A man who forged documents to get visas and employment permits for five Indonesian and Filipino maids was sentenced to five years in jail, bringing into focus the issue of illegal foreign maids on China's mainland.

The man, surnamed Xu and in his 60s, acted as an intermediary for foreign maids to get them jobs in Shanghai.

He applied for their employment and residence permits 17 times between 2007 and 2013 with fake documents, on which he listed himself as vice president of an industrial and trading company, quality control manager of a trading company and interior designer.

He charged them between 3,000 yuan (US$496) to 12,000 yuan for the visas and permits.

Xu was caught in May last year and was charged with selling exit and entry certificates.

The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court yesterday jailed Xu for five years and fined him 30,000 yuan. All the illegal income was seized from him.

Foreign nannies cannot legally work on China's mainland but they are in demand, especially among expats, because they can speak English.

Although employers who hire these housemaids face punishment, they still tend to choose Filipinos as their domestic helpers.

When Shanghai Daily called two local agencies to check on Filipino maids, the agencies said almost none of the Filipinos have work visas.

"It is expensive and extremely hard to get a work visa for them and there is no need to," a staff at one agency said.

"No one would question if they have a visa or not. Even if they find out, the nanny is fined, not the employer."

A woman at the other agency said she was in the business for almost 10 years and none of the illegally working nannies were ever caught. "The employer won't get into trouble for hiring them," she claimed.

As per the Rules for the Administration of Employment of Foreigners in China, issued in 1996, individuals and private companies with less than seven employees cannot hire foreigners, making all kinds of foreign household services on China's mainland illegal.

Foreigners who work in the mainland illegally face a fine of 5,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan. Employers can be fined between 5,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan for hiring foreigners without work permits.