
Domestic Staff
If you want to bring Household staff to the UK, there are several visa options. Some are temporary, others are long term solutions. These visas can be sponsored by UK nationals as well as expat households.
Please get in touch if you need a visa for your staff.
UK Visas for Household Staff
Visas for your:
Nannies
Cooks
Chauffeurs
Personal Assistants
Nurses
Tutors / Governesses
Cleaners
Diplomats posted to the UK can use a Tier5 visa sponsored by their mission to bring in domestic staff. We can help with drafting the sponsorship.
In the past some used the £1m investment route to bring in household staff, but the £1m investment was not truly owned by the employee, and the rules were changed to stop this. But, as is so often the case, when one door closes, another opens. The 2021 Skilled Worker Visa can be used for most domestic staff, other than the most junior. The Visa can last for 5 years and leads to Indefinite Leave to Remain. It is usually the best option for private households. The 'Overseas Domestic Worker Visa' can be useful, but it only lasts 6 months and can't be extended, so it might be used for a cleaner, who is too junior to qualify for a Skilled Worker visa, but is, at best, a stop gap (we can put you in touch with a cleaning agency that provides local staff after the 6 months is up), and requires 12 months prior employment overseas.
The disadvantage of the Skilled Worker route is that requires the individual to have English language accreditation, and your household to obtain a sponsor licence, but we can help you with that. Once you have the Sponsor Licence, we can also help with determining the relevant occupation codes and required minimum salaries for each role that needs to be filled with an expat. The advantages are several:
* Open to most staff: Nannies, cooks, nurses, etc
* Up to 5 years initially
* Leads to Permanent Residence (conditions apply)
If you have domestic staff that you want to bring to the UK, or wish to hire new staff from abroad, please get in touch.
In the past it was mostly expats that had domestic staff from abroad, but the option is equally open to UK nationals, and is increasingly popular for those that want live-in care from a qualified nurse.
Policy Submissions
2021-04-07-MAC-on-FinTech-visa-2
2015 05 22 Letter to minister re RCoS cap
2015 07 03 MAC F/back T2 salary thresholds
2015 09 18 MAC F/back by a JD & Co client
2015 09 22 MAC F/back T2 call for evidence
2016 05 25 letter re Operational forum monday 23 May 16
2019 09 17 MAC feedback T2 salary levels
2009 April MAC T1 and T2 evidence