To give their kids a boost in English, families are hiring Filipino ayis for around 5,000 yuan (US$625) to 6,000 yuan a month, almost triple the average pay of domestic helpers.

Carry Wang, a young mother in her late 30s, hired a stay-at-home Filipino ayi last month for her 10-year-old daughter to practice spoken English.

"This way I could have both the ayi and an English tutor at the same time," said Wang.

The family pays the domestic helper, Lisa, 6,000 yuan a month.

"Lisa is excellent in her job. She puts everything in order and I don't have to worry," said Wang. "We have a good relationship with her."

Filipino housemaids have increased in number in recent years, alongside rising numbers of expatriate households in Shanghai. An estimated 2,000 are now working in the city, according to Zhu Wei, general manager of a high-end housekeeping business.

"A lot of them are also working in families from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau," said Zhu. "Most employer families can speak English."

Zhu claims his company is the only business that deals with employment for Filipino ayis in Shanghai. They recruit ayis directly from the Philippines.

"We first hire these ayis, then send them to our clients' families," said Zhu.

All those Filipino ayis have obtained legitimate working permits from the Chinese government, with the official employer stated as Zhu's housekeeping company.

However, the company still runs the risk of violating regulations. According to the national regulations on hiring foreign employees, foreign passport holders cannot work in a local family's home or for an individual.

"Foreign housemaids are included in the regulation, and so far no plan is in the making to change it," said Ma Zhendong, director of the Entry-Exit Administration of Shanghai Public Security Bureau.