Housesitters and holiday swappers: what are the immigration law implications?

Companies like TrustedHousesitters have recently hit the news following a number of incidents whereby some of its international members tried to enter the UK as a visitor in order to take advantage of an agreed-upon housesitting arrangement but were instead denied entry into the country.

With the rise of this type of frugal holiday scheme, as well as those that offer a holiday swap, it’s important to understand the immigration implications for its users from outside the UK.

What is a housesitting holiday?

Many countries are going through a cost-of-living crisis, which means different things for different people. Brits can’t afford a holiday abroad, Australians are cutting back on discretionary spending, whilst Americans sadly can’t afford eggs, as evidenced by this “US egg price tracker” in the Guardian. Perhaps unsurprisingly, entrepreneurs have sought to capitalise on difficult economic times by starting businesses that offer a “free” holiday for those who are open to housesitting and looking after the owner’s pets and possibly also plants for a week or two.

The proffer is simple, as TrustedHousesitters, launched in 2010, explains:

We’re a one-of-a-kind community marketplace connecting pet parents seeking the best possible pet care with loving, verified sitters looking for an authentic travel experience.

TrustedHousesitters is the pet care solution pets prefer – and vets agree! Pet parents get peace of mind while on vacation, sitters get a unique travel experience, and (most importantly) pets get to stay happy and loved in their own homes.

The website boasts that this arrangement gives both housesitters and pet owners “the freedom to travel”, which is slightly painful to read when even immigration lawyers aren’t this bold, and we actually do this for a living.

The way the business works is that both sitters and those looking for someone to care for their pets in their absence pay an annual membership fee to the company in order to have access to the website which seeks to match the two groups of people. Basically, like a dating app but infinitely less depressing and probably with fewer bots. Once a housesitter matches with a “pet parent”, there are no more fees to pay either to the company or to one another. The exchange is free, at least on the surface.

Can a visitor be a housesitter?

The relevant rules for visitors can be found in Appendix V: Visitor of the immigration rules, which state the conditions a visitor must abide by (my emphasis):

V 4.4. The Visitor must not intend to:

(a) work in the UK, which includes:
(i) taking employment in the UK; and
(ii) doing work for an organisation or business in the UK; and
(iii) establishing or running a business as a self-employed person; and
(iv) doing a work placement or internship; and
(v) direct selling to the public; and
(vi) providing goods and services,

unless expressly allowed by the permitted activities in Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities or Appendix Visitor: Permit Free Festival List 

The list of permitted activities can, perhaps unsurprisingly, be found in Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities, which lists the activities visitors are allowed to do in the UK. If it’s not on the list, you’re generally not allowed to do it. The closest activity to “unpaid” housesitting is probably volunteering:

PA 3. A Visitor may undertake volunteering provided it lasts no more than 30 days in total and is for a charity that is registered with either the Charity Commission for England and Wales; the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland; or the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.

This is a restrictive definition which would not apply to housesitters applying through sites like these, as they would not be working for a registered charity.

The additional problem is that “work” is defined in the immigration rules as the same as employment (for these purposes), which is defined as:

“Employment” includes paid and unpaid employment, paid and unpaid work placements undertaken as part of a course or period of study, self-employment and engaging in business or any professional activity. Standing for or filling an elected post in local or devolved government or legislatures is not considered to be employment for the purposes of the immigration rules, and conditions restricting employment do not affect the ability to undertake such activities.

Thus, any kind of unpaid or voluntary work which does not meet the requirements of PA 3, or another part of those rules, is not permitted under the rules. So does housesitting, including taking care of the homeowner’s pets, which is an integral part of this scheme, meet the definition of “work”, if it’s unpaid work?

It’s perhaps a bit of a legal grey area in the case of a family member coming to visit you if as part of the wider visit, they’ve offered to look after your small child, medium-sized tortoise or large tarantula while you run some errands. But when it comes to an explicit quid pro quo with a stranger, where you agree to perform a service for them (looking after their pets) in exchange for a benefit (staying in their house without charge), this is a clear example of not just unpaid work but work that is remunerated by a benefit in kind.

There is no reference to housesitting or pet care in the visitor guidance but the section about family members providing free childcare is perhaps indicative of the approach they would take in such cases:

Where a family member is coming to look after a child in the UK, this is permitted provided it is for a short visit and does not amount to the relative being employed as a child-minder. You must be satisfied that the visit is of a short duration, the relative is a genuine visitor and will not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits.

Visitors are not permitted to act as au-pairs for families in the UK, as this is considered to be providing a service, which is not permitted as per V 4.4 (a) (vi) of Appendix V: Visitor. 

When even a family member seeking to look after a child as a visitor is scrutinised so closely, it’s unlikely that the Home Office would be thrilled at the idea of strangers coming to look after pets in exchange for accommodation. The reference to visitors being prohibited from working as au-pairs is also very telling, as these arrangements often include the provision of free childcare in exchange for room and board.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Home Office has confirmed that it considers this type of housesitting a form of work which is not permitted for a visitor to engage in. Though the government’s legal position will not always be correct, as anyone who has ever succeeded in an appeal or a judicial review can tell you, this does align with the rules and guidance.

However, TrustedHousesitters doesn’t exactly shy away from the transactional nature of its business, posting on its Instagram about how much money a pet owner saves by using their service instead of paying for pet care services such as Rover or a cattery:

The clear implication is that by opting into this service, pet owners can receive an equivalent level of care for their pets for a much lower price, as it would be provided by a TrustedHousesitters member for no more than the cost of their annual membership fee, and at no additional cost to them.

In turn, their advertising makes it clear that housesitters receive an obvious benefit in being offered free accommodation, which would otherwise cost a lot of money, in exchange for looking after the animals (and their annual membership fee):

Although a clear quid pro quo such as this is not required for something to be classified as work, or for what they receive in exchange to be considered a benefit in kind, given that unpaid work is just as prohibited as paid work for a visitor, it does appear that the company is aware of the nature of this exchange, which makes their immigration advice even more problematic. On their website, they state:

TrustedHousesitters explanatory letters for border control

On rare occasions housesitting can be categorised as work by border control and there have been a very small handful of cases where sitters have found entry challenging – in even rarer cases, there have been sitters who have been refused entry to a country as a result.

We’ve produced the letters below for our most popular housesitting destinations which you can show if needed to help border control officials understand that we don’t regard housesitting as work.

It is perhaps telling that TrustedHousesitters allegedly used to advertise their services as “pet sitting jobs”. Putting to the side the misguided logic of a dating-app-but-for-your-house “helping” border control officials “understand” that they do not regard housesitting as work, and why thosee officials should give two figs about this when making a decision on whether to authorise someone’s entry into the country, their own letter that they provide for their members to show to border force officers makes it clear that they are very much aware that the immigration rules do not allow for unpaid work (my emphasis):

In summary, TrustedHousesitters acts as an introductory platform allowing members to visit and stay at members’ homes in the UK. Those who subscribe to our site pay an annual subscription fee to access our site, but there are, otherwise, no additional payments made to our company and no exchange of monetary payment between or among members. Our traveller members, in subscribing to our site, are purposefully seeking a more cost-efficient manner of holidaying, and NOT seeking a “job” or to otherwise provide a service.

We are aware that the Immigration Rules, specifically Appendix V relating to the activities of visitors to the UK, confirm that there are 4 types of visitor, including ‘standard’ visitors whose permitted activities include tourism, leisure activities, and visiting family and friends. In particular, we note the eligibility requirements under Appendix V and the genuine visitor requirement set out in Appendix V (4.2-4.4) which confirms that visitors must demonstrate:

– They are seeking entry to the UK for leisure purposes.

– They do not intend and will not be undertaking any prohibited activities during their stay in the UK, which include:

… taking employment, either paid or unpaid;

… doing work for an organisation or business in the UK;

… establishing or running a business as a self-employed person;

… doing a work placement or internship;

… providing goods and services while they are in the UK.

– They will not remain in the UK for longer than the period allowed to them as a Standard Visitor – i.e., 6 months.

– They intend to leave the UK at the end of their stay.

– They have the means to support and maintain themselves financially from their own resources throughout the period of their stay in the UK, and will not have recourse to public funds at any time throughout the period of their stay as visitors in the UK.

As part of their visit, our traveller members have agreed, on a short term basis, to take care of matters around a household, such as watering plants, collecting the mail, and caring for the household pet(s), etc., in exchange for short term accommodation while they holiday in a place away from home. Our homeowner members, on the other hand, gain the peace of mind that trustworthy individuals will care for their homes and pets while they are away. These arrangements are always made for only brief periods (with the average stay of being 1-2 weeks – the amount of time for which an average person might take a holiday). We believe that subscribers to our website who enter the UK to stay at accommodation arranged through our website are doing so as visitors.

It is not surprising that a number of foreign nationals were refused entry into the UK after they showed the border force officer this letter, given that it explicitly admits that the letter bearer is seeking entry into the UK in order to perform a service that is, at best, unpaid, and at worst, is paid by way of a benefit in kind – both of which are prohibited under the immigration rules. The letter literally says that its members are not providing a service before outlining the very specific ways in which they are providing a service. Even Superman had a better disguise than this.

In contrast to the letter, in correspondence with me on 17 February 2025, a customer service agent for the company admitted that:

The UK Home Office has indicated that house sitting, even when unpaid, can be considered work. This means that entering the UK to house sit might necessitate a work visa, rather than a standard tourist visa. Engaging in activities not permitted under your visa can lead to refusal of entry or deportation. 

Obviously, it is not possible to obtain a work visa to work as a housesitter or to provide care for pets so it’s not clear what a user of their services is supposed to do with this information.

This not to say that the services companies like these provide are inherently unethical or in some way harmful to the receiving country. On the contrary, there is merit in a business that gives people the opportunity to save money while travelling, and of course any visitor in the UK contributes to the local economy by spending money here.

However, where the very foundation of the business requires breaching immigration law, it is not enough to try and fudge the legality of the scheme to its users and hope that they don’t get unlucky at the border. It would be far preferable to lobby the government to add a line to the guidance permitting this kind of activity than to provide contradictory, misleading advice to its members.

Should I come to housesit in the UK? 

It seems likely that the only reason more people haven’t been turned away at the border on this basis is because the majority of people matching with UK pet owners are non-visa nationals who usually glide through border controls with minimal, if any, queries. Many simply don’t usually encounter a border force officer unless a bunch of machines break down, which is the only reason more members don’t face the opportunity to “help border control officials understand” the immigration rules.

For those who are questioned at the border, many just hide the true nature of their visit. Anyone seeking a visit visa for this purpose would likely just be rejected outright before they even set eyes on a plane unless, again, they are less than truthful about their intentions.

If you’re seeking to enter the UK to housesit for someone on this basis, it is likely that you would be doing so in breach of the rules for visitors, which means not only the possibility of being turned away at the border but also a risk to certain future visa applications you might make, as you would have lived in the UK in breach of the conditions attached to your immigration status. You potentially also face the cancellation of your permission and removal from the country if you are found working without permission in the UK, which is what this arrangement amounts to.

But what about holiday swaps?

Holiday swap schemes, such as Holiday Swap and this offering from the Guardian, where the general idea is that you exchange your home with someone else’s for a cheap holiday, are a bit more straightforward.

In cases where you simply advertise your home with the intention of letting someone stay there free of charge while you stay at their place free of charge, with no additional duties, where you are not performing any kind of work and you are not expected to carry out any kind of service, you would generally not be considered to be carrying out work, paid or otherwise. In those circumstances, it would not usually be a breach of conditions for a foreign national to enter the UK as a visitor for this purpose.

In such arrangements, there would typically be an expectation that you would both clean up after yourselves. This is unlikely to amount to work as you would not be giving any kind of benefit to the owner beyond setting right what you made wrong. It may, however, be more complicated in cases where you agree to care for each other’s pets or perform any other maintenance that would otherwise require the owner to pay for a service as part of your stay.