Overseas Domestic Worker visa
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
If you’re from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
If you or your family member started living in the UK by 31 December 2020, you may be able to apply to the free EU Settlement Scheme.
The deadline to apply was 30 June 2021 for most people. You can still apply if either:
- you have a later deadline - for example, you’re joining a family member in the UK who was living in the UK by 31 December 2020
- you have ‘reasonable grounds’ for being unable to apply by 30 June 2021 - for example, you had an illness or were the victim of domestic abuse
Check if you can still apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.
Otherwise you need a visa to work in the UK.
Irish citizens do not need to apply for a visa or to the EU Settlement Scheme.
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.
Find out about paying for a faster decision.
Fees
It costs £531 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