Overview

You can apply for a visa to visit the UK with your employer if you:

  • live outside the UK
  • are a domestic worker in a private household
  • have worked for your employer for at least one year
  • meet the other eligibility requirements

Domestic workers include:

  • cleaners
  • chauffeurs
  • cooks
  • those providing personal care for the employer and their family
  • nannies

How long it will take

You can apply for a visa up to 3 months before your date of travel to the UK.

You should get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks when you apply from outside the UK.

You may be able to pay to get a faster decision.

Fees

It costs £637 for an Overseas Domestic Worker visa.

How long you can stay

You can use this visa to visit the UK with your employer for up to 6 months. You must return home at the end of the 6 months.

You cannot extend an Overseas Domestic Worker visa.

You may be able to extend a Domestic Worker in a Private Household visa if you applied on or before 5 April 2012.

What you can and cannot do

You can:

  • travel abroad and return to the UK to complete your stay
  • change employers to another job as a domestic worker in a private household - only if you do not stay longer than the 6 months

You cannot:

  • work except as a domestic worker in a private household
  • live in the UK for long periods of time through frequent visits
  • get public funds