Looking for a Mandarin-speaking au pair. Is it ever possible for Chinese students to get au pair visas?

[Spaceace]

Just that, really. We are looking for a Mandarin speaker but one agency (and one possible au pair) told me that it's not possible to get an au pair visa if you're coming from China. Does anyone know if this is correct? If they are studying part-time (which would be the case) might they be entitled to a student visa instead?

It is not possible to get an au pair Visa for a Chinese national. A student Visa would require extensive proof of funds to self support and very limited right to work. The type of student who could get a student Visa is unlikely to want to be an au pair in their 'free time' ime if these students

Nope can’t be done.
Student visas have really tightened up recently and They basically have to be either doing a degree course/substantial other course at a recognised higher institution to be allowed to work 10-20 hours.
Attendance at Language courses at private colleges don’t allow you to work at all.

If you scroll down to P67 it explains it in more detail.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/770523/T4_Migrant_Guidance_JAN_2019_11.01.2019.pdf

Thanks v much for your responses. I feared that might be the case!

@SonEtLumiere you make a v good point but why is it so hard to get an au pair visa from China by comparison with, say, the US or Canada? Wouldn’t a Mandarin-speaker from Vancouver have the same issues?

Ah, I think I’ve found the answer. It’s to do with the tier 5 youth mobility scheme, yes? Which only applies to the following countries outside Europe:
Australia
Canada
Japan
Monaco
New Zealand
Hong Kong
Republic of Korea
Taiwan

Does anyone have any idea about the best way to find a Mandarin-speaking au pair from one of those countries?! If you have au pairs, have you found them through agencies or websites? Word of mouth?

I am sure that if you advertised and offered the going hourly rate you could find a Mandarin tutor, no problem. Or look online for Skype lessons.

The national language of Taiwan is Mandarin. That is your best option on that list. Hong Kong speaks Cantonese but there may be native Mandarin speakers holding HK passports as a second option.

why is it so hard to get an au pair visa from China by comparison with, say, the US or Canada? Wouldn’t a Mandarin-speaker from Vancouver have the same issues?

Visas are issued based on passport of holder, not their native language...big difference in the amount of access to the UK a Canadian has compared to a Chinese national.

Taiwanese speak very standard Mandarin but use traditional characters rather than simplified, which are harder to learn.

Nightmanagerfan I'd be very surprised if an au pair was teaching reading and writing to any serious standard especially in Chinese, whether simplified or traditional characters.

Thanks v much for your thoughts. My DC already have a pretty good level of Mandarin (they've been learning quite intensively in HK for the past 2.5 years) but it is simplified they are learning. The idea of having a mandarin-speaking au pair is to help DC keep up their spoken fluency (while also giving me and DH some help in a busy household etc) though I guess it would be helpful if they were able to help with written homework etc but not essential.

@edgeofheaven Taiwanese nationals are probably a very good place to start. Thanks again

Try to get an Australian. Loads of Australians speak Mandarin.

Try an ad in TNT magazine - it's given out free in London and is read by virtually all working holiday visa holders, which is basically people from the countries on your list.

Australia had a lot of Asian immigration in the 1980s and 1990s,their children are now back packing through Europe.

Au pair world will be your best bet

www.aupairworld.com/en/find-aupair

This is super helpful - thanks, all!