No au pair law at all
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 Everything here was researched from official sources and dated, but figures go out of date — check the official links on this page before you rely on any of it, and get proper advice on your own visa position.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
There is no Spanish legal definition of an au pair, no statutory allowance and no statutory hours cap. What does exist is the household employment regime — empleados de hogar — which is fully regulated. So if your arrangement looks in substance like household work, it may simply be household employment, with the minimum wage and compulsory social security registration attached, whatever the placement is called.
What makes Spain different: This is the opposite risk to Germany. There, being paid too much breaks a defined status. In Spain there is no status to break, so the question is whether you were an employee all along.
The numbers
Au pair allowance
No legal figure
Spain never implemented the treaty it signed
If you are an employee
€9.55 an hour
household work by the hour
Monthly minimum
€1 221
paid over 14 instalments a year
Registration
Before you start
not after — it is the family’s obligation
Can you go?
EU, EEA and Swiss nationals can work in Spain without permission.
From outside those, there is no au pair visa, because there is no au pair category. People often come on a student visa with limited work rights instead. Get advice on your specific route rather than assuming a placement offer solves it.
Three things worth doing
Registration happens before you start, not after
A household employee must be registered with Social Security before the first day of work, no matter how few hours. Failing to do it is a serious infraction for the family. It is worth asking whether it has been done.
Spain pays over fourteen instalments
The minimum wage is expressed as a monthly figure paid fourteen times a year, not twelve — two extra payments. Do not compare a Spanish monthly number with another country's without accounting for that.
Weekly pocket money here is market practice, not law
The figures agencies quote have no legal force in either direction. They are neither a floor you are guaranteed nor a ceiling that protects anyone.
Check it yourself
Every figure on this page came from these. Rules change — if something matters to you, read it at the source.
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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Researched from official sources and last reviewed 2 September 2026. Employing an au pair instead? See the rules for host families in Spain.