Host a Student

A Rewarding Experience for Everyone!

Hosting an exchange student can be one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences for your whole family. Being a host family means opening your home, hearts and minds to a young person from overseas.

YFU exchange students are eager to learn about Australia and improve their English language skills.

YFU exchange students are eager to learn about New Zealand and improve their English language skills.

Our host families are open minded, flexible, tolerant and have a sense of humour. They are keen to learn about another country and culture and share their own lives and experiences with their student. The most important requirements are to:

  • make their exchange student feel genuinely welcome
  • help the student become part of their family and local community
  • support the student on their exchange journey
  • immediately inform YFU Student Exchange of any issues affecting the safety and well-being of the student.

All host families are required to have Working with Children checks and sign a Code of Conduct.

Hosting is voluntary. There is no reimbursement for meals and lodging. This is a strict requirement of the Australian regulatory authorities.

You can host a student for either 3, 5 or 10 months. They all arrive with a basic level of English and are expected to participate in daily chores around the house. They have travel insurance and Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) and bring spending money for incidentals like toiletries and outings etc.

Student profiles can be found below – these profiles will give you a brief introduction and tell you a little about the students arriving in 2024.

A YFU Local Coordinator is assigned to each student and host family to act as the first level support for any questions or concerns that arise. Our professional staff are also available to assist and we encourage an open dialogue throughout the hosting experience.

How to become a YFU Host Family

If your family would like to become a host family, please make sure you meet the following requirements:

  • The student must have their own bed but they can share a room with a host sibling of the same gender.
  • The student must be provided with a place to study (can be the kitchen table) and three meals a day.
  • All adult host family and household members must have Working with Children checks and sign a Code of Conduct.
  • Attend YFU events such as online orientations, which are an integral part of our exchange programs.
  • Ensure that the student adheres to the YFU rules and their visa regulations.

If you are keen to discover how you can open your family home and community to a secondary student from overseas more please complete the following form.

YFU Host Family

Inbound Student Profiles

Arriving in Australia in 2024

View the profiles of the YFU exchange students looking for a host family in Australia.

Ashild

About Ashild:

Meet Ashlid, a 16 year old girl from Norway who lives with her parents, younger brother and dog.

While on exchange:

She hopes to experience a new culture, a different society and she hopes it gives her a different perspective.

Ashild's interests:

Ashild is active and hopes to continue her strength training while on exchange. She enjoys agility training with her dog and skiing with her family in winter.

Sebastiano

About Sebastiano:

Meet Sebastiano – a 16 year year old boy from Italy who lives with his parents and his brother.

While on exchange:

His brother went on exchange to Australia and he is looking forward to the experience and can’t wait to bring a little bit of Italy to your home and family!

Sebastiano's interests:

He enjoys cooking and outdoor activities as well as playing sport, including track and field, horse riding and swimming.

Carola

About Carola:

Meet Carola a 15 year old girl who lives in Argentina with her parents and older brother. She describes herself as active, funny and loving.

While on exchange:

She hopes to become more independent, broaden her perspective and improve her English.

Carola's interests:

Carola enjoys physics and biology and hopes to study medicine. She is sporty and would love to try surfing as she loves the beach and being in nature.

Gesa

About Gesa:

Meet Gesa, a 16 year old girl from Germany who lives with her parents in a small German town. She has older siblings who are married and loves to visit her nieces and nephews. She describes herself as spontaneous and open to trying new things.

While on exchange:

Gesa hopes to make new friends and learn about herself.

Gesa's interests:

She loves cooking and baking, plays the piano and badminton, which she hopes to continue while on exchange.

Celeste

About Celeste:

Meet Celeste – a 16 year old girl from Norway who lives with her mum and her younger brother. She describes herself as social, creative, adventurous and caring.

While on exchange:

Celeste hopes to learn more about herself and become more independent and braver.

Celeste's interests:

She enjoys learning new languages, reading, baking and is involved in musical theatre and dance, as well as enjoying skiing and snowboarding.

Micaela

About Micaela:

Meet Micaela, a 15 year old girl who lives with here parents, sister, dog and cat. She describes herself as a mixture of extrovert and introvert!

While on exchange:

She is looking forward to trying new sports, making new friends and learning about our culture and traditions.

Micaela's interests:

She likes to be active, is sporty and enjoys roller skating as well as activities that involve nature as she enjoys photography and painting.

Vicka

About Vicka:

Meet Vicka, a 16-year-old girl from Argentina who lives with her parents and 2 siblings. She sees herself as an active and social person but can see shy in the beginning.

While on exchange:

On exchange she hopes to improve her English and expand her vocabulary. She is looking forward to a new lifestyle, and learning many different things.

Vicka's interests:

Vicka’s two favorite hobbies are baking and skateboarding. She is trains in Taekwondo and would like to continue whilst on exchange.

Maximilian

About Maximilian:

Meet Maximilian, a 16 year old boy from Norway who lives with his parents and 2 siblings.

While on exchange:

He hopes his exchange will help him to become the best version of himself and boost his confidence while having the time of his life!

Maximilian's interests:

He loves pets and is food lover who enjoys cooking. He enjoys fishing, watching sport and plays basketball and American Football.

Teo

About Teo:

Meet Teo a 16-year-old boy from Italy who lives with his Mum. Teo considers himself a sociable and cheerful person even if he may seem shy at first.

While on exchange:

Teo hopes to experience as many new activities as possible in Australia time and to live the typical Australian teen life. He feels that when he returns home, he will be a completely different person.

Teo's interests:

He loves to draw, listen to music, go for walks, read, photography and painting, and also enjoys cooking and is learning how to bake.

Kristian

About Kristian:

Meet Kristian, a 16 year old boy from Denmark who lives with parents & siblings.

While on exchange:

He has lived in the same house his whole life and hopes that this exchange experience will broaden his understanding of the world. He is looking forward to making new friends.

Kristian's interests:

He enjoys many sports, especially volleyball which he hopes he can continue to play on exchange. He listens to podcasts and enjoys computer games as well as reading and spending time with friends. He is open to new trying new actrivities!

Lilli

About Lilli:

Meet Lilli a 15-year-old girl from Austria. She’s a friendly person who can be shy at first but feels that she can adapt to situations well. She describes herself as a curious person & is interested in foreign cultures.

While on exchange:

She believes that getting to know a new country is a great opportunity & is looking forward to improving her English.

Lilli's interests:

Lilli enjoys creative activities like drawing, painting and photography – she also enjoys baking. She enjoys outdoor activities, music and is also part of a circus club.

Kim

About Kim:

Meet Kim a 16-year-old girl from Germany who lives with her Mum, Dad, and brother. Spending time with her family is important to Kim and she enjoys spending her spare time with friends, hanging out, playing video games, shopping, or listening to music.

While on exchange:

She hopes that her exchange year will improve her writing and English-speaking skills, and increase her self-confidence so she is not afraid of new challenges that await her in the future.

Kim's interests:

She is a sporty, creative, open-minded person and is interested in learning new things. As a creative person, Kim loves to bake, paint and draw. Her favorite sport is volleyball, and she hopes to be able to continue playing whilst on exchange.

Inbound Student Profiles

Arriving in New Zealand in 2024

View the profiles of the YFU exchange students looking for a host family in New Zealand.