visa/permit)- that was fine, being that my fiance was making enough (not A LOT but enough) to support the both of us- and any extra income from me would definitely help the situation.
Long story short, We were ready to work together- the mother was working on the permit for weeks and I had a permit (or the idea of a permit) in the works so the level of stress was low!
However, about 4 days before I moved out here- my "family" told me that they were notified that it was not possible to have a "Live-out" nanny, from a non-EU country (I am American). And while I'm newly engaged- there's obviously no way I'd be a live-in Au-pair and rarely have a chance to be with my fiance!
In the end- I'm left almost a month into living here in Zurich- a "Tourist" struggle to find a job- let alone a legal situation to allow me to stay in the same country as my partner! Au-pair positions are NOT easy here in Zurich and cause for quite a bit of headaches- however, it might just be my experiences!
I hope for all the best, but if you have the chance to hire someone as a nanny rather than an Au pair- do. You'll have a better chance at a smooth transition and less trouble with the government (hopefully!).
Much luck to you and all aspiring nannies and Au pair's! If anyone has any great advice on the situation, I too would be happy to hear it!
We wanted a German speaking au pair, but after searching couldn't find one. Now with the EU bilateral agreement am I right in thinking that we can have an au pair from any EU country, even one that has English as her native language, ie a British girl. I know before the bi lateral agreement with the EU, the au pair had to have a different native tongue that the family, but I guess this has now changed. I cannot find an official SWISS Government website with any information regarding au pairs?
We are a British family and in the process of offering a British girl a job? Has any one any tips with regards getting her visa etc. I appreciate that she has to be legally here and we have to make certain contributions. We are happy to do this, but may be a forum member has been through the process themselves and wants to share the experience.
So as a British family who has found a British girl who is willing to come and work with our family, if I can't employ her as an au-pair because we have the same nationality, can I employ her as a housekeeper or nanny.
I guess for a Nanny, she needs formal qualifications, but as a housekeeper? Is it possible to do this.
As I understand it, and I may be wrong, it’s not the nationality of the family but the language they normally use at home. If you could convince the authorities that you only speak German at home then they may agree to an au pair from the UK.
A nanny probably needs, as you say, qualifications and to employ a foreign housekeeper I think you may have to demonstrate that there are no local people available who could do the job.
AFAIK you have to both sign a contract where her job is as a Hausangestellen, if she is from old Europe then she has to go the local council office where you live to register.
We are currently in similar situation looking at UK / native English speaking based Au Pairs. So we asked our relocation agent to get the actual law regarding Canton Vaud. This is the link we where given, not cantonal but federal - http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/142_201/a48.html (sorry in French). It mentions no where that the candidate cannot be of the same mother tongue! Or am I missing something blatantly obvious.
Perfect Way, which has been recommended many times on this site, lists the rules in English, bottom of the page. http://www.perfectway.ch/aupair.htm
I understand that teland's link is for Zurich, but such a regulation would it not be national?? Totally Confused.
The bags are packed, house boxed and in transit, and as expected still having a nightmare over childcare.
Thanks for this for this, but this doc proves once again CH is not geared up for 2 professional parents. Funnily enough there is no date of publication listed.
I only hope light will appear in this tunnel soon.
ASAIK the Au Pair market is opening up to other countries but the Au Pair must be employed through an approved agency. I would have thought that the bilateral agreement would have changed things too but the agencies I spoke to said that the rules are still in place i.e. one parent working a max of 50% & the language spoken in the house being German or at least different. I would like to hear what Richard or Shorick think since they will most likely know more then me.
But I don't see how it could be illegal under the bilateral agreements to hire someone from EU to do exactly the same work that I can hire a Swiss person to do. I wonder if the info on that link isn't outdated. And actually, when you look at the URL it states non_EU even though the text still states EU and non_EU.
Checked the link again; and I must say it is contradictory. They state "conditions" twice e.g. and they aren't coherent. My guess is that as long as the Au Pair comes from an EU country you cannot make any difference to a Swiss person. I.e. as long as you fulfill the legal requirements for working hours etc for young people and for "Hausangestellte", it should be ok.