While demand for foreign maids is increasing, lawyers are warning would-be employers they could run afoul of the law if they take someone on who does not have a work visa.

"And it is impossible for them to get a work visa," said Jia Keming, director of the exit and entry administration of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

"All foreign maids do not have work visas in China because the Ministry of Labor and Social Security does not recognize housekeeping as a career worthy of a work visa."