Governess Agency · Dubai & Abu Dhabi
Governess for Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Qualified teachers and bilingual governesses who combine the nursery with the schoolroom: British, IB and American curricula, entrance preparation for UK schools, French or Russian as a second language, and the manners and routine a private household expects. Introduced from the French Riviera, vetted in person by the Lumière team.
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
Quick answer
Lumière introduces qualified governesses to Dubai and Abu Dhabi families — QTS/PGCE teachers, Montessori-trained and bilingual governesses — live-in or live-out, for homeschooling, after-school tutoring and entrance preparation for British and Swiss boarding schools. Indicative governess packages in the UAE run AED 16,000–30,000 per month tax-free (2026). visas arranged by the family as sponsor. Shortlist within a week; 3-month guarantee. 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; shortlist within a week; 5.0 on Google. Facts checked October 2026.
Between the nursery and the classroom
A governess is not a nanny with a degree and not a tutor who leaves at six. She runs the children's day — routine, manners, languages — and their education: supervising the school programme, filling the gaps, preparing for 11+, Common Entrance or Swiss boarding-school entry, and keeping British, IB or American curricula on track through long summers away. In the Gulf, where many families keep a child at home for part of the year or move between Dubai, London and the Riviera, that role is often the centre of the household.
Formats we place
- Live-in governess, often alongside a nanny for younger siblings
- Live-out daily governess, school hours or after-school
- Travelling governess who moves with the family between the UAE, Europe and the US
- Rota governess pairs for households needing continuous cover
- Homeschool teacher for a full curriculum at home
Qualifications and languages
- QTS, PGCE or an equivalent teaching qualification; degree-level subject specialists
- Montessori and early-years specialists for 3–6-year-olds
- British curriculum, IB and American programmes
- Native English, with French, Russian, Arabic, Italian or Spanish as the second language the family wants
- Enhanced DBS or home-country equivalent, paediatric first aid, references verified in person
Introduced from the Riviera, employed by you
Lumière is based in Nice and introduces candidates; your family or its company is the employer and sponsor in the UAE is engaged for the visa. We do not process visas or attestations. The governess's package — salary, accommodation or allowance, flights, medical insurance, hours, rest days and travel — is agreed in writing before the start date, and we build the timeline around the visa so that term starts on time.
The package
- Salary: AED 16,000–30,000 per month tax-free (indicative 2026 range; qualified teachers with boarding-school preparation experience at the top)
- Private accommodation or a live-out allowance; annual flights; medical insurance
- Teaching materials and any online-school fees paid by the family
- Lumière's fee is separate from the salary and stated in writing before the search — see our terms
Timing
- Allow six to ten weeks from brief to start, visa processing included
- For a September start, brief us by May
- Governesses already resident in the UAE can start sooner
How We Match Your Family
Every search starts with a conversation with the Lumière team, led by Hanna, a career nanny, and ends with a hand-picked shortlist — never a database. Four steps, the same for every family.
Comprehensive Screening
References verified in person, criminal-record and DBS checks where applicable, credentials sighted, and experience with staffed, international households assessed.
Language Assessment
Candidates are interviewed in the languages your household uses; qualifications, first-aid certificates and right to work are verified before any introduction.
Family Consultation
A detailed conversation about your household, routines, schools, travel and the person you want in your children's lives.
Cultural Matching
Temperament, values and professional maturity matched to your family; two or three candidates presented, each one Hanna and the team would work alongside.
See also: Private teachers Dubai
Frequently Asked Questions
Looking for a governess in Dubai or Abu Dhabi?
Tell us the children's ages, the curriculum and the languages you want. We reply within 48 hours.
Tell us what you needVetting & compliance
How Lumière governesses are vetted for UAE 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 the Lumière team.
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
