The sole purpose of TrustedHousesitters is for tourism and to enable enriching travel experiences for our members. However, we recognize that sometimes house sitting can be categorized as work by border officials. In these cases, some sitters have found entry challenging and some have even been refused entry to a country as a result. This happens rarely, but it does happen.
Our platform is not for arranging house sitting as work; its sole purpose is to allow members to enjoy a leisure stay in homes, most often with the added benefit of the company of pets during their vacation travels.
Guidance for members and border control officials
We’ve produced some letters with the help of our legal teams for our most popular house sitting destinations, which can be shown to border control if needed. These letters are designed to help border control officials understand the nature of our platform, and that we don’t regard the type of house sitting that we facilitate as work.
You can find links to these here:
- USA - TrustedHousesitters Explanatory Letter
- CANADA - TrustedHousesitters Explanatory Letter
- UK - TrustedHousesitters Explanatory Letter
- AUSTRALIA - TrustedHousesitters Explanatory Letter
It’s important to recognize that there is always a risk when traveling abroad, and these letters do not guarantee entry to a country.
Prior to an upcoming international house sit, we email our members a copy of these letters, along with some general advice on how to prepare for their upcoming international house sit, including:
Having a passport with sufficient validity to satisfy the rules of your host country
Evidence of a return or onward travel ticket
Onward boarding passes printed (if transiting through an original country of entry)
Proof of funds for the duration of the trip
The pet/home owner’s name, address and contact details
Our 24/7 Membership Services team is on hand to assist any members who do face difficulties whilst traveling or attempting to enter a country for a house sit.
