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Au pairs rules relax for non-German families

Foreign families will soon be able to officially engage au pairs from outside the European Union, as long as they speak German at home, as the government prepares to change the law.

Published: 17 May 2013 11:46 CEST

Au pairs rules relax for non-German families

Photo: DPA

Until now non-EU au pairs could only be employed by families in which at least one adult was a German or EU citizen, and where German was spoken as a mother tongue.

But these rules are set to be swept away by new regulations which will not only increase the maximum age of non-EU au pairs from 25 to 27, but also enable them to work in households where the mother tongue is not German – but where German is spoken.

The Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper said on Friday the new rules which will come into force at the start of July would still bar au pairs from coming to Germany to stay with families from their native countries.

Click here for a discussion of the rules on The Local’s English-language forum Toytown.

The new rules would also make it easier for people seeking asylum in Germany to work, the paper said.

Those who have granted ‘”tolerated” status meaning they can stay in the country even if they have not been granted official asylum, are able to take up paid work after a wait of four years – and will now be able to do so without the specific agreement of the German Employment Agency (BA).

Click here for The Local’s job page

This permission will also no longer be necessary for “tolerated” refugees to start professional training, which they are allowed to do after being in Germany for a year.

Although the number of people seeking asylum in Germany is rising, the number of those being granted permission from the BA to work has dropped dramatically over recent years. In 2007, the BA green-lighted 10,000 people to work while in 2009 this was just 3,700 and in 2012, only 828 were officially allowed to work.

The Local/jcw

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Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

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