Now we are looking at sits over the winter months. One of our criteria is the temperature has to be over 15C, this means we go abroad. The travel restrictions are forever changing but we hope they will settle down by then. It’s a roulette wheel if we get to travel or not.
Are pet owners accepting sits from international travellers yet or are you playing safe and going for locals?
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As a sitter who plan to add homeowner next week, (needing cat sitter for late August) I will not be accepting international sitters. Travel restrictions are still ever changing.
I also won’t be applying for foreign sits or even forreign vacations until mid 2022
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I have to admit that with the situation as it is at the moment, I’m preferring to have sitters from our own country for the time being…
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I’m in California and only looking at sitters in the US right now. I think if I had a trip planned for winter I’d consider a sitter from Canada or Europe but I’d wait a couple more months to post to see how things play out.
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That’s good to hear. We are now fully vaccinated and desperate to continue with our travels. I was just looking for a slither of hope.
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I am HO in Germany and for our first sit in September we chose a Sitter living 3 hrs drive away. As the number of infections are rising again all over the world we wouldn’t be comfortable with people from other countries as you never know if there are new restrictions to come on very short notice.
For December we plan to leave the country for 10 days ourselves but would still rather have a local sitter…we rather take only one risk at a time 
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Hi
We have been housesitting in the UK on another site but would love to sit abroad aswell
Having recently joined this site we were wondering how likely it is that you’d get a foreign sit, why would a homeowner choose a sitter from abroad with all the complications that foreign travel may incur
Thanks
David
Hi David, Welcome to our community forum and to TrustedHousesitters we are so glad you have joined us.
I’ve moved your question to this thread as it is a fact of our house and pet sitting lifestyle that many members are discussing as international travel begins to open up although there are still many factors to consider. The situation can differ greatly from country to country but with good planning and plan B’s in place there are owners and sitters successfully arranging international sits.
Enjoy the conversations there are interesting topics across a wide range of subjects and I’m sure you will be able to contribute to the discussion.
Angela and the Team
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@seagulls
At the moment I would not accept a sitter, who has yet to travel to Europe from another continent, because the immigration rules might change quickly. However, for our planned absence in December a couple from the US, who already are in Europe, have applied and I do consider choosing them. They will travel to Germany from Switzerland and there are no restrictions to expect so it’s safe to try.
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@seagulls I think its going to get alot easier to travel between countries at least across Europe as more and more people become vaccinated though some countries eg Australia have indicated their borders may remain closed for sometime. The confusing traffic light system into the UK is going to be relaxed (announced yesterday) and travellers with full vaccination will find it easier to travel in and out of the UK ; this means more people from mainland Europe at least will be travelling here and some of those will have pets they need looking after so to answer your question in part, it should get alot easier to do these exchanges though of course alot of people will still prefer to find local sitters due to the uncertainty of the situation.
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We have been accepted for foreign sits but neither of the hosts have been very firm with dates. It’s a case of wait and see I think.
I like to be organised. I usually have sits booked for the next three months but we have nothing in our calendar after the beginning of November. It’s spin the wheel and see where we land.
Elsie
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I have accepted sitters from Canada but it has backfired on me as they have let me down 3 weeks before we go away. October 2021 is our holiday, we are based in France and need a sitters for our two dogs.
The visa rules have been the cause, I feel they should have had it all in place before applying its a question worth asking if you are considering sitter from USA/Canada etc as the Schengen rules state 3 months and they had accepted a 3 month sit after accepting ours so I guess we got the short straw.
Even if we had the THS insurance in place it wouldn’t cover what we will loose if we don’t find suitable replacements.
So maybe we will ask more questions in future.
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I’m so sorry to hear that this has happened to you. I think this type of question is one you would only think of if you’ve had this type of experience. None of us can think of all the variables that might make a sit unworkable for either side. I hope you’re fortunate enough to find wonderful replacements that your pets will adore. Safe travels to you.
I am considering an US American couple for a 10 days sit in December but only because they already are in Europe since August and will arrive from Switzerland and leave for Luxemburg.
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Thank you so much, we are hoping we will find new sitters but if we don’t I can’t leave them or put them in kennels so we won’t be able to go, after all this time we just though a holiday was in sight, plus financial cost. Lesson learned I appreciate your kind words of comfort
Hi @Champfleurie I’m so sorry to hear about your sitters. I have looked at your listing and it looks like such a great sit opportunity, the girls are adorable and you have wonderful feedback from all of your sitters.
There are things we can do to help, such as share your listing on our Social Channels, it’s also encouraging that you have more applications coming in, there is still time to find sitters but we do understand your need to get them arranged as soon as possible … please Direct Message me if you would like to discuss sharing your listing.
@Champfleurie
I just checked and Canadians definitely DON’T need a Schengen visa! Citizens from the US and Canada aren’t on the list. I was worried because I am to confirm a couple from the US and they are already in Europe since August and these 3 months you mentioned, would also have applied to them. So either they didn’t tell you the truth or they didn’t know that a visa isn’t necessary or they are not Canadians. 
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@anon39388349 @Champfleurie The Schengen Zone is a continual source of confusion for travelers as although the visa isn’t need for Canadians, US citizens or Brits (now left the EU), they can only visit for 90 days in each 180 day period, which often restricts sitters from spending time across various different sits in the Schengen member countries of Europe.
For anyone else who needs info on this, here’s a good site that gives a lot of information and is a great place to check out individual citizenship and entry into Europe.
And here on this page you’ll find more on the 90/180 day rule:
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Yes, right! There’s still the 180 days regulation even if you don’t need the Schengen visa.
My (just confirmed two minutes ago) sitters from the US will travel to Morocco and from there to Switzerland where the 180 days begin again.
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I gather there are lots of “creative” ways to extend the stay like this 
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