Why choose us?
Our goal is to place Au Pairs who become part of the family while proving daily support for parents and their children.
Our online platform makes all processes & legal procedures easier to go through but above all fully protected and secured.
Our Au Pairs are ambitious, educated, caring and motivated young adults who are eager to learn and develop themselves.
Our team is professional, empathetic and your advisor, guide and support during the complete process.
Our Online Platform
We have designed a platform to make all (legal) procedures easier to follow up on. It is fully protected and secured. Next to this you can easily chat with different candidates to find your perfect match and we give you all the tools & information during the placement procedure and the program in the Netherlands.
Connecting Cultures
We believe that this cultural exchange will create a growth effect on both the Au Pair and on the host family. We can learn from other cultures and their habits and youngsters from abroad can learn a lot from our society. By bringing cultures together we learn & create more understanding of each other, creating more unity. Next to this you also learn from another generation.
Care & Attention
We give families & Au Pairs the tools and guidelines on how to deal with each other and the cultural challenges. We know that with our years of professional and personal experiences we can give you the right tools, advice and guidance in getting the most out of this program.
Our Au Pairs
Our goal is to search for girls and boys who are ambitious, educated, loving, caring and motivated young adults who are willing to learn and develop themselves. Young people who are open, adventures and enthusiastic to learn & grow.
Our Team
With our professional yet personal approach we invest time in guiding you and your Au Pair. We have in-house experience being an Au Pair and experience being a Host Family. Therefore we can advice and support you out of our own personal experiences, next to our 13 years of professional experience. As a team we always aim to improve our processes & support and we really pay attention to all our families & Au Pairs.
How we work
1. Register on our HBN Platform
The first step is to register on our platform. It’s very easy to create a profile there and it gives you the chance to look around to see how it works, see the steps in the process and view some of our screened profiles who are eager to come to join your family for the Au Pair program in the Netherlands.
2. Intake
After you have registered we would like to meet you and discuss all ins and outs of the program in a personal intake (mostly per video call). We will discuss your wishes & expectations and check if they match the program. We will share our expertise and personally inform you of all aspects of the program. Of course we also need to make sure our Au Pairs will be welcomed by a caring family in a safe and good place.
3. Paperwork
There is quite some paperwork to deal with, but don’t worry we will guide you through it and take care of most of it. With our online platform it will be easy to go through this procedure of gathering and uploading the necessary documents.
As a recognized sponsor (referent) of the IND we need to do a formal check of documents and have the proof that you meet the legal conditions of the program. If your Au Pair comes from a country outside of Schengen we will need to apply for the visa and residence permit (4-6 weeks). After we will assist you in arranging the travel arrangements, insurance and all other necessary preparations before and legal obligations during the Au Pair Program.
4. Screening & Matching
While we are busy with the paperwork, we can start the matching procedure. You can look into as many screened candidates as you like and invite candidates for one or more video calls. We can advise you personally and recommend candidates to you. All our candidates are screened by our local partners or our HBN NL office, so you can find a full profile with their experiences, references and health checks. We can also give you our recommendations based on your wishes and our experience. When you feel it is truly a fit and both parties have agreed to the match, we will continue with some more paperwork to bring your Au Pair to the Netherlands.
5. Coaching & Guidance
Apart from the fact that a good match between the host family and the Au Pair is key, it is as important to make sure that both parties know what to expect from each other. Clear expectations provide a sturdy base for a good and mutually beneficial relationship. That’s why we developed several tools like our Host Family Guidelines, a Family Routine Guide, an Au pair Manual in which all important aspects of the program are covered. We give families & Au Pairs the tools and guidelines on how to make it easier for Au Pairs to adjust to the Dutch family routine. How to deal with cultural challenges and how to deal with certain issues and certain situations.
After arrival the Au Pair will attend our special HBN Welcome Training where they will also meet all other new Au Pairs and share their first experiences. Au pairs will also receive a welcome packages at the meeting. We discuss cultural differences, expectations of our Host Families, the importance of a clear communication, taking initiative and we explain their legal duties.
We feel it is important that all our Au Pairs will receive the same level of guidance and care from our agency, whether they are through a self match procedure or not. We pay attention to coaching our Au Pairs and Host Families during the program, our mediation can solve certain issues and cultural misunderstandings. We also organize First Aid courses in collaboration with HET that focuses on preventing child accidents and on giving first aid in case of emergencies (Heimlich, CPR) Au Pairs are not certified nannies but do spend a lot of time with your kids so that is why we highly recommend Au Pair doing the course . Host parents are also welcome to participate.
6. Care
We take care of our Au Pairs and we take the time to support you as a Host Family in this program. We are committed to give you the support you need to make sure you both have a great experience.
We will check in with you regularly next to our online evaluations to see how things are going. We will contact your Au Pair more regularly to see if all goes well and if there is miscommunication or issues because of different expectations, we will plan a mediation session with both of you to try and fix it.
Other Options
Have you found a matching Au Pair yourself? Then we can still guide you both further in the process after the match, both legally and personally.
Do you still have doubts on which candidate to choose? With our expertise we can assist you in the screening and advice you in making the final choice. We make no difference in the level of care & guidance to our Au Pairs cause out of experience we know all Au Pairs and Families need our care and assistance.
Au Pairs coming from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia do not need an entry visa to enter the Netherlands. They will need an Au Pair Residence Permit for a longterm (12 month) stay in the Netherlands and thus need to follow the Au Pair Program through a Recognized Agency. This procedure is a VVR (Verblijfsvergunning Regulier). They will need to do their biometrics in The Netherlands. These candidates will follow a slightly different procedure and therefore we offer a discount on the mediation fee.
Au Pairs with a European nationality don’t need a visa to enter the Netherlands and they do not need a residence permit to stay for a year. However, Au Pairs with a European passport need to join an official Au Pair Agency such as HBN to follow the Au Pair Exchange Program in the Netherlands.
All conditions need to be according to the Dutch Au Pair Regulations. Any other work that is done outside of an agency will be considered as labor and you will have to pay the person the minimum wage according to the regulations of the Dutch law.
