In countries where the summer holiday between school years is on the longer side, many families opt for a short-stay summer au pair who comes for approximately 3 months to au pair for the host family. While only allowed in some countries, this is a nice option for au pairs who want to live abroad and immerse themselves in another culture without committing to a full year. If an au pair comes for less than 3 months, they can, in some cases, come only on a tourist visa rather than an au pair visa.

Summer au pairing is most common in the south of Europe in Spain and Italy but could be an option in other countries that don’t have a minimum stay requirement.