Can an American or Canadian come to UK as an au pair?

[newnametoday1]

This may be a dense question. I had always been under the impression that it was basically only EU people that could come to the UK as au pairs but on the sites I am registered on there seem to be lots of Americans and Canadians. Please can someone let me know what the rules are on this? Thanks very much.

American - simple answer, no.

Canadian - yes, under Tier 5 visa. Tier 5 Youth Mobility

Immigration Rules

Easier to use: Check if you need a visa - do this for anyone who is coming to the UK to work.

If an American is coming to the UK using a Tier 4 visa (study) then they may be able to work but hours will be restricted during term time. See Guidance, Tier 4

Thanks nannynick that is very useful.

American, answer is no, not really. However they can get to stay in the UK for 3 months on their visa but can't get a visa to formally work as an au pair or stay any longer than that. Last year we had an American girl (friend of a friend) come and stay with us as she wanted to spend her summer in the UK and I needed someone just to help out with a bit of childcare over the summer for a few weeks but she wasn't officially employed as an au pair.

Canadians (and Australians) can get visas as nannynick described.

"Last year we had an American girl (friend of a friend) come and stay with us as she wanted to spend her summer in the UK and I needed someone just to help out with a bit of childcare over the summer for a few weeks"

Not very helpful of me, because I can't remember where I saw it, but I'm sure I have recently read that this is illegal.

Probably best to check before doing it, in case there has been a change in the law since since Happydutchmummy's friend was here.

Some Americans may have British born/other EU country born parents and it is possible they hold EU passports, its a quick question to ask!
Canadians can come on Tier 5 youth mobility visas or Ancestry visas.

If someone comes on a Tier 4 youth mobility visa (e.g. an Australian or Canadian) - can they work part-time too? Thinking of getting an Aussie au pair but worried that they wouldn't have enough to do - and obviously they wouldn't need language courses!

Tier 4 is a Student visa which has restrictions in amount of time they can work during term time.

Tier 5 - Youth Mobility Scheme does permit work:
"will be free to do whatever work you like during your stay in the United
Kingdom, except for self employment (subject to certain exceptions), working as a professional sportsperson (including as a sports coach) or working as a doctor or dentist in training."

They need £1890 in their personal bank account to be able to get a visa under Tier 5, so that may make it unattractive to some people, though others will be able to get that from their parents or through working before coming to the UK.

An American can stay up to six months out of every twelve in the UK as a www.gov.uk/general-visit-visatourist - that means no working, volunteering, helping out people in lieu of some type of remuneration, working online, etc. If the immigration officer gets a whiff that someone is coming over to do unpaid work they will send that person back home - and there are large fines for anyone who employs someone who does not have the legal right to work - even if that work is unpaid.

Students can work up to 20 hours per week term time, and full time outside of term. page 58

You may be able to find an American with dual citizenship - or one who has the possibility of it (Irish or Italian passports are the easiest to get) as suggested up thread.

*any kind of work actually, not just unpaid

Thanks Nannynick - I'm mixing up my Tiers!

If an au pair is Canadian or Australian and they come in on a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa, if they end up working, does the money they get as pocket money as an au pair end up counting towards taxable income?

Also, if an au pair is ostensibly Canadian or Australian but actually has a British passport too, would that invalidate them from being an au pair officially (as it's not a cultural exchange)?

Thanks in advance!

I meant to say "British passport or Ancestry visa"

don't think it invalidates them. ancestry visa has no work restrictions.
I came over on an ancestry visa 6 yrs ago to work as a nanny. ....believe me there is a cultural differences, the only thing in common is english language (some from Canada may not even speak english if they are from Quebec) and that the queen is head of state.

Any income I think would count for tax purposes but the pay is usually under the lower earnings limit so there would not be income tax. It depends how much they are paid.

If they are free to enter UK without needing a visa, then its the same as any other worker I would expect.

Thanks. I was just curious whether if they got a waitressing job or something on top of being an au pair - whether the au pair pocket money would be counted in assessing if they need to pay tax. It sounds like it would but that they are unlikely to be able the lower earnings limit threashold based on au pair pocket money plus a few shifts waitressing a week!

Thanks