What is an au pair and the cultural exchange program
What is and why become an au pair?
As an au pair you will travel to a foreign country where you will experience their foreign culture, by living with and being part of a host family for 1 year. The goal of the program is ‘cultural exchange’ (this is mandatory by law, it is not allowed to have another goal). Usually, the program is a great experience and opportunity for both the au pair and the host family. The au pair will be enriched by the foreign culture, which will certainly result in personal growth. The host family will also become acquainted with the loving, caring Filipino culture which you as an au pair show.
During the period as an au pair, the host family will pay for all housing expenses of you (including food) as an au pair. A monthly allowance will be paid to you as well of around € 300 up to € 340 a month. To compensate for this, you will be doing some of the responsibilities in the house. Usually you will be doing light household chores, like vacuum cleaning or clearing out areas in the house, cooking simple meals. Often (but not always) the host family has children which you may look after, like you are their big sister. It is also possible (although not usual) to be matched with a senior couple, where you can take care of some household chores, keep them company, walk the dog, et cetera.
Complete Au Pair is specialized in au pairs from the Philippines and host families in Holland. We have Filipino staff in Holland and the Philippines. Our staff in Holland used to be an au pair as well.
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:
- Intake family
- Strict recruitment process including applicant interview 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
- 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.
As for the cultural (city) trips that will be arranged (usually by us, or in rare cases by your host family), these are some examples:
- Visiting ‘Kinderdijk’
- Visiting ‘Volendam’
- Visiting ‘bollenvelden Lisse’ during spring
- Visiting ‘Madurodam’
- Visiting the coming of ‘Sinterklaas’
- Visiting carnival in Noord-Brabant of Limburg
- Citytrip Gouda including the cheesemarket
- Citytrip Den Haag (also known as The Hague), visiting important European and Dutch government buildings, visiting Scheveningen)
- Citytrip Utrecht, including visiting the ‘Domtoren’ (Dom Tower)
- Citytrip Amsterdam, including visiting the ‘Anne Frank huis’
- Citytrip Rotterdam, including visiting the biggest docks of Europe
- Citytrip Valkenburg, including visiting the old coal mines
- Get-together at the office of Complete Au Pair to discuss cultural experiences while enjoying Dutch food and snacks
You can search on the internet for more information about these cultural sites and cities. We are sure that you will be excited!