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Pathway

Belgium Au Pair Residence

Belgium Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

Belgium's au pair route is a temporary cultural exchange for eligible young people living with a host family. Your age, language-learning plan, and the family's arrangements must satisfy the relevant regional rules.

Age
At least 18 and under 26 when authorization is granted
Host family
The family arranges any required regional work approval before the visa application
Placement
Language and cultural exchange; family tasks limited to four hours daily and twenty hours weekly

Summary

If you want a year of cultural and language exchange with a Belgian host family, the au pair route may suit you. It is separate from ordinary domestic employment. The family first arranges any required regional work approval, which you then use for the long-stay visa application.

The federal rules require the au pair to be at least 18 and not yet 26 when authorization is granted. The placement must include language study and cultural participation, private housing, insurance, rest, and pocket money. Family tasks, including childcare, are limited to four hours a day and 20 hours a week and cannot be the main purpose of the stay.

Belgian regions administer work authorization and can impose rules or amounts that are more specific than the federal overview. The federal page states pocket money of at least €450 per month by bank transfer; Wallonia's published 2026 employment threshold lists €750 per month for au pairs. Check the region responsible for the application before signing an agreement.

Arrange the placement before the visa
  1. Agree on the placement Check age, regional rules, duties, language classes, and host obligations.
  2. Host requests authorization The host family applies for the required regional authorization and B permit.
  3. Long-stay visa If approved Use the approval in the visa process.

This is a cultural and language exchange, not ordinary domestic employment.

Could this pathway work for you?

Eligibility

The au pair must generally:

The host family must provide a private room, free access to the home, medical and hospital insurance, at least one full rest day a week, the applicable pocket money, and repatriation protection. It must include a child under 13 and arrange daycare for a child under six. Adult household members need good-conduct certificates. The family may not simultaneously hold authorization for another au pair.

What This Route Allows

The route allows the young person to live with the approved host family, attend the required courses, participate in family and cultural life, and perform limited light household and childcare tasks within the four-hour/day and 20-hour/week caps.

The permit can be issued or renewed within a total placement of no more than one year. One host-family change may be possible if authorized and the overall one-year maximum is respected.

What This Route Is Not

This is not a nanny, housekeeper, general work, or job-search visa. The au pair cannot take another job. If the practical arrangement does not meet the cultural-exchange limits, Belgian law may presume a domestic-worker employment contract with the host family.

It is not a direct settlement route and cannot be extended beyond the total one-year placement by changing families.

Next Steps

  1. Confirm that the age requirement will still be met on the expected authorization date.
  2. Choose the region based on the host family's residence and obtain that region's current au pair checklist and pocket-money rule.
  3. Put duties, maximum hours, language classes, room, insurance, rest, pocket money, and repatriation obligations in writing.
  4. Have the host family apply for employment authorization and the B work permit.
  5. After approval, apply for the D visa through the Belgian post responsible for the applicant's domicile, if a visa is required.
  6. Register with the commune after arrival and do not begin activities outside the approved arrangement.
  7. Seek advice promptly if the family requires excessive work, withholds pocket money, or does not provide the agreed safeguards.

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Sources