Domestic help in the UK is expensive. If you plan to employ domestic staff from abroad who are not UK nationals, UK permanent residents, or EEA nationals (basically EU plus Scandinavia and Switzerland), you are responsible for completing specific application paperwork and your domestic staff member must obtain an entry visa before coming to post. Currently, au pair visas are subject to different limitations than other household staff (eg, au pair visas are limited to a total of 2 years).