After the au pair year: FSJ, BFD, training or study?
For many au pairs, the au pair year isn't just a year abroad. It's the first step into a new life in Germany.
They use the time with their host family to get to know Germany, significantly improve their German, become more independent, and work out which career path they would like to take afterwards.
That's why many au pairs already start thinking, during their au pair year, about the question:
What do I do afterwards?
The next steps often lead into a Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr (FSJ, voluntary social year), a Bundesfreiwilligendienst (BFD, federal voluntary service), a vocational training course or a course of study.
Start planning early
Anyone who wants to stay in Germany after their au pair year shouldn't wait until shortly before the end of their stay to think about the future.
Depending on the desired path, application deadlines, interviews, proof of language skills, certificates and other documents may be required.
Many au pairs therefore already start, around the middle of their au pair year, to find out about possible places and requirements and to send off their first applications.
At Besondere Sterne too, the time after the au pair year is a regular topic. Our au pairs take part in weekly live calls during their stay. Roughly every six weeks, we dedicate one of these live calls, together with our HR team, specifically to the possibilities after the au pair year – in particular training, FSJ and BFD. The au pairs receive important information and tips for their further planning and can ask their individual questions directly during the live call.
Especially when it comes to training places or study places, early planning can be important.
The au pair year cannot simply be extended
An au pair stay in Germany is limited in time. Anyone who wants to stay in Germany afterwards therefore needs a new residence title (Aufenthaltstitel) for the new purpose of stay.
If the au pair has, for example, received an offer for a training place, a voluntary service or a study place, they should contact the relevant Ausländerbehörde in good time.
There, it will be checked which residence title is required for the planned next step and which requirements and documents need to be provided for this.
Important: don't wait until the last day of the au pair stay. The further stay should be clarified with the relevant authority in good time.
FSJ or Bundesfreiwilligendienst
A voluntary service is an interesting next step for many former au pairs.
Especially those who have already noticed during their au pair year that they enjoy working with children, people with disabilities, older people or in the social sector can gain further practical experience through a Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr or a Bundesfreiwilligendienst.
The German language skills and documents required depend on the respective provider and placement. Good German skills are often important so that communication works in everyday working life.
Training after the au pair year
Vocational training is also an interesting prospect for many au pairs.
Training places in the social, educational or care sectors are particularly popular, for example. But of course – depending on school-leaving qualifications, personal interests and the respective requirements – many other training occupations are also open.
For qualified vocational training, German language skills at least at B1 level are generally required under residence law. However, training companies, vocational schools or certain occupational fields may set higher requirements.
Especially for training in the care or health sector, B2 is therefore often required.
The au pair year can be a valuable time to develop your own language skills specifically towards this level.
Studying after the au pair year
Some au pairs already bring an appropriate school-leaving qualification or even study experience from their home country and would like to go on to study at a German higher education institution.
Here, the requirements must be checked especially individually.
Which certificates are recognised, whether a higher education entrance qualification exists and which German language skills must be proven depends on the higher education institution and the course of study.
Depending on the course of study, for example B2, C1 or certain recognised language exams may be required.
Anyone planning to study should therefore find out as early as possible, directly from the desired higher education institution, about admission requirements and application deadlines.
What happens to certificates from the home country?
This question, too, cannot be answered across the board.
Depending on whether a voluntary service, training or a course of study is planned, different school, training or higher education certificates may be needed.
In some cases, documents must be translated, or foreign qualifications or certificates must be assessed or recognised.
So the same applies here: find out early, and don't start this just a few weeks before the end of the au pair year.
Using the au pair year as a springboard
For many young people, an au pair year is much more than childcare and cultural exchange.
Within a year, they improve their language, get to know everyday life in Germany, take on responsibility and gain an idea of what their personal and professional future could look like.
Anyone who already knows that they would like to stay in Germany after the au pair year should therefore use this time deliberately: learn German, find out about the possibilities, prepare applications and get in touch with the relevant authorities and institutions in good time.
In this way, an au pair year can become the first step into a training course, a voluntary service, a course of study – and thus into a whole new phase of life.
Timeline
The plan for one year
Month by month, counted backwards from the end of the contract.
Months 1–2 · ArrivingArrive first, plan afterwardsNo application step is due in the first few weeks.
The first weeks belong to arriving: registration, the language course, the rhythm of the house. Anyone applying at this stage is applying with a level of German that is not enough for an interview. This time is not lost — it is the precondition for everything that follows.
Month 3 · ArrivingThe conversation about directionFour questions, once, in peace, together at the table.
What would you like to do after this year? Which of that requires a formal recognition of qualifications? When is the application deadline? And: what will you do yourself, and where do you need us? The conversation takes half an hour and decides the next nine months.
Months 3–4 · OrientationCheck whether a recognition is required at allThe body awarding the place decides that — not the authorities.
A phone call or an email to two or three possible training providers: is a recognition of the school certificate required, and in what form? Ask for the answer in writing — it will be needed later for the application. There are au pairs who got their place without any recognition at all.
Months 4–5 · PreparingRequest documents from the country of originOriginals and certifications take the longest.
Certificates, birth certificate and, where needed, certifications from the country of origin. This runs through family on the ground, through the post and through authorities in another time zone. Weeks are normal here. This step can run alongside all the others, and it should.
Months 5–6 · PreparingSet translation and recognition in motionAllow three to six months, not three weeks.
A certified translation only from a publicly appointed or sworn translator. After that comes the application to the Zeugnisanerkennungsstelle (the federal state office that recognises foreign school certificates), with the training provider's written request attached. The processing period only begins once the documents are complete.
Months 6–8 · ApplyingThe application window for a summer startMost training courses start in August or September.
The deadlines for vocational training and voluntary services beginning the following summer fall now. Voluntary services also have later rounds for remaining places; vocational training rarely does. A second look is worthwhile at courses starting in January or April — they are less contested.
Months 8–9 · ApplyingSit the language certificateIt must be in hand for the application, not for the start of training.
The course alone is not enough — what is required is a pass in the examination at a recognised centre. Examination dates are scarce and must be booked early, and several weeks pass between the examination and the certificate, depending on the provider. Anyone sitting the examination after the deadline has sat it in vain for that round.
Months 9–10 · DecidingOffer, contract, appointment at the AusländerbehördeThe application must be submitted before the expiry date.
With the signed contract, a change in the purpose of residence is applied for. Depending on the city, the appointment at the Ausländerbehörde (the local immigration office) has a lead time of weeks to months and therefore belongs in the calendar as soon as the direction is clear. If the application is submitted in good time, the stay remains lawful until a decision is made.
Months 11–12 · TransitionName the gap and apply for itThe end of the contract and the start of training rarely coincide.
The au pair contract ends on a fixed date, the training begins on another. The weeks in between need a purpose of residence — either the application already submitted or a residence title of its own for seeking a place. Only the title decides whether work is permitted during that time. The only binding information is that given by the local Ausländerbehörde (the local immigration office).
The only binding information is that given by the local Ausländerbehörde (the local immigration office).
