What is and why an au pair and the cultural exchange program
What is and why an au pair?
An au pair is a woman* of between 18 and 30 years old, who within the context of cultural exchange will participate as a full family member of host family in Holland. With Complete Au Pair the au pair is always from the Philippines. Filipino au pairs are known for their extremely sweet, responsible, humble, trustworthy and caring character.
By participating both the host family and the au pair will be enriched with a great experience. The host family contributes to the cause of giving the au pair the opportunity to experience the extraordinary country of the Netherlands and the Dutch culture. The host family will experience the very loving and caring Filipino culture which the au pair contributes, which is generally perceived as an outstanding addition to the family with a very positive impact on the entire family life.
To compensate for the facilities ** offered by the host family, the au pair contributes to tasks within the family. This will be agreed upon by contract before participating. The time spent on these tasks is a maximum of 30 hours per week divided between a maximum 5 days a week and 8 hours a day (including a maximum of 3 nights). The tasks include in example light housework, such as vacuum cleaning, cooking, or walk the dog. Also an au pair is great at taking care of children, or for example, bring them to school. For senior families an au pair is excellent company and assistance for light household chores, such as getting (light) groceries, tidy up, prepare food, et cetera. An au pair is not allowed to do any heavier tasks, such as mopping large surfaces, clean the bathroom or carry heavy groceries. An au pair may also not perform any tasks for a person who need specialized care, for which need a specfic skill is required.
* An au pair can be both a man and woman; this is up to the host family to choose. Because the au pair of choice is usually a female au pair we assume a female au pair in our texts
** The facilities offered by the host family consist of the cost to invite the au pair to the Netherlands, travel costs for the au pair, insurance for the au pair, the cost of cultural exchange program, room and board for the au pair and between € 300 and € 340 per month in spending money.
What is the cultural exchange program?
An au pair and the host family participate in our ‘cultural exchange program’ of Complete Au Pair. The program has the mandatory objective of ‘cultural exchange’, which means that the tasks performed by the au pair within the host family may not be the goal of the program.
The exchange program of Complete Au Pair has been acknowledged by the IND (Immigration and Naturalization Service, part of the Ministry of Security and Justice) and complies with applicable laws and regulations. Mainly the Foreigners Law (Vreemdelingenwet) applies, which results into various obligations, such as our duty of care for the au pair and the cultural purpose of the exchange program.
The exchange program consists of the following activities, which we or the host family will take care of:
In the orientation phase:
- Intakegesprek gastgezin
- Strikte wervingsprocedure inclusief sollicitatiegesprek van au pair
- Careful selection of the au pair for the specific family
- Introduction of the au pair to the host family
After you and your host family agree on participating together:
- Collect needed data and submit application to the IND for the residence permit
- Drafting and sending the statutory au pair contract ‘, including ‘daily schedule’
- Guide the au pair for the required documents including legalization
- Preparing the au pair in the Dutch language and culture
- Preparing the au pair for the tasks within your family
- Preparing the au pair for the Visa application and mandatory seminar CFS
- Administrative handling additional costs in the country of origin
- Contract special au pair insurance
- Coordinate travel to the Netherlands and book airline ticket
Once you arrive in the Netherlands:
- Welcoming you at the airport including transportation to your family
- Provide an Android Phone
- Arranging cultural trips for your au pair/li>
- Guidance in Netherlands of the administrative processes, such as registration and deregistration BRP, Embassy, applying for a bank account, health care benefits, etc.
- One time home visit of Complete Au Pair at your family
- Frequent contacts at the initiative of Complete Au Pair
- Care requested by you or your family
- In case of emergency, we are there for you during night and day
- At the end of the year: rebooking airline ticket
- After the program: transport back to the airport
- Tasks in compliance with administrative obligations
- Checking compliance with the rules and take action if rules are violated if an emergency arises.
If you have any special needs or concerns, please discuss these with us.