29/01/2026
IMPORTANT WARNING! ⚠️
⚠️ IMPORTANT WARNING FOR AU PAIRS, NANNIES & HOST FAMILIES — LEGAL RISKS EXPOSED
We are issuing an urgent sector-wide clarification about misleading au pair recruitment practices being promoted online by an Dutch Au Pair Agency known as Nina Care, who are claiming that young people can enter the UK as visa-free “guests” to live with a host family and provide childcare without a formal employment relationship.
This is not accurate under UK law and could expose both au pairs and families to serious legal and immigration consequences.
International media investigations — including by NL Times — reveal that Nina Care has been sending au pairs to the UK and instructing them to pose as tourists and not declare that they will be working, in an attempt to circumvent immigration and employment law. These findings include:
📌 Young women being detained and deported at UK immigration control when they told the truth about their purpose in the UK.
📌 The agency advising that someone can enter “as a family friend… as a guest… performing au pair duties and getting pocket money instead of minimum wage,” despite UK rules clearly treating such arrangements as work requiring the right to work and minimum wage protections.
📌 Dutch authorities investigating and imposing multiple fines for abuses, and ultimately revoking the agency’s recognised sponsor status after repeated violations.
These reports confirm that this is not a hypothetical risk, but something already happening in real placements with UK and other border officials. This agency does not care about the au pairs or the families they are working with.
UK Law Basics: What families and au pairs must know
🔹 Visitors cannot work in the UK. Childcare duties are treated as work and require a visa with the right to work — a visitor/tourist status does not allow this.
🔹 Au pairs are legally workers. If performing childcare duties, they must be paid at least the National Minimum Wage for all hours worked.
🔹 UK placements do not have a special visa exemption or cultural exchange loophole that allows unpaid childcare under a “guest” arrangement.
🔹 Au pairs working beyond 30 hours per week or caring for children under 2 are not compliant with widely accepted au pair standards in the UK.
🚨 Risks to Au Pairs
• Detention and deportation at the border
• Inability to return to the UK
• Lack of legal protections and pay
• Potential harm from undocumented placements
🚨 Risks to Families
• Fines of up to £45,000 for employing someone without the right to work
• Potential safeguarding breaches
• Employment and civil liabilities
• Insurance and compliance issues
What to check before hosting or becoming an au pair:
✔ Confirm the au pair has a legal right to work in the UK (visa or citizenship)
✔ Ensure minimum wage is paid after any accommodation offset
✔ Keep weekly hours within recognised au pair norms
✔ Avoid placements with children under 2 unless regulated appropriately
✔ Complete right-to-work checks and written agreements
✔ Never rely on guidance that contradicts official immigration law
We are contacting media and policymakers to highlight this issue and the broader need for regulation in the UK au pair and nanny sector.
If you have been affected by misleading recruitment practices, please get in touch with the National Nanny Association for confidential support.
https://nltimes.nl/2025/06/06/netherlands-biggest-au-pair-agency-lose-its-license-abuses
https://nltimes.nl/2025/06/06/netherlands-biggest-au-pair-agency-lose-its-license-abuses
https://nltimes.nl/2025/06/06/netherlands-biggest-au-pair-agency-lose-its-license-abuses
https://youtu.be/tKbdEjvp3Xc?si=ORWbvPHzGIws6lqG
