Short-term stay options for young people — Working Holiday, Au Pair, Internship, Volunteer Service

Working Holiday — what it really is

A Working Holiday visa (also called Youth Mobility, Vacances-Travail, or PVT) is a bilaterally negotiated, time-limited residence permit for young adults. Typical parameters:

• Age: 18–30 or 18–35 (depending on the agreement)
• Maximum duration: usually 12 months, in some cases up to 24
• Primary purpose: relaxation, cultural exchange — employment is allowed but intended as a supplement, not the main motivation
• One-time use: each person can generally use the program only once in their life in a specific country
• No status change: the visa does not convert into a work permit; after expiration, you must leave the country or apply for a separate visa — usually from abroad

In the EU, few countries have Working Holiday agreements, and they are not harmonized across the EU. Examples from a German and French perspective (Federal Foreign Office / France-Visas, as of 2024–2025):

• Germany has agreements with: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, Uruguay
• France has agreements with: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Russia (suspended), South Korea, Taiwan, Uruguay
• Spain has agreements with: Argentina, Australia, Chile, Japan, Canada, Korea, New Zealand
• Italy: agreements with Australia, Canada, Korea, New Zealand
• Portugal: agreements with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand

Important: If your country of origin is not included in one of these agreements, there is no Working Holiday visa for you in the destination country — not even as an intermediate option. Instead, you would need to use the regular national visa route (study, language course, work under the EU Blue Card, etc.).

What the Working Holiday visa does not provide

Three common misconceptions:

• "I’ll work for a year and then find a proper job." Theoretically possible — but in practice, the program often prevents this: many countries do not allow status changes within the country. You must return to your country of origin to apply for a work visa.
• "With a Working Holiday visa, I gain experience that will help me in future job applications." This is true for cultural and linguistic experiences. Professionally, the impact is limited: Working Holiday jobs are typically temporary work (hospitality, agriculture, tourism), which counts little for job applications in your actual professional field.
• "Working Holiday is an easier migration path." It is an easier travel path. Migration in the sense of permanent residence does not directly follow but requires a separate regular visa route.

If you view Working Holiday as a form of tourism with a side job and a sabbatical experience, that’s honest and can work out well. If you see it as a springboard for migration, it rarely is.

Au Pair — what it really is

An Au Pair stay is a bilateral agreement between a young person and a host family: the Au Pair provides light childcare and household chores for a maximum of 25–30 hours per week and in return receives accommodation, meals, pocket money, and language course support.

Key parameters (examples):

• Age: usually 18–26
• Maximum duration: 12 months
• Pocket money: in Germany at least 280 €/month (as of 2024), in France around 320 €, in Spain around 70 € per week, in the Netherlands ~340 €/month
• Insurance: must generally be arranged by the host family (health, accident, liability)
• Language course: mandatory in many countries (Germany: mandatory, minimum scope)

In the EU, the conditions are nationally regulated, not harmonized across the EU. Some countries have their own Au Pair visa (Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Austria), others do not (Italy, Poland, Czech Republic — Au Pair stay there only via tourist or language visa, which can be legally risky).

Au Pair as a migration path — the risks

Au Pair stays are sometimes promoted as a cost-effective way to “get to know the culture of the country and already be on site.” Three points that should be honestly mentioned:

• Au Pair is not an employment contract. You are not legally an employee but a guest in a family. Social security contributions, pension payments, health insurance as an employee do not apply. In case of conflicts in the family, you have less legal protection.
• Dependency on the host family. You live there, eat there, and may not yet speak the language well. The stay is therefore significantly more asymmetrical than an employment relationship. Stories of excessively long working days, household chores pushed forward, or conflicts about personal freedom are common — and they are harder to resolve than with a regular employer.
• Limited status change. Here too, the Au Pair stay does not automatically convert into a study or work permit. Those who want to stay in the EU afterward plan this in parallel — for example, by securing a study place or vocational training after the Au Pair year, with its own visa route.

Internship and practical semester — the third option often confused

In forums, Working Holiday, Au Pair, and internship are often lumped together. Legally, however, these are three separate paths, and an internship or practical semester in the EU is often the legally more solid option for many young third-country nationals — especially if you are still studying or have just graduated.

EU-harmonized framework — the REST Directive

The REST Directive (EU) 2016/801 regulates the conditions for interns, students, researchers, and school exchanges across the EU. For internships, the minimum standards are:

• Study-related or professional relevance — either you are enrolled at a university (home or EU university) and the internship is part of your curriculum, or you have graduated from university within the last two years
• Written internship agreement between you, the host institution, and possibly the university
• Secure livelihood during the stay (often covered by internship compensation)
• Maximum duration: usually 6 months, extendable in some member states

National internship visas

As always in the EU, the detailed routes are national:

• Germany has the internship visa under §17 AufenthG — for internships with study relevance (mandatory or voluntary internship during studies or up to two years afterward), typical maximum duration of 12 months. In addition, there is §17a/b for internships for the recognition of professional qualifications.
• France issues the VLS-TS Stagiaire visa based on a convention de stage with the host company, maximum duration of 6 months.
• Netherlands: Internship visa for enrolled students with university partnerships.
• Spain: Visado de prácticas, study relevance required.
• Italy, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic: each have their own internship titles, often linked to mediation organizations or Erasmus-/AIESEC-structures.

Mediation organizations with their own programs

• Erasmus+ Traineeships — internships in the EU, primarily for enrolled students from EU program countries; for third-country nationals from partner countries accessible via International Credit Mobility, depending on university partnerships between your home and an EU university location
• DAAD mediates internships in Germany for foreign students, with its own scholarship lines
• IAESTE — subject-specific internships in natural sciences, technology, and engineering, organized worldwide
• AIESEC — student network with overseas internships and volunteering programs

What this means for your planning

• If you are still enrolled (even abroad) or have recently graduated, internship/practical semester is often the legally easier and more predictable path than Working Holiday — you do not lose your student status, retain insurance coverage, and typically receive a residence permit more quickly.
• Internships are paid in many countries, with minimum standards (France: mandatory minimum compensation from two months; Germany: in many sectors tariff-based or oriented towards the minimum wage; in other countries, different).
• Attention: An internship does not automatically convert into a work permit. If you want to start afterward, the company typically plans a separate application (Blue Card, Chancenkarte, national talent visa — see our article on career entry).
• Pure applicant internships without study or professional relevance — i.e., “I just want to get a taste of a German company without being enrolled” — are not their own visa route in most EU states. In this case, Working Holiday would actually be the only option if your country of origin has a bilateral agreement.

Volunteer services — the fourth option, often underestimated

In addition to Working Holiday, Au Pair, and internship, there is a fourth type of stay that is often more viable for young third-country nationals than its mention in migration forums suggests: organized volunteer services.

In several EU states, they are an independent residence permit — not derived from a study or work visa, but with their own legal basis and remuneration structure (pocket money, social security, often accommodation).

Germany — BFD, FSJ, FÖJ

• Federal Volunteer Service (BFD) — 6–24 months of engagement in the social, ecological, cultural, or educational sector. Third-country nationals need their own visa with the approval of the Federal Employment Agency. Pocket money typically 350–600 €/month plus social security and partial accommodation.
• Voluntary Social Year (FSJ) / Voluntary Ecological Year (FÖJ) — analogous for 18–26-year-olds, often 12 months, own visa route possible.

For third-country nationals seeking a first structured stay with social security and language practice, this is a serious alternative to Working Holiday — especially from countries with which Germany has no Working Holiday agreement.

France — Service Civique

The Service Civique has been accessible to third-country nationals since 2010 with a minimum stay of 1 year in France or via bilateral programs. Duration 6–12 months, remuneration just above the minimum wage (~620 €/month in 2024). Since 2019, supplemented by the Service National Universel (SNU) — a 12-day citizenship program plus optional engagement year.

Italy — Servizio Civile Universale

Since 2017, open to third-country nationals with a residence permit. 12 months, remuneration around 444 €/month (as of 2024), credited for language progress and CV value.

Spain

No nationwide program, but regional volunteering structures in Catalonia, Madrid, País Vasco. For third-country nationals, usually accessible via NGOs (Caritas, Cruz Roja, Cepaim), often as a supplement to a study or family reunification stay.

EU European Solidarity Corps (ESC)

The European Solidarity Corps is an EU-wide program for engagement and volunteer service, primarily designed for people from program countries (EU plus associated states). Third-country nationals from partner countries can participate to a limited extent, depending on the respective host organization.

What distinguishes volunteer services

• Independent visa route — not linked to job, study, or family
• Clearly structured — providers are state-certified, tasks defined
• Social integration — you work with a team, often with other volunteers
• Language practice — usually full-time activity in the national language
• CV value — recognized in applications by serious providers
• Social security and remuneration — no minimum wage, but existence-securing, often with accommodation

What volunteer services are not

• No automatic springboard to regular work — those who want to stay afterward plan a separate visa route (Blue Card, Chancenkarte, training visa)
• No career replacement solution — most positions are in the social, cultural, care, or educational sectors, not in your original professional field
• No entry ticket for low-skilled workers — most programs require minimum qualifications or language skills

Practical tips

• Mediation organizations are the usual point of contact: Caritas, Diakonie, AWO (DE), Unis Cité (FR), national volunteering platforms
• Apply 6–9 months before desired start — visa procedures take time, places are in demand
• Clearly choose the area of deployment — what fits your CV, your language level, your life situation?

When one of them is still sensible

Despite the limitations, both types of stays can be a reasonable step for certain life situations:

• Working Holiday, if you want to consciously take a year off from your career, learn a language on site, and secure your livelihood through temporary work — without expecting to settle later.
• Au Pair, if you are 18–22 years old, want to live in a clear family constellation, actively learn the language, and do not try to link it to a career. Au Pair is a good introduction to a language, not an introduction to a profession.

Those aiming for a career in the EU should not be detoured by Working Holiday or Au Pair. The regular routes (study, training, Blue Card, Chancenkarte, national talent visas — see our articles on entry and career entry) are slower but more sustainable.

Safety and protection notes

Au Pair placements are also misused as vehicles for exploitation and human trafficking. Warning signs:

• Placement agencies that charge money from the Au Pair (serious agencies are paid by the host family, not by you)
• No written Au Pair contract in a language you understand
• Requests to send personal documents (passport, birth certificate) to the agency before arrival
• Promises that are not legally viable (e.g., “We will convert the visa on site into a work permit”)
• Families that demand more than 30 hours per week or reduce the pocket money

If you notice any of these during your stay, there are counseling centers in every EU country — in Germany, for example, the German Caritas Association and the Au-pair-Beratungsnetzwerk, in France the UFAAP. In case of emergency: police (emergency number 112).

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vamosa shows you the structure of these two types of stays and which countries have bilaterally concluded them with your country of origin. We do not provide placement with families or recommendations for specific agencies. On the country detail pages, you will find references to national supervisory authorities and serious mediators.