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.
You must show your passport
The Swedish Migration Agency must check your passport before a decision can be made. You may therefore need to show your passport at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general if you are outside Sweden, or one of the Migration Agency's service centres if you are in Sweden.
In some cases, you will not be required to show your passport, for example, if we have already checked your passport during a previous visit.
If you need to show your passport, we will contact you with information on how and when to do so.
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 need an entry visa to travel to Sweden you must visit the Swedish embassy or consulate-general as soon as possible to be photographed and have your fingerprints taken, if you did not do so when you showed your passport. You need to be photographed and have your fingerprints taken even if you previously have had a residence permit card because your photo and fingerprints cannot be saved.
Swedish embassies and consulates-general
External link, opens in new window.
If you are granted a permit for less than three months, you do not receive a residence permit card.
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.
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.
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.
If you are still in Sweden when your application is rejected, you must leave the country within the timescale given in the decision.
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.
Swedish embassies and consulates-general External link, opens in new window.
In most cases, you must pay a fee.
