Up until recently it has not been possible to obtain a nanny visa for more than 6 months. And Brexit prevents EU nationals who arrive in the UK from 1 January 2021 from taking on this role in a family. This is because EU nationals arriving now require a visa to live and work in the UK. So there could be a crisis of lack of nannies in nanny land.
Help is at hand. The new immigration rules specifically say that a nanny is a “skilled worker”. So overseas nannies from anywhere can now be sponsored by households. The household can now employ them provided the household holds a sponsor licence.
The process for the sponsor licence does require a number of conditions to be fulfilled. The nanny will need to be able to speak English.
Employment agencies probably cannot fulfil the role of sponsor for this role and then hope to place the nanny with a household. This is because the employer of the nanny has to be responsible for payment of the salary and must have genuine responsibility for deciding all the duties and functions of the nanny.
Bad news for the butler and head house keeper roles. These roles have been specifically excluded from the list of roles capable of being sponsored.
If you would like help to employ a nanny from overseas, please feel free to contact us via tredfern@redfernlegal.com
Tom Redfern
