UK household-employer guide
Can you sponsor a Filipino nanny from abroad?
For an ordinary UK private household, Skilled Worker sponsorship is not a route for bringing in a new nanny. The Overseas Domestic Worker route is different and tightly limited.
Can a UK family sponsor a nanny from the Philippines?
For an ordinary UK private household recruiting a new nanny from the Philippines, Skilled Worker sponsorship is not available in the household's personal capacity. Current Home Office sponsor guidance says individual persons and households cannot be recognised as Worker sponsors when they want to employ someone in a personal capacity. The current Skilled Worker occupation table also lists SOC 6116, nannies and au pairs, as a medium-skilled occupation that is available for extension in the same occupation only, not for a new standard Skilled Worker application. These are general route rules, not immigration advice on an individual's circumstances.
The Overseas Domestic Worker visa is not a general recruitment route for a UK-resident family. It is designed for a domestic worker who has already worked for their overseas employer for at least 12 months and is travelling to the UK with that employer, their partner or children. The employer must normally live outside the UK and be visiting for no more than six months, and the worker's permission is normally limited to six months. A household should therefore not treat this route as a way to recruit a new nanny in the Philippines for a long-term London job. Check the current Home Office rules or obtain regulated immigration advice for a specific case.
Which UK routes are relevant to a household asking about an overseas nanny?
The route name matters. Sponsorship, an Overseas Domestic Worker visa and an existing right to work are different legal situations.
This table is a route map, not an eligibility decision. Immigration status can be fact-specific and rules change. Filipino Domestic Services is not an immigration adviser or sponsor.
The Overseas Domestic Worker route follows an existing employer relationship.
It is designed to let an established domestic employee accompany an overseas employer during a temporary UK stay.
For an ordinary London household, the practical alternative is lawful right-to-work recruitment.
A household does not need to sponsor someone who already has immigration status or another basis that permits the proposed work. But the household must verify that permission correctly before employment starts.
the checks you must run instead are explained in the dedicated household-employer guide.
Three approaches that do not solve the sponsorship problem.
Changing the label does not create immigration permission.
Standard Visitor permission generally prohibits taking employment in the UK. A household should not plan for someone to arrive as a visitor and then start an ordinary nanny or housekeeper job.
Employment status and immigration permission are separate questions. A household cannot create a lawful work route merely by changing the contract label, and domestic employment obligations should reflect how the work is actually carried out.
Filipino Domestic Services is an introduction agency and does not sponsor workers. The household should distinguish an agency making candidate introductions from a Home Office-licensed sponsor employing someone on an eligible sponsored route.
From our work
We separate the household staffing brief from immigration permission.
Filipino Domestic Services' current staffing enquiry asks the household to define the domestic role, postcode, live-in or live-out arrangement, normal days and hours, recurring duties and preferred start date. Those details let the agency understand the job that the household wants filled. They do not create a visa route or transfer the household's legal responsibilities to the agency.
Our employer guidance therefore treats two questions separately. First: what job does the household actually need? Second: is the person being considered already permitted to do that work in the UK, and has the household completed the prescribed right-to-work check? A candidate's Filipino nationality, overseas experience or willingness to relocate does not answer the second question.
That distinction is particularly important when a household asks about bringing someone directly from the Philippines. We do not present a staffing enquiry as Skilled Worker sponsorship, and we do not describe the Overseas Domestic Worker route as a recruitment shortcut. Filipino Domestic Services does not provide immigration advice or sponsorship. Where a proposed hire depends on obtaining or changing immigration permission, the household should use current Home Office guidance and, where individual advice is required, an appropriately regulated immigration adviser.
Keep sponsorship and right to work as separate decisions.
Sponsorship asks whether a permitted route can bring or keep someone in the UK for a sponsored job. A right-to-work check asks whether this individual is already allowed to do the job you are offering.
Questions families ask about hiring a nanny from the Philippines.
Can I sponsor a nanny from the Philippines to work for my family in the UK?
Not through ordinary Skilled Worker sponsorship in a private household's personal capacity. Home Office sponsor guidance says individual persons and households cannot be Worker sponsors for personal employment, and the current Skilled Worker occupation table lists nannies and au pairs as extension-in-the-same-occupation only. A person's specific circumstances can be different, so use current Home Office guidance or regulated immigration advice for an individual case.
Can I use the Overseas Domestic Worker visa to hire a new nanny in the Philippines?
Normally no. The route requires an existing domestic worker who has already worked for the overseas employer for at least 12 months and is travelling with that employer, their partner or children for a temporary UK stay. It is not a general long-term recruitment route for a UK-resident household.
Can an Overseas Domestic Worker change employer after arriving in the UK?
Current rules allow an Overseas Domestic Worker to change to another domestic-worker job in a private household during the existing permission, but the worker cannot use that change to stay beyond the route's six-month maximum. Check the person's actual permission and expiry date before employing them.
Can someone come to the UK as a visitor and then work as my nanny?
Standard Visitor permission generally does not allow ordinary paid or unpaid work for a UK employer. A visitor route should not be used as a workaround for a household job. The person needs immigration permission that permits the proposed work.
What if the nanny already has the right to work in the UK?
The household may be able to employ them without sponsorship if their existing immigration status or other entitlement permits the proposed work. Before employment begins, the household must complete the prescribed right-to-work check and confirm any restrictions or follow-up date.
Does Filipino Domestic Services sponsor nannies or arrange visas?
No. Filipino Domestic Services is a household staffing introduction agency and does not provide immigration sponsorship or personalised immigration advice. We can explain the general staffing and employer-compliance boundaries, while the household remains responsible for lawful right-to-work checking and any individual immigration advice it needs.
Sources and immigration-advice boundary.
This guide summarises current published UK rules for an ordinary private household. It does not decide visa eligibility, sponsor status or right to work for an individual. Immigration Rules and sponsor guidance change, so use the live Home Office sources for a specific case.
Start with a lawful UK hiring route, then define the household job.
If the person already has permission to do the work, the next steps are to complete the right-to-work check and make the role, hours, pay and employment terms clear.