British star Emma Watson is in a brush with immigration officials as a result of problems with her housekeeper's UK work permit.
The actress, who has starred in the Harry Potter films, as well as more recent productions such as The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is thought to have potentially employed the housekeeper at her multimillion pound London address without the required employment documentation.
Reports suggest that the American housekeeper was working while on a tourist visa, which is not sufficient for foreign citizens to take paid employment in Britain. To be in the clear, the housekeeper would require a UK work permit.
Border Agency officials began the investigation after receiving a complaint that the housekeeper was paid to help Ms Watson at her Islington address. Officers will now ascertain exactly what happened, but the situation is thought to have arisen out of the fact that she began working for the actress at her New York apartment. She is later thought to have moved across and worked for Ms Watson in her UK home and in doing so was stopped by immigration staff who questioned her source of income during her stay in the Britain between September last year and February 2014.
Depending on the results of the investigation, it might not just be the housekeeper who has to face the consequences of the matter. Ms Watson, as the employer, is also looking at a fine of up to £10,000 if she is found by Home Office investigators to have breached immigration guidelines and employed her housekeeper without checking for the required work permit or permissions.
As is standard in these situations, Home Office officials have refused to comment on the individual case.