Immigration service revokes au pair agency Nina Care's license
Nina Care, the largest au pair agency in the Netherlands, is no longer allowed to bring au pairs from outside the European Union to the Netherlands. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) has revoked the agency’s license after various violations, Nieuwsuur reported.
Earlier this year, a Nieuwsuur investigation revealed that Nina Care wasn’t screening its au pairs properly, often resulting in families suddenly being unable to reach their au pairs or the au pairs leaving unannounced. More recently, the program also reported that, when sending au pairs to other countries, Nina Care told the young women to lie to the border police and pose as tourists.
The IND has fined Nina Care multiple times for abuses. The total number of fines now stands at around 50, totaling €110,000. The au pair agency did submit a plan of improvement to the IND, but the regulator is not convinced. “The company has repeatedly violated the rules over the past two years and has not shown enough that it wants or can improve the situation,” a spokesperson for the IND told the program. “We have no confidence that this will change.”
Nina Care owners Lyla and Jasmijn Kok told Nieuwsuur that they understand and even support the IND’s decision. They stressed that they conduct their business with integrity and transparency and said that they would guide all families and au pairs to a “satisfactory conclusion.” Nina Care intends to continue operating in the Netherlands, only recruiting au pairs from other EU member states.
Nina Care currently has hundreds of au pairs working in the Nehterlands. Au pairs from outside the EU with three months or less remaining in the Netherlands can complete their time with Nina Care. Au pairs who have more than three months left will have to find a different agency, the IND said. The service is organizing an information evening for au pairs to inform them about the situation. Host families will receive a letter.
The IND spokesperson confirmed to Nieuwsuur that Nina Care can continue to recruit au pairs from EU member states. “The law simply stipulates that the IND doesn’t supervise this. So other organizations need to be involved. For example, the Labor Inspectorate could play a role in this.”
The Labor Inspectorate told the program that it monitors all businesses on a risk-based basis or in response to complaints and reports. The Inspectorate did not say what this means for Nina Care going forward.
