Hi everyone, as a Canadian sitter I just finish a sit in the USA and on my way back I asked about the laws on sittings. Both customs, Canada and USA were clear that it is considered as work as you are getting free lodging. The USA custom said that I was really lucky that I was let through customs as they have received clear instructions not to allow a person that is going on a house sit. I decided to cancel my next three sits that were again in the USA as I wasn’t comfortable taking that risk. Of course, it is possible to lie and say that you are visiting a friend but the custom officer said they may ask for proof of that and if they find out you are lying you will get block from further stays in the USA. Just letting everyone know for you to prepare in consequences and take your own decision on this. Which brings on my following question , does anyone know for sure which countries do consider home sitters as legal. Thank you! And wishing everyone amazing sits 
Thanks for the heads’ up, and sorry about having to cancel your sits, Natdaisy. I did not read the years of previous posts about this subject, but I would think this is a good time to avoid the US anyway.
(Edited in line with posting guidelines)
@Natdaisy this all depends on what passport you have / country you are resident of .
You can legally live and work in the country that you have a passport or residence for .
For example someone with a Spanish passport or residency can work ( and therefore also house sit ) in any of the 29 countries in the Schengen zone .
Someone with a U.K. passport can work ( and therefore also house sit ) in U.K.
@Natdaisy hope they didn’t have your ID when you asked… probably flag you! Sorry you had to cancel three sits. That’s a bummer.
I just sadly declined a ‘threepeat’ invitation – lovely folks, wonderful cat, and on # 2 they were OK with saying I was visiting friends if anyone had called them. I didn’t mention sitting when I went. But I am done too, for now 
Curious whether they told you what sort of proof they might want? Like would they call the HOs?
Thanks for sharing ABGM, they might have noted for my sit when I got in, I don’t know or even taken my licence plate and tag me as you say when I got out and asked , anything is possible, and for me also they wanted me back this summer on my USA sit… hopefully the world will open up again one day but for now I am taking Canada sit until I know for sure which countries allow house sitting
Sadly, this year inviting sitters from outside the U.S. might pose a problem if they are denied entry. We just went live for 20 days in June and most likely will miss out on some great sitters because of the current situation.
I’m sure there are some great sitters within the US too so don’t think about those you could miss out on; focus on those who actually apply @Tlekas.
I have an international sit coming up and have received an email from THS warning me about being sure I have the necessary visas etc. But I was astonished to see THS are still pushing their explanatory letters to show Border Agents. In particular, look at the one for sitting in the USA. It beggars belief in the current climate that THS thinks they can just assert that this is not considered work! AS Natdaisy suggests, USA Border agents may be specifically targeting house sitters. Surely THS should rethink this letter idea.
I keep thinking they must have some strategy or legal reason why they want to use that letter but agree witih you that it just doesn’t make sense. It would be great if someone from THS could explain the reasoning.
LOL, would be nice to know the reasoning behind more than one THS policy… 
Maybe it’s somehow to cover their own rear, lest they come onto border services’ radar for “providing” all these “illegal workers”? A legal disclaimer of their own? Athough, as has been noted, there’s really no argument for it.
Must’ve slipped through the cracks on my first 2 USA sits because I didn’t get the letter. Then on # 3 in February I did. I printed it out, then returned to this thread which I’d seen briefly in the past and read some of the comments, and then took the letter out of my travel-document envelope and set it aside on my desk… 
A UK citizen can work legally without a work visa In Ireland (due to an agreement between the countries) Gibraltar and Falkland Islands. I would therefore say sitting in these countries is allowed for a UK passport owner.
Yes there are and we’ve had them sit. I was curious how other U.S. owners are handling the current situation that has no end in sight.
It’s more a “situation” for sitters I think than hosts. As a host I get a lot of applicants. I’ve been more cautious for a while regarding sitters who’d need to cross a border to get to my sit due to reading the writing on the wall. The next sitter I have comes from outside the US, but is traveling and has been here around a year or so. They’ve been very successful in lining up sits because they have a lot of pet experience. There is no border crossing because they are here already. I think most of the places in the US that are likely to attract foreign travelers are also likely to attract local ones, It may be a problem for homeowners who really enjoy welcoming people from outside the US. But not welcoming people from outside the US or their books and ideas may be the coming trend here.
[Update/Context This got moved here from another thread. The OP question which didn’t get moved here was about “tariffs” and making your home attractive despite the “situation” with tarriffs. So that was what I was responding to.]
Yeah, hosts can always get other applicants. Sitters lose out on their choice of where they wanted to go.
I mean, it may make some sitters curious about sitting in other places they hadn’t previously considered, but, if you reeeealllly wanted to visit some place in the USA, perhaps you’re going to be disappointed.
Media attention on it all isn’t helping either. As always, they are good at stirring up fear.
I don’t see how this is stretching the truth for most of us, anyway. We definitely are traveling somewhere to visit the area, especially if it is a new place to us. We ARE visitors to the area and we WILL be visiting the area, whether that is walking around town or driving to the nearest point of interest or even if the place we are staying itself is new to us…I AM a visitor, a tourist!! Almost ALL of our sits have included some time before, during or after that are more typical “tourist” type things. It is in no way a stretch at all to us to say we are tourists! We have sat in 7 different countries (based in the US) and always said we were there as tourists without ever feeling like we were not being truthful.
I get your thinking and I’m like minded. But perceptions are individual and, if someone doesn’t see it that way, they’re much more likely to feel like they’re lying. And if so, they’ll probably not be able to carry it off, especially if say taken into secondary screening or such. Ultimately, everyone has to judge for themselves what risks they’re willing to take. And I wouldn’t presume to tell others what they can pull off. They should know better than anyone else how they do under pressure.
That’s fair.