Hi guys! I was just wondering, does anyone had any problem in the UK migration? I will be going on April, but I’m afraid they ask me tooo much because I was there on December for vacation, maybe if I just say I’m pet sitting its ok, or do they think rare about this? Thanks!
(Forum team updated title of post 01/09/26 to better reflect the discussion subject)
The people on here will need a little more information to help you.
What type of passport do you have? Which country is it?
Are you already a paid member of TrustedHousesitters or not?
How long are you staying for when you visit in April?
Do you actually have a pet sit booked for when you visit in April?
If you can answer those, then others may be able to help.
This Thread may be of help.
You will find stories about having problems because they said they are petsitting and, recently, there were two people who said they were allowed with no problems. Most people would probably advise booking accommodation and not mentioning petsitting, which is considered work and would not be allowed if you are entering as a tourist.
I have never been asked anything myself and have been three times recently within less than a year.
I hope this helps.
Sorry! You are right.
Im from Argentina, I will be there for 2 months traveling and I already have 6 houses for pet sitting, I have my THS premium account. And I can do this because I work remotly.
Thank you! I have and accommodation for the firsts day, but I was going to show them the THS letter for migration to help them understand why my plane ticket is 2 months later 
This is about Ireland but the principle applies to many countries- the official view is that you need a needs a work visa even for unpaid work ( pet or house sitting )
I entered the UK mid-November and left early January and just returned mid-March and I didn’t have any issues.
I am a US citizen but had to do in person immigration in both instances.
In the first–flew into Glasgow, a pretty small airport-- some people were diverted from the e-gates to border guards to speed things up it seemed as there were lots of people in line for the gates and almost no one for the guards.
In the second instance, I entered by bus/ferry from Europe and there were no e-gates at the pier.
In both instances I mentioned I was here for tourism. They asked a couple of questions about how long I was staying,etc… and I let them know my general plans, how long we were going to be here. They did not ask any specifics about my itinerary. I don’t think most immigration officers ask about a detailed itinerary so that you don’t have bookings to account for the whole length of your trip should not be a problem.
They did not ask to see any proof of accommodation or exiting the country.
Never show the letter (or have it with you). Never mention house/petsitting.
Your reason for visiting is a holiday. Have a hotel/hostel booked for your first night there.
@magsicp
Here are the official rules from gov.uk so you can check and keep up to date yourself .
With an Argentinian passport You will need an electronic visa for tourism .
“ While in the UK as a tourist, you cannot:
You may also be asked to prove that:
you’re visiting for tourism
you’ve arranged accommodation for your stay “
If you recently visited U.K. and are state that you are returning to do house and pet sitting for two months , the Immigration Official may decide that this is unpaid work and not permitted . If that happens the THS letter won’t help .
Well, even working remotely FROM WITHIN the UK for companies OUTSIDE the UK is considered work. So she should just say you are travelling and exploring the country. Never mention work or pet sitting or house sitting in any way. Holiday, time off, exploring. Smile and 
wave.
I will, thank you! Fun fact that I can’t work remotely for the outside and travel 
Ok, by reading all your comments, I think I will say " I came on december for 10 days and it was not enough, so I’m planning to travel to London, Cambridge, Oxford and Edimburgh and then maybe going to Italy, even though my ticket plane is from UK." and god helps me 
Thanks for the heads up. FataMorgana.
Have a great day everyone!
Don’t mention God in any way. It’s strictly forbidden and will be censored in this forum!
I live in the US and my work is with very progressive social justice orgs. I typically spend several months a year in the UK or Europe. A mix of pet sitting and some time on holiday. My next trip is 4 months in the UK.
I plan to be extra cautious this year. Will uninstall my social media and travel related apps before exiting/entering a different country.
Does anyone have advice for covering myself and avoiding problems? This may be my last sit for awhile as thing are only going to get worse. Thanks.
Actually, you can work remotely in the UK on a tourist visa as long as the work is not the primary purpose of your trip.
(This is not legal advice. Consult a lawyer and official UK govt websites.)
I entered the UK twice in the last several months–first in mid-November and then again mid-March and I didn’t have problems either time.
I actually had to talk to border guards in both instances as even though I flew in the first time through Glasgow–which is a pretty small airport-- they were directing some people to in-person processing as the lines for the e-gates were kind of long and there was almost no one waiting in those lines.
And the second time I came by bus/ferry from Europe and as far as I could tell I don’t think they had e-gate options at the ferry crossing.
If you are flying in from the US to a major airport like Heathrow, the chances of having to talk to someone are very slim as you will be using the e-gates, but in my experience, it went very smoothly. They just asked a few questions about our visit, how long we may be staying,etc… Glasgow was a pretty small airport with only a few gates, so I think that is why they split people off from the gates to the guards.
In the first instance, we had a flight booked out of the UK as we had a sit planned in Turkey and we offered to show our return ticket and she said she didn’t need to see it. I had a hotel booked for the first night as we came a day before we were due to arrive at the house but they didn’t ask to see that either.
In the second instance, we were asked similar questions but when asked about how long we were planning to stay, I was honest in saying we didn’t have a set itinerary but gave a general rundown of our plans and said that we would most likely be heading to Ireland next but since we didn’t know the exact date or where we would be just prior, we hadn’t made any travel plans. He seemed fine with this answer. I didn’t think it prudent to lie about this in the event he asked to see proof of leaving as we obviously did not have that. It is rare that border guards ask to see proof of onward travel so I didn’t think to take care of that.
I did have a hotel reservation in case he asked to see one as we were heading right to our sit up on arrival in London. I booked a few nights in a London hotel and cancelled as soon as I got the confirmation. He did not ask anything about my accommodation.
Also, you are officially allowed to work remotely in the UK as long as it is not the primary purpose of your visit, you aren’t providing services for a UK company,etc… So mentioning that would not pose any problems if you thought it would help show you have the means to support yourself and why you are able to travel so long.
I think it is important to remember that based on the stories I have seen, the problem started for the sitter when they voluntarily offered up information about house sitting completely unprompted ,when asked their reason for visiting–this information was not revealed as a result of being asked directly about it, devices being searched, deep interrogations about their travel plans, being randomly selected for secondary questioning, etc… So long as that is not mentioned, it is unlikely anyone would have any issues.
Thanks! I have 1 night hotel on arrival and may consider making more reservations just in case. I am always “visiting friends” with the ocassional week of hiking or visiting the beach thrown in. I have many people and pet friends that I return to every year.
That definitely can’t hurt if it makes you feel more secure, especially since it is a very easy thing to do. I think the in-depth discussion of this issue, and the types of things people, tend to say, in all these various corners of the internet heavily distort the reality of the situation.
I think the common thread in these experiences --people voluntarily and needlessly disclosing their housesitting plans-- gets lost in all these discussions. So anyone reading a thread like this is well aware not to do the thing most likely to cause problems.