Au pair in Austria: pay, hours, visas

This is a guide, not legal or immigration advice.

Rules change, vary by region and depend on your exact arrangement and nationality. Everything here was researched from official sources and dated, but figures go out of date — check the official links on this page before you rely on any of it, and get proper advice on your own visa position.

Where you stand

Austrian law does not treat au pairs as a special case. You are an employee under the Domestic Workers and Domestic Employees Act, which means a contract, registered social insurance, paid leave and continued pay when you are ill are things you are entitled to rather than things to negotiate. Your family must register you before you start. If you are not from the EU, the employment service has to be told at least two weeks before your first day, and the confirmation has to be in hand before you begin.

What makes Austria different: The lawful working week here is about half what Germany and the Netherlands allow, and time spent on call counts towards it. Being in the flat and available in case a child needs you is working time in Austria, not waiting around. A week that would look ordinary elsewhere can be close to double the Austrian limit.

The numbers

Minimum pay

€551.10 a month

for 16.5 hours a week, from 1 January 2026

Hours

16.5 a week

and time on call counts towards it

Payments

15 a year, not 12

two months holiday pay and one month Christmas pay on top

Age

18–28

and you are an employee, not an exchange visitor

Can you go?

EU and EFTA nationals can work here without permission. Everyone else needs a residence permit for special cases of employment, and the family must notify the AMS before you start.

The two-week AMS notification is the family’s job, not yours, but it is your start date that slips if they leave it late. Ask them to confirm it is done before you book anything.

Three things worth doing

Count on-call time as hours

This is the difference that matters most here. If you are expected to be there and available, write it down as hours worked — that is how Austrian law counts it, even when nobody needed you.

Check you are being paid across fifteen payments

Austrian pay runs to more than twelve payments a year: there is extra holiday pay and Christmas pay on top of the monthly amount. Multiplying your monthly pay by twelve will understate what a full year should come to.

The minimum moves every January

The monthly minimum is tied to a threshold that is re-set each 1 January, so it changes yearly even though nothing about au pair law changes. If your pay has not moved in a while, check the current figure.

Ask for the registration confirmation

Your family has to register you for social insurance before you start. It is reasonable to ask to see that it has been done — it is what your accident cover and sick pay rest on.

Check it yourself

Every figure on this page came from these. Rules change — if something matters to you, read it at the source.

USP.gv.at — Au pairs (Austrian government business portal) →

Keep your own record

Whatever the rules say where you are, they only help you if you can show what you actually worked. NannyTank counts your hours as you work them, works out overtime at the legal rate where there is one, and turns the month into a claim your employer approves in one tap.

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