Domestic helper about to make false claim in order to seek asylum

Hi everyone, posting from an alt account. I’m looking for some advice on a situation I’m really unsure how to handle. I’ll try to keep it short and to the point:

I’m American (M) and my wife is British. We met and got married in Singapore a few years ago while we were both living there.

After having kids, we decided it would be best to hire a full-time live-in helper — something very common in that part of the world — especially since we didn’t have any family or support network around us. It was a massive help.

Earlier this year, we had the opportunity to move to London for work. Since our helper had been with us for years and the kids were very attached to her, we thought bringing her with us temporarily would help with the transition. It also gave her a chance to earn more and experience life abroad.

We brought her over on a foreign domestic worker visa, which is valid for 6 months. The plan was for her to return to Singapore — or travel a bit — once the visa expired.

Five months in, she told us she wanted to stay in the UK. Unfortunately, her visa can’t be extended, and we simply don’t have the financial means to sponsor her through other legal routes. During our conversations, she mentioned meeting other Filipinas in London who are living here illegally — and said she was considering doing the same. My wife and I were completely against this, especially since her visa is tied to my wife’s name.

Despite her saying she would take her flight back when the visa expired, it became very clear to both of us that she had no intention of leaving.

Sure enough, a couple of weeks after she was supposed to have flown out, she contacted us to say she was still in the country and looking for part-time cleaning jobs.

While we were very unhappy with the situation, we would never report her or do anything to harm her. We simply told her it would be better if we didn’t stay in touch moving forward.

A short time later, she told us she had met a Filipino worker who volunteers with an NGO that helps foreign domestic workers apply for asylum in the UK. She was now considering this route — but the shocking part was, she said she’d need to lie and claim she was abused or mistreated by her British employer to be eligible.

We were completely taken aback. She mentioned it so casually, as if it wasn’t a big deal. We explained that making a false claim like that could seriously hurt our family, and that there could be very real legal consequences for us.

Just to be clear: at no point during her time with us was there anything that could remotely be considered abusive. We had a great relationship with her and even helped her financially on several occasions.

After our conversation, she said she wouldn’t pursue the asylum route anymore — but now my wife and I are feeling incredibly uneasy. We no longer trust her, and we’re not sure how to move forward knowing that, at any time, she could make false claims that could put us in serious trouble.

We have no idea what steps we can take legally to protect ourselves.

Would really appreciate any thoughts or guidance