Hosting A Student: FAQ's and Host Family Requirements

Hosting an international exchange student can be a highly rewarding opportunity for your family. The chance to discover a different perspective than your own and to share your own culture with an international student is a daily lesson in cultural understanding. The bonds created span continents—and can last for many years to come.

We welcome your questions to help you determine if hosting is right for you and whether you meet the host family requirements, and encourage you to meet our incoming students.

Who is eligible to host?

All types of families are encouraged to apply; there is no “typical” AFS Host Family. Families can have small or teenage children at home, be empty nesters with adult children, or be couples with no children. Single adults and single parents are also welcome. While there are basic host family requirements, families shouldn’t worry about being too busy – AFS provides a great support network of volunteers who arrange activities for the exchange students; however, the more opportunity the AFS Exchange Student has to experience your life, the better!

Are host families paid?

What is required of an AFS Host Family?

Host family requirements include providing your student with the following:

The opportunity to participate in your family’s daily lives and events
The same care, support, and comfort you would another member of your family
A bed, not convertible or inflatable in nature; sharing a room with a sibling of the same gender close in age is fine
Three quality meals each day, including lunches and meals eaten as a family in restaurants

How might my hosting experience be different during the time of COVID-19?

What is a host family’s financial obligation?

Will the host family need to cover medical expenses?

Are host families responsible for enrolling their AFS student in school?

Yes, although AFS first gets permission from the high school to accept your exchange student. AFS works with schools to ensure exchange students are in compliance with each school’s policies and procedures. Your family will fill out the same paperwork at the school as you would for your own children. You and your student will meet with the counselor to determine the classes your student will take. AFS Volunteers can offer suggestions and assistance if needed. AFS enjoys an excellent reputation with high schools across the country, and we value a close working relationship with the schools that we serve.

How are students selected?

Does the student speak English?

Who are AFS Exchange Students?

How long do students stay with host families?

Are there shorter hosting opportunities?

Yes, if your family cannot commit to hosting for a full year or semester, you can become a welcome family and host a student upon their arrival for 6-12 weeks while AFS-USA works to identify a permanent home for the student in the same community. Replacement families are also always needed; these are families that agree to host a student for the remainder of the program after the student has been moved from a different semester or year family.

Does AFS have rules for participants?

Yes. AFS students are expected to obey all the AFS rules and policies that are applicable while on their program. Should a student break a rule such as driving, hitchhiking, or partaking in illegal drugs, they will have their program terminated. Hosted participants are expected to obey U.S. laws. We also limit independent travel by students. You will be provided with a Host Family Handbook, which contains information on these rules and other host family requirements and expectations, at or before your pre-arrival orientation for host families.

Can I host more than one student?

What if problems arise?

Can home-schoolers host AFS students?

Why does AFS conduct criminal background checks?

The safety and welfare of our participants is our highest value. The criminal background check is an integral part of the screening process that AFS-USA staff, volunteers and host family members are required to undergo before being affiliated with our program. The U.S. Department of State and CSIET require that AFS conducts criminal background checks for all members of the host family home aged 18 years and older. For more information on AFS Safety Standards, visit our section on Health and Safety.

State Specific Requirements: Pennsylvania Residents are required to submit up to three additional screening requirements which include the Pennsylvania State Police Search, Child Abuse History Clearance and FBI Fingerprint Background Checks. The FBI Fingerprint Background Check is only required if you have not been a resident of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the previous 10 years consecutively. These requirements apply to host parents or any adult 18 years and older responsible for the direct care, well-being and/or supervision of a minor exchange student. See more information Pennsylvania screening reqiurements.

Can I still host if I don’t have children?

Yes! There’s no “typical” AFS Host Family. Our definition of family focuses on the warm, welcoming environment provided by the individual(s). Whether or not you have children in your home, you are eligible to apply to be an AFS Host Family, however, per US Department of State regulations, AFS must obtain prior approval from the student and his or her natural parents for a placement if you are a single person with no children living in your home.

How will my family be matched with a student?

How will AFS staff and volunteers support our needs as a host family?

With approximately 4,400 volunteers nationwide, our local volunteer teams are at the heart of our mission, serving host families and exchange students through monthly check-ins and additional support as needed. You will be invited to participate in an in-person orientation, run by local volunteers, to help prepare you for the experience. You will also be assigned a local volunteer “liaison,” whose role is to help you navigate the intriguing cultural differences that make the exchange experience so rich and rewarding and assist your family with questions or concerns that may arise during the experience. In addition, AFS provides support for emergency situations 24/7 through our Participant Support Staff and after hours Duty Officer.

Hosting a Student: Frequently Asked Questions

General FAQ & Host Family Requirements