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The au pair contract

The Royal Decree regulating the au pair programme in Belgium applies to the whole country, however its implementation and monitoring falls to the district authorities. Each region has implemented the provisions of the Royal Decree in its own model contract.

Except for minimal differences, each model contract contains the same statutory conditions. We have four model contracts in Belgium: Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia and the model contract from the German-speaking community.This contract is not an employment contract, rather a contract in the context of a cultural exchange programme.

Model contracts, necessary documentation and all the information needed to apply for a work permit are available to host families and au pairs on the official websites of the relevant government departments. These documents are available free of charge:

The regions’ official model agreements are the only valid documents. Any other document that imposes unfair, abusive or illegal conditions is not valid. If a host family or an au pair agency force you privately to sign any ‘additional’ contracts, addenda, ‘family guidelines’ or ‘codes of conduct’, these are not valid documents, even if you have signed them.