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.
