Dubai & Abu Dhabi · 2026 guide
How to choose a nanny agency in Dubai (2026)
Seven things a Dubai or Abu Dhabi family should check before signing with any agency for a European or British career nanny — and how Lumière answers each one.
Tell us what you needFor families · a one-minute enquiry
Tell Hanna and the Lumière team what you need
A private search, never a database.
Every enquiry is read by the team. Reply within 48 hours; shortlist within a week.
- Founded 2025 by Hanna, a career nanny · 100+ placements
- 3-month guarantee, then 2 months on each replacement — up to 3 re-matches
- Long-term nannies, newborn care specialists and private teachers · our terms
- Every contract fully declared
Updated 15 October 2026 · by the Lumière team
Quick answer
Choose a Dubai nanny agency on seven checks: be clear who handles the residence visa — your family — and never a visit visa; verify UK or European training, DBS and references; agree the full package in writing before the visa is applied for; get the fee in writing; know exactly what the guarantee covers; make sure candidates were interviewed in person; and agree the summer-in-Europe terms upfront. Lumière Placements — founded 2025, based in Nice, specialising in long-term nannies, newborn care specialists and private teachers: guarantee three months, then two on each replacement, up to three times; shortlist within a week; 5.0 on Google. Facts checked October 2026.
What to verify before you sign
Every agency describes its candidates as exceptional. These are the things a family in Dubai can actually verify in one call.
The legal and practical basics
- Who handles the visa. The residence visa is sponsored by your family (or its company). Never employ a nanny on a visit visa.
- Training you can see. Norland, NNEB, CACHE, QTS or a childcare degree — certificates sighted — plus an enhanced DBS or the home-country equivalent.
- The package in writing. Salary, accommodation, flights, medical insurance, hours, weekly rest day and end-of-service agreed before the visa application.
- References checked by a person. Calls to previous private households, not a reference form.
What separates a good agency
- The fee in writing first. A percentage of first-year salary or a fixed fee, stated before the search.
- The guarantee, precisely. How long the placed candidate is covered, how many replacements are included, and whether each replacement is covered too.
- Summer travel agreed upfront. Most premium Dubai families spend June to September in Europe; the travel terms belong in the contract.
Our answers, in the same order
Visa: Lumière introduces candidates; your family handles the residence visa, and we plan the start date around it. Training: UK-trained and European career nannies and governesses, certificates sighted, enhanced DBS or equivalent. Package: agreed in writing before anyone books a flight — indicatively AED 12,000–25,000 a month tax-free for a live-in career nanny, governesses AED 16,000–30,000, plus accommodation, flights and medical cover. Fee: set out in writing before any search, with full terms on our fees page. Guarantee: three months on the placed candidate, then two months on each replacement, up to three replacements. Interviews: in person in Europe by the Lumière team. Summer: many of our Dubai families spend the summer in Monaco or on the Riviera, where we are based.
Full terms: fees and guarantee · Nanny cost in Dubai 2026 · Nanny agency Dubai · British nanny Dubai
Frequently Asked Questions
Ask us the seven questions
Send us your Dubai brief; we reply within 48 hours with every answer in writing and, within a week, a shortlist.
Tell us what you needVetting & compliance
How Lumière nannies are vetted for Dubai families
Lumière Placements is based on the French Riviera. For families in Dubai and Abu Dhabi we introduce vetted European, British and Russian-speaking career nannies and governesses; UAE residence visas and sponsorship are arranged by the family as sponsor. We do not process visas, attestations or Emirates ID.
Residence visa & sponsorship
Arranged by the family (or its company). Lumière does not process visas, attestations or Emirates ID, but confirms each candidate's documents and plans the start date around the visa timeline.
Written contract
Every introduction is made on clear written terms: salary, accommodation, flights, medical insurance, hours, rest days and end-of-service, agreed before the start date.
UAE domestic-worker rules
Hours, weekly rest and end-of-service gratuity follow UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 on Domestic Workers; the family, as employer, is responsible for compliance and we flag the key points in the brief.
DBS and criminal-record checks
Enhanced DBS for UK-trained candidates, or the home-country equivalent, plus references verified in person by Hanna.
Qualifications verified
Norland, NNEB, CACHE, QTS/PGCE or equivalent certificates sighted, never taken on trust.
Gulf-ready
Candidates with prior Gulf experience, long summers in Europe and 6-day-week schedules are flagged on the shortlist.
Declared employment. Every placement is made on a written, declared contract with the family as employer. Lumière does not place undeclared nannies.
The Lumière difference
Founded by a professional nanny, not a recruiter
"I founded Lumière because the families I worked for kept asking the same question: where do we find another nanny like you? I still take private placements. Every nanny I place is one I would work alongside."
Hanna founded Lumière Placements after years inside private households as a career nanny. Lumière is the only French Riviera-based boutique placement agency, placing across Monaco, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Cannes, Saint-Tropez and Nice, and worldwide, founded and led by a professional nanny.
Why families choose Lumière
- Based
- French Riviera
- Founder
- Hanna, professional nanny
- Approach
- Families understood from the inside, the right nanny for the right family
- Qualifications
- Norland, CACHE, NNEB, Montessori
- Vetting
- References verified, DBS where applicable
- Employment
- Declared, full contracts
- Reach
- 20+ cities · 3 continents
- Specialisms
- Live-in, rota, governess, maternity, yacht, travel
