The above post mentions the basic items you should be taking, and I go into more details in my eBook, which may help you out in other aspects of the au pair life as well.

All the best on your travels!

I’m going to Paris for ten months at the end of August. I’m not sure what I should take and/or how much I should take? I finally got my visa situation figured out which was more complicated than I thought, but now I have to deal with packing and I’m just not sure where to start. I’ve tried to research and find out as much as I can but I can’t find anything that is direct and more specific.

Thanks.

If you are planning on working for this family officially, than it is best that you get whichever visa would be necessary for Canada. You could look find an au pair agency in Canada and contact them for specifics, but securing a visa for you is supposed to be the family’s responsibility, not yours. Unless this is a family that you personally know and are comfortable working ‘under the table’ for, you need to make sure your arrangements are legal and correct (this is the best route even when you do know the family personally, to avoid an legal pitfalls). I would definitely suggest asking your potential host family to take care of this for you.

I have been researching and researching for a while now, and haven’t come across my answer so I thought I’d post my question here and see if anyone can help me out.

I have been offered a position as an aupair for a family in Canada and have been emailing them quite freqently and we came across the matter of the visa the other day.

My host family is leaving it up to me to organise that but I don’t know how to. Especially because everywhere I look, it says that it is the families responsibility.
They also told me to come to them on a tourist visa because it is ‘easier and faster’ than going for the working visa. That would get me in a lot of trouble!!!

Does anyone know whether or not it is their responsibility? Or is it mine?

Also, what are the requirements of the visa… such as financial costs, experience etc.? I’ll be going to Quebec if that helps.

Thanks

I would suggest taking as little as possible. You want to make sure you have clothes to cover each season, but only the bare essentials. You’ll probably enjoy shopping while you’re there, and you definitely want to have room to bring things back. As far as other things, I recommend plenty of contact lenses (if you wear them), an extra pair of glasses, as well as any prescription meds you may need. You never know what sort of medicines will be available, although chances are you’ll be able to get what you need in Germany. Concerning toiletries and such, you can find almost exactly the same things in Germany as you can back home, so don’t overload on shampoo, makeup, etc,.

Talya

Can you help me get more of an idea what to bring?
I’m having a hard time.

Anyway, Thank you very much for putting me at rest on that.