There will always be a potential problems with international sitters. This isn’t something that’s going to change any time soon. It’s fair enough if you don’t want to risk it, but may not want to do a blanket ban but rather case-by-case because I’m frequently in the UK for weeks before starting a sit so it’d be known well in advance if there was an issue.
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I’m in NYC, and have managed this by first checking if sitters have seen this forum thread, then asking questions about their potential plans. International sitters who have stayed at my home have often already been in the US for another sit or another reason, so they didn’t have to go through a border. In one case there was a couple and one was a US citizen so they were going to be visiting family as well as sitting, and I didn’t expect they’d have any issues. In another, the sitter is a sophisticated traveler who already booked a ticket for dates starting before and ending well after the sit and booked paid accomodations at both ends.
It looks to me as if THS have washed their hands of the whole issue. All this talk of how to get around the issue isn’t really a solution to the problem. THS should be open about the problem, and offering advice about to enter legally for a “working holiday”.
I cannot find anything on the website relating to possible problems with immigration. The first I knew about the problem was the article in The Guardian. Until THS address this problem I will only accept sits from UK residents. I do not want the worry and aggravation of booking a sitter knowing they may not make it into the country.
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the problem is that there is no really viable option to do it legally. and THS has no control over this. definitely do what make you comfortable.
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The THS letters are incredibly irresponsible. THS can’t define or interpret the laws of any country. Letters ‘explaining’ why THS thinks housesitting is okay to the immigration officers make it more likely that sitters will have problems, not less. THS should remove the letters and just state that sitters need to check the laws and visa requirements of the country they would like to enter. That’s what other sites involving volunteering or unpaid work such as Workaway and Wwoof do.
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What I would like to know is how many sitters who were refused entry were stopped at a secondary screening where their phones were examined and they were asked tough questions vs how many sitters were just being asked normal questions and mentioned housesitting innocently or took out the letter niavely thinking it would make things better. Every case I’ve heard about, is the same story. The border guard didn’t “challenge” just asked normal questions as part of their job, and the person freely admitted they were housesitting and/or took out the infamous letter, leaving the border guard almost no choice.
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@Wavingfish
If you look at the bottom of the home page of the main site, you will see a section about ‘border control’ where they state that in rare instances people have been refused entry, some border officials have considered sitting ‘work’ and some other information.
And just some general thoughts to add to the thread…
While I agree they should probably scrap the letters (which actually weren’t in existence for the incident that gets reported on over and over), beyond the other information provided in this section of the site, there probably really isn’t much more they can do or will do.
Their purpose is to provide a matching platform, and they have members from all over the world, many of whom sit domestically. They aren’t specifically promoting, or exist solely for the purpose, of international housesitting. It isn’t as if they invented the general concept. They aren’t providing the service directly.
Now it would be a different story if they are some sort of agency directly facilitating matches between sitters of one country with hosts of another country–UK sitters with US hosts for example-- where the hosts’ country has made official statements saying this isn’t allowed on a tourist visa.
I don’t think they can exercise much control over who can apply to what sit.
And the reality is that these issues are extremely rare. Most of the stories focus on one incident that happened over two years ago ( again, before the existence of these letters).
And if I had to guess, there are probably countless people who have mentioned sitting to border guards in these ‘problem countries’ and they didn’t see it as any sort of problem, and waved them right through.
If I wasn’t a member of this forum, I never would have known this is an issue, and I never would have guessed housesitting was viewed as problematic in any way.
My husband and I have been traveling pretty much full-time since 2011, housesitting since 2014. We have never once been questioned extensively about our travel plans, and on the occasions we were asked some basic questions, we just said we were here on vacation. In the vast majority of cases, border agents don’t say a single word to us.
I never once mentioned housesitting, and this wasn’t because I was trying to hide it, it was because it did not even occur to me to say anything about it. I came there for the purpose of tourism, and stated as such. I am not intending to stay in that country permanently or get any sort of job there.
It is also interesting to note that in many countries, the law officially states you are no allowed to do any sort of paid work while you are there, even if it is online, for a company outside the country,etc…
So that means many ‘digital nomads’ are also breaking the law when entering loads of places. But they really aren’t hurting anyone and I see housesitting in the same kind of way.
If a particular host wasn’t using an international sitter, they would probably be using a resident who is a member of a similar site and still getting the service for free.
If I had to guess, I bet the vast majority of sits in these sorts of countries are done by people living there. I really don’t think international housesitters are any major cause of financial difficulties for residents.
If there are people who will no longer do international sits in certain countries because you now know without a doubt it isn’t allowed, there are plenty of other opportunities.
For people who don’t have any qualms about it, but are simply more concerned about being caught, the chances of that are extremely low.
Most people pass through immigration without being asked a single question,or perhaps one or two very basic ones. In places like the UK, citizens from the countries who make up a vast majority of the THS membership, can now go through e-gates, and won’t even interact with anyone at all.
I highly doubt immigration officials in these countries will make a priority of specifically weeding out house sitters, who will be staying in a private residence walking people’s dogs and cleaning their cat’s litterboxes. People entering a country specifically for the purpose of housesitting is probably a miniscule fraction of tourists.
And for any hosts who are aware of this issue, and are concerned, they can simply choose sitters from within the country.
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There is the (long) story from 2019 by “Gobsmacked at Gatwick”.
Unless their travel history etc raises a red flag.
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@KC1102 Isn’t a large part of their campaign exactly aimed at international travellers-and housesits? A company that focused on global expansion wouldn’t just restrict itself to domestic markets and services, unless compelled by law and authorities. Given the circumstances, it seems that might actually become the case in the UK
Yes, I agree that that their marketing probably does attract people who look to sit internationally and are doing so.
But what I meant was that the site isn’t exclusively promoting international sitting opportunities. It isn’t as if the site is for UK sitters only and all the opportunities are in the US for example. Many people use the site to sit domestically, sometimes exclusively.
I imagine a good deal of the sits in the US and UK–which make up the overwhelming majority of listings-- are probably done by residents since the majority of sitter members seem to be from these two countries as well.
Being that they are a matching platform, and not directly providing housesitting services by personally pairing hosts and sitters, legally speaking I have no idea what their liability or responsibility would be in cases of sitters taking sits in countries where they would not be permitted to perform this activity under a tourist visa. I imagine the onus would be on the sitter, but who knows?
I am curious if organizations like WWOOF have run into any problems because they do something similar in that they promote opportunities internationally, and simply have a disclaimer that it is the traveler’s responsibility to make sure they have the appropriate documentation for the country they plan to visit. And just like housesitting, it is almost certain that in certain countries, people are doing the program on a tourist visa when that wouldn’t be allowed.
I guess time will tell as to how things will unfold.
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Hi @Jenny Thank you for your thoughtful suggestion; it’s greatly appreciated.
Could you also provide a link to THS’s statement regarding their current media scrutiny surrounding border entry violations and the ongoing public class action lawsuit in the UK?
I’m having trouble locating it, and it seems highly relevant for all paying members.
Thank you
Hi @biscuit
As detailed in our Terms of Service, the Forum can only offer a place for general discussion around immigration.
Any matters regarding investigations by third parties are dealt with efficiently by the relevant teams at TrustedHousesitters. If you would like to discuss anything specific, please contact our Membership Services team, who will be happy to help you on a more personal level.
You can write to: support@trustedhousesitters.com should you wish to make contact.
The Forum team won’t be able to help further with this specific matter, but as always we’ll keep this discussion post open for general discussion around immigration only.
Jenny
Thank you @Jenny No worries; I have no need to contact customer assistance.
Was simply curious since this topic is circulating here. I can certainly understand why THS prefers to divert attention to other third parties, such as B Corp, which, I suppose, is perfectly acceptable to discuss in contrast.
I just received the standardized B Corp email sent to members—quite the engaging read: “A group of ethical business leaders… It’s not just a fancy title; we’re legally committed to operating in the best interests of people, pets, and the planet in all that we do…”
Quite the grand proclamation!
Sincerely hope that all members will be equally informed when these undisclosed subjects inevitably begin to affect them as well— that THS effectively manage to live up to those big words.
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Things are changing. Now also Germany has reintroduced checks at borders with Schengen countries, and they are much more intrusive than the Swedish or Danish checks (where one only needs to show a passport I believe).
I was on a Flixbus on Sunday evening to Hamburg and Copenhagen. At the border near Nieuweschans there was a deviation where there were many lorries in a queue. The Polizei came on board and most passengers were asked all these questions “why are you travelling”, “where to”, “where from”, “where are you staying”, “do you have drugs” etc.
They checked luggage, even looking inside coffee thermoses. The guy in a couple behind me was taken off the bus because they could see that he had an outstanding traffic violation, he came back after he had to sign some paperwork. The girl stayed in the bus and I felt that they used trick questions on the girl after she was alone.
The last time I experienced anything like this was on a school trip to the GDR. I am afraid that this will escalate. The logical consequence would be to make it illegal to cross the border except for at checkpoints. And after that: barbed wire.
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I was stopped when crossing from Czech → Germany last month. It wasn’t just a passport check, they took my car papers, my insurance, my drivers license, etc. Took AGES. My situation is confusing (Dual US/IT citizen, US drivers license, BG vehicle) and I’m sure that didn’t help, but these checks are getting more common and more thorough.
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We recently did a sit in France. We planned a Paris hotel stay for 3 nights before heading south for the sit, and another night in the city before returning. So we were basically tourists, enjoying the host’s hopitality in the south for a few days, but still dropping coin on airfare and accomodations in Paris. We were asked nothing coming in, but would have said “tourism” and shown our hotel print out, and return ticket in 11 days had we been asked.
I teach English remotely and before the pandemic not always remotely with most clients local in NYC. I know some of them and friends who’ve had “nanny” issues where the nanny was a cousin, friend’s kid, etc. coming for room and board and maybe a stipend in return for light duties and possibly traveling with the family. I know in those situations asking for more than a 3 month tourist visa sets off major alarms.
The other issue really seems to be niavety and freely answering unasked questions.
This. The border agents don’t want to hear anyone’s life story, they just want to get to the next person in line. I’ve travelled a lot over the last couple decades (primarily non-sitting travel) and it’s best to only answer what has been asked and to do so succinctly. Adding extra info may just open you up to additional scrutiny.
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In the decade I have been sitting, I am rarely asked a single question by immigration officers, but when I am, I have always said I am there on vacation. It never occurred to me that housesitting could be seen as a problematic activity so my not mentioning it was never about feeling like I needed to hide it.
People taking housesits abroad are essentially like every other tourist–entering the country temporarily for leisure purposes–and aren’t going there for 'work. 'So I don’t see why anyone-- even if they had no idea it could be seen as a problem–would even bring it up.
This isn’t to blame anyone who had issues, but I think your point @Marion about feeling the need to offer unnecessary information is a good one.
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house sits are work exchanges with the key word being work. we’re sitting and being compensated for the work we do as sitters with free lodging instead of cash. that’s why it’s illegal.
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I agree. Don’t volunteer information. Answer the question asked preferably with a yes or no.