If you plan to accompany your employer as a domestic or household worker, it is necessary to apply for a Domestic Worker visa. This visa is suitable for chauffeurs, gardeners, cooks and nannies who fulfil the requirements.
You will generally be issued with a visa for six to 12 months depending on how long your employer will stay in the UK. It is also possible to extend your visa.
Eligibility
In order to apply to travel to the UK to work full-time as a domestic worker in the same place as your employer, you must be between 18 and 65 years of age. You must also have been employed in your employer's home, or a household that your employer uses, for one year or more.
You must intend to travel to the UK with your employer, your employer's spouse or your employer's minor child.
You must also have the means to accommodate yourself adequately without relying on public funds.
Can I change my job?
It may be necessary for you to change your job. You are allowed to change jobs provided you continue to work as a domestic worker in a private household. It is necessary to inform the Home Office of the change, however, you do not need to make a formal application until you need to apply for an extension of your original visa.
Can I stay in the UK if I no longer have a job?
When your employer leaves the UK, you should also leave the UK with your employer. You are not permitted to work if you stay longer, unless you work for members of your employer's family who are also visiting the UK.
It is necessary to leave at the end of your permission to stay. If your employer is living in the UK and takes trips abroad, it is not necessary for you accompany them provided they are based in the UK and intend to return.
Once you cease working as a domestic worker in a private household, you no longer meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules which granted you entry into the UK. As a result of this, you must leave the UK.
Spouse, children
It is possible for your husband or wife to come to the UK if you both intend to live together during your stay.
If you and your spouse are to travel to the UK, or you have sole responsibility for your child/children, your child/children can come to the UK. Your child/children must be under the age of 18 and must be unmarried, that is, they must not yet have formed an independent family, nor be living independently.
You must be able to provide adequate accommodation which must be occupied exclusively by you, your spouse, and any children that will join you. You must also have the means to maintain your family without relying on public funds. Finally, your family must not intend to stay in the UK once their visas have expired.
