Work permits for au pairs

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU and want to work as an au pair, you need to have a residence permit. For work that lasts less than three months, citizens of certain countries also need to have a visa. The purpose of the stay must be to improve your language skills and knowledge of Sweden.

Requi­re­ments for resi­dence permit

To be eligible for a residence permit, you must

  • have a valid passport (if your passport will expire soon, you should renew it since you cannot get a permit for longer than the validity of your passport)
  • be 18 but not 30 years old when the decision is made
  • have an agreement on work from a family in Sweden where it states that you will work with light household work and childcare for a maximum of 25 hours per week (the time for household work and studies may not together exceed 40 hours per week)
  • have, or have applied for, comprehensive health insurance that is valid for care in Sweden
  • have enough money for your stay in Sweden and to be able to pay your travel home
  • not have any accompanying family members
  • pay a fee in most cases (application fees for work permits).

Requi­re­ments for using the e-service

In order to use the e-service, you need

  • to get an email from your host family with a link that leads you to the e-service
  • copies of the pages in your passport that show personal data, photo, signature, passport number, issuing country, period of validity and if you have permission to live in countries other than your home country
  • a written agreement from the host family which presents the terms of your employment as an au pair
  • a certificate that you have, or have applied for, comprehensive health insurance.

You can apply online from your home country or another country outside Sweden where you live.

Check your appli­ca­tion status

You can check that your application has been registered with the Swedish Migration Agency or if you have received a decision on the page Check your application.

Get photo­graphed and provide your fing­er­prints

If you are granted a permit for more than three months, you will receive a residence permit card. The card is a certification that you have permission to be in Sweden and contains your fingerprints and a photo of you, among other information.

If you are granted a permit for less than three months, you do not receive a residence permit card.

If you need a visa to travel to Sweden, you must visit a Swedish embassy or consulate-general as soon as possible to be photographed and provide your fingerprints. You need to be photographed and submit your fingerprints even if you previously had a residence permit card because your photo and your fingerprints cannot be saved. Contact the embassy or the consulate-general before your visit.

Swedish embassies and consulates-general External link, opens in new window.

If you do not need a visa to travel to Sweden, you must book an appointment to submit documentation for the residence permit card at the Swedish Migration Agency after you arrive in Sweden.

Read more about residence permit cards

Book an appointment at the Swedish Migration Agency to submit fingerprints and be photographed (if you can travel to Sweden without a visa)

The Swedish Migration Agency sends the decision to the embassy or consulate-general where you turned in your application or that you wrote in your online application. When you go to collect your decision, you must bring your passport with you.

Swedish embassies and consulates-general External link, opens in new window.

The Swedish Institute’s website about Sweden External link, opens in new window.

Resi­dence permit card

After a positive decision, we manufacture a residence permit card. When it is ready, the embassy or consulate-general will hand out or send the finished card to you. Keep in mind that it can take up to four weeks to manufacture and deliver the card to the embassy or consulate-general after you have received your decision. When you travel into Sweden, you must present the residence permit card together with a valid passport.

If you can travel to Sweden without a visa, you should be able to present a copy of the decision when you travel in. As soon as you have arrived in Sweden, you must book an appointment to submit fingerprints and be photographed. After that, we make your residence permit card. When the residence permit card is ready, we send it to your address in Sweden.

Book an appointment at the Swedish Migration Agency to submit fingerprints and be photographed (if you can travel to Sweden without a visa)

Information for those who have recently moved to Sweden with a residence permit

If you are granted a permit for less than three months, you do not receive a residence permit card and must therefore present the decision together with your passport when you travel to Sweden.

You cannot apply for an extension of your residence permit as an au pair.

Impor­tant infor­ma­tion about insu­rance

If you need to seek care in Sweden, you may need to pay for the care yourself if you are not nationally registered in Sweden and do not have a Swedish personal ID number. If you receive a residence permit as an au pair, you will not be able to be nationally registered in Sweden. You then are not entitled to social benefits. This is why it is important that you have insurance that covers costs that may arise, for example, in the event of an illness or accident.

If the Swedish Migra­tion Agency rejects your appli­ca­tion

If the Swedish Migration Agency rejects your application, it means you are not entitled to a residence permit for Sweden. You may lodge an appeal against the decision within three weeks of the date when you received notification of the decision. Information on how to lodge an appeal can be found in your decision. If you have given someone a power of attorney document that authorises him/her to represent you, this person is able to lodge an appeal on your behalf.

Read more about how to appeal

If you are still in Sweden when your application is rejected, you must leave the country within the timescale given in the decision.

Read more about what you need to know if you have had your application rejected and are still in Sweden

You can switch host families without submitting a new application as long as your permit is valid. The requirements for a residence permit must also be met.

If you apply online, you are given clear instructions on how to complete your application and what you have to send in with it. It is easy to do it right from the beginning, which increases your chances of getting a decision faster.

If you cannot apply online, you complete the form Application for a permit to work as an au pair in Sweden, 131011, and turn it in at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general in the country in which you live. The application form indicates what documents you must attach to it. Contact the embassy or consulate-general before you turn in the application.

If it is not possible to apply in your country, you must apply at the embassy or consulate-general that is closest to the country in which you live. Contact the embassy or consulate-general before you turn in your application for more information.

If you apply at an embassy or a consulate-general , you pay the fee when you submit your application. For information on fees, contact the embassy or consulate in question since they do not have the same fee regulations as the Swedish Migration Agency.

Application for a permit to work as an au pair in Sweden, form 131011 Pdf, 3 MB, opens in new window.

Swedish embassies and consulates-general External link, opens in new window.

In most cases, you must pay a fee.

Application fees for work permits

Frequently asked ques­tions about insu­rances – au pairs

Here you will find answers to frequently asked questions about insurance for au pairs.

To be granted a residence permit, you need to show that you have taken out or applied for comprehensive health insurance valid for care in Sweden. You need comprehensive health insurance in case you require medical care during your stay in Sweden.

Your health insurance should cover the costs of both emergency and other medical care, as well as hospitalisation, dental care and possible repatriation for medical reasons.

If you have experienced symptoms or been diagnosed with a disease before you travel to Sweden, your insurance does not need to cover doctor’s appointments related to the treatment of this condition. Should your health deteriorate rapidly and require urgent medical care, your health insurance should cover medical care until your condition has stabilised.

The Swedish Migration Agency cannot give advance notice of whether the health insurance you have applied for or taken out will be approved when it makes its assessment about your residence permit application.

Yes, your host family can take out comprehensive health insurance for you.

Yes, if you will be working as an au pair, your host family must take out accident insurance for you.

The accident insurance should provide you with financial compensation in addition to the cost of any medical care if you have an accident during working hours.

Combined accident and health insurance is not sufficient if it only provides financial compensation in the event of an accident that occurs during your leisure time.

The au pair agreement must clearly state that the host family has taken out accident insurance for you.

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