Thank you all! That’s great info, all of which I hadn’t thought of.

Shady as hell. Scam alert.

Or APs who flake before even coming, after HP have requested time off to get them up and running, and the agency got them through the visa process and bought a plane ticket.

Agree. Serious red flags. Although I agree this is a lot of money for a young lady. Varies by where she lives. It is to make sure they have some skin in game. Otherwise you get ladies coming here to jump.

Anonymous wrote:I am currently matched with an au pair through culturalcare.com and she was just made aware that she will need to pay almost $2000 in order to complete the process on her end. They are telling her that it needs to be paid ASAP and she does not have it. Has anyone heard of them waiving the fee for au pairs? It doesn’t make sense for the companies to require a young person to pay that much. I assumed that was why the host family paid such a high fee for program fees. We are new to this and I’ve not paid program fees yet. Can I get in trouble if I switch companies and find a new au pair?

And no, you won't 'get into trouble' for breaking the match for this reason. She will need to break it anyway for not having the funds to participlate in the exchange program. Fees are even more for other exchange programs such as high school years here. THis is a rather low cost cultural exchange program although some host families are led to believe that it is a work/travel program.

You can break the match as a family, but call and explain why and find out what fees you will be on the hook for if you break it versus the aupair. I wouldn't foot the bill for her to participate in the aupair program since it shows she is already winging it when it comes to the requirements and investment. Not many applicants have a ton of money when they come here as aupairs but saving and investing in the program is a good sign that they want to participate and make this work.

Anonymous wrote:I am currently matched with an au pair through culturalcare.com and she was just made aware that she will need to pay almost $2000 in order to complete the process on her end. They are telling her that it needs to be paid ASAP and she does not have it. Has anyone heard of them waiving the fee for au pairs? It doesn’t make sense for the companies to require a young person to pay that much. I assumed that was why the host family paid such a high fee for program fees. We are new to this and I’ve not paid program fees yet. Can I get in trouble if I switch companies and find a new au pair?

I highly doubt your aupair was *just* made aware. Cultural Care is one of the only companies that allows applicants to post their profiles online before paying a down payment on the fees which will be due once they match with a family. She likely knew that the bill would come as soon as she matched. The fees range between 1500-2500. Some aupairs from Cultural Care try and see if they can match and then guilt the family into paying it when they knew it would be due when they signed up to put their application on line.

We have had this happen over the years and also aupairs stalling and not applying for their visa with AuPairCare because they didn't have the money for the visa application.

If your aupair does not have this fee, she will likely not have the next fee which is due for the visa once the embassy gives her a date either. Ask blunt questions abotu finances to her and to the company. These fees are given to them in writing in the begining of the process.

This is standard operating procedure - crappy but true that APs pay a fee. It seems like it varies widely by country.

I think this may be a sign that your AP is not sophisticated/on top of things if she claims she wasn't aware. Don't send her the money - seems like it could be a scam.

Suspect the fee is what the market will bear in that particular country so check before you go to the trouble of switching.

I am currently matched with an au pair through culturalcare.com and she was just made aware that she will need to pay almost $2000 in order to complete the process on her end. They are telling her that it needs to be paid ASAP and she does not have it. Has anyone heard of them waiving the fee for au pairs? It doesn’t make sense for the companies to require a young person to pay that much. I assumed that was why the host family paid such a high fee for program fees. We are new to this and I’ve not paid program fees yet. Can I get in trouble if I switch companies and find a new au pair?