UK right to work checks: 14 employee types and the checks required

What is a right to work check?

A right to work check is a process that employers use to verify that an individual is authorized to work in the UK. The check is typically conducted as part of the hiring process and may involve verifying an individual's identity and immigration status.

The UK government has a strict set of guidelines that businesses must follow to ensure compliance. While many employers manage this area of new hire administration themselves, it can soon become onerous, and many organizations move this process over to third parties. 

There are a number of ways to check an employee’s right to work. These are:

• Manual right to work checks
• Digital right to work checks
• Online right to work checks
• Employer Checking Service

All employers are required to carry out this check when employing someone to ensure they are legally allowed to do the work in question for you.

Are right to work checks mandatory?

In the UK, the right to work check is mandatory by law and employers must conduct such checks on all new hires. The purpose of the check is to ensure that the individual has the legal right to work in the country and to prevent the employment of illegal workers.

In light of this, the government provides several ways of carrying out these right to work checks. In this blog, we will cover the protocol that hirers must follow in order to create and maintain a record of the processes.

Right to work evidence by type of potential hire

UK employers must check every prospective hire before employment begins, including British and Irish citizens. The required evidence depends on the person’s nationality and immigration status. Employers can use a manual document check, a Digital Verification Service for eligible British and Irish passport holders, or the Home Office online service for people with digital immigration status. (GOV.UK)

1. British citizens with a passport

Evidence the candidate can provide:

• A current or expired British passport showing that they are a British citizen or have the right of abode in the UK.

Checking options:

• A manual check of the original passport.
• A digital identity check through an eligible Digital Verification Service, provided the candidate has a valid passport.

An expired British passport can be accepted for a manual check, although the current digital checking route is limited to valid passports. (GOV.UK)

2. British citizens without a passport

A British passport is not the only acceptable form of evidence.

Evidence the candidate can provide:

• A UK birth or adoption certificate, together with an official document showing their name and permanent National Insurance number.
• A certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen, together with an official document showing their name and permanent National Insurance number.

The National Insurance document must have been issued by a government agency or previous employer. A National Insurance number on its own does not prove a right to work. (GOV.UK)

3. Irish citizens

Evidence the candidate can provide:

• A current or expired Irish passport.
• A current or expired Irish passport card.
• An Irish birth or adoption certificate, together with an official document showing their name and permanent National Insurance number.

Candidates with a valid Irish passport or passport card may also use a Digital Verification Service. Irish citizens do not need immigration permission to work in the UK. (GOV.UK)

4. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens with settled or pre-settled status

Most EU, EEA and Swiss citizens should provide:

• A right to work share code beginning with W.
• Their date of birth.

The employer must enter these details into the employer section of the Home Office online right to work service. An EU, EEA or Swiss passport or national identity card alone is generally no longer acceptable evidence, except where the person is an Irish citizen. (GOV.UK)

The online result will show whether the candidate has settled or pre-settled status and whether any restrictions apply. The Home Office no longer requires repeat checks for holders of either settled or pre-settled status, provided the prescribed check was completed before employment began. (GOV.UK)

5. Skilled Worker, Global Business Mobility and other visa holders

Most people with a work visa now have an eVisa.

Evidence the candidate should provide:

• A right to work share code beginning with W.
• Their date of birth.

The employer must use the Home Office employer service to confirm:

• That the photograph matches the person being hired.
• That the candidate is permitted to perform the proposed job.
• The expiry date of their permission.
• Any restrictions on occupation, employer, working hours or supplementary employment.

A copy of the candidate’s visa approval email, Certificate of Sponsorship or personal eVisa screen is not a prescribed right to work check. The employer must access and retain the official Home Office profile page. (GOV.UK)

6. Dependants and family visa holders

Dependants of visa holders and people with family-based immigration permission will usually provide:

• A right to work share code beginning with W.
• Their date of birth.

Many dependant and family routes permit unrestricted employment, although the employer must rely on the conditions shown by the Home Office service rather than make assumptions based on the visa category.

Where the person has time-limited permission, a follow-up check will usually be required before that permission expires. (GOV.UK)

7. Student visa holders

A student will normally provide:

• A right to work share code beginning with W.
• Their date of birth.

The employer must check the number of hours the student is permitted to work and whether the proposed employment falls within their visa conditions.

Employers must also obtain and retain evidence of the student’s academic term and vacation dates for the relevant period of study. This is necessary because many students can work only a limited number of hours during term time. (GOV.UK)

8. Graduate visa holders

Graduate visa holders will normally provide:

• A right to work share code beginning with W.
• Their date of birth.

The online result should confirm their permission to work and the date on which it expires. Graduate permission is time-limited, so the employer must conduct a follow-up check before the expiry date where employment continues.

9. People with indefinite leave to remain or right of abode

Candidates with digital immigration status should normally provide:

• A right to work share code beginning with W.
• Their date of birth.

Some people may still hold acceptable physical evidence, such as:

• A current passport endorsed to show indefinite leave, right of abode, exemption from immigration control or no time limit.
• A qualifying Immigration Status Document, together with an official document showing their name and permanent National Insurance number.

A correctly completed check normally provides a continuous statutory excuse, with no follow-up required. (GOV.UK)

10. Refugees and people with humanitarian protection

A recognised refugee or person granted humanitarian protection may provide:

• A right to work share code and date of birth.
• In some older cases, an Immigration Status Document accompanied by an official National Insurance document.

People granted refugee status or humanitarian protection generally have unrestricted access to the labour market. Employers must still complete the prescribed check and retain the result. (GOV.UK)

11. Asylum seekers with permission to work

An asylum seeker does not automatically have permission to work.

Where permission has been granted, the candidate may provide:

• An original Application Registration Card stating that work is permitted.

The employer must then request a check through the Employer Checking Service and receive a Positive Verification Notice before relying on the person’s right to work. The notice may also show restrictions on the jobs the person can perform. A follow-up check is normally required within six months. (GOV.UK)

12. Candidates with an outstanding immigration application, appeal or review

A person may retain permission to work while an in-time application, appeal or administrative review is pending.

They may provide:

• A digital share code, where the updated status is available online.
• A Certificate of Application.
• An acknowledgement or other evidence of the outstanding application, appeal or review.

Where an online check cannot be completed, the employer should use the Employer Checking Service. The employer must receive a Positive Verification Notice confirming that the person may perform the proposed work. (GOV.UK)

13. New arrivals using a temporary passport vignette

Some overseas hires may arrive with a short-validity vignette in their passport before they can access their eVisa.

Evidence they may initially provide:

• Their original passport containing a valid vignette that permits the proposed work.

The employer can complete a manual check while the vignette remains valid. A further online check must then be completed using the candidate’s eVisa before the temporary statutory excuse expires. (GOV.UK)

14. Candidates who arrived in the UK before 1988 and lack documents

Some long-term UK residents may have a lawful right to work but lack standard immigration documents.

The employer should use the Employer Checking Service where the person:

• Arrived in the UK before 1988.
• Cannot provide acceptable documents.
• Cannot prove their status through the online service.

The hire should provide available evidence of identity and residence. The employer must obtain a Positive Verification Notice before relying on the check. (GOV.UK)

Evidence employers should not accept on its own

The following do not, by themselves, establish a statutory excuse:

• A National Insurance number.
• A driving licence.
• A CV stating British nationality.
• A Certificate of Sponsorship.
• A visa approval email.
• A screenshot of the candidate’s personal eVisa account.
• An EU, EEA or Swiss passport, unless the holder is Irish or another specific exception applies.
• An expired physical Biometric Residence Permit.
• A photocopy or scan used in place of an original document for a manual check.

Expired physical BRPs are no longer acceptable proof. Candidates with an eVisa must ordinarily use a share code and the Home Office online service. (GOV.UK)

How Veremark can help

Veremark specializes in right to work checks, as well as many other pre-hire and employment screening background checks. We carry out countless employee right to work checks for some of the UK's best workplaces to ensure that this area of the hiring process is 100% compliant. Every stage of our processes is GDPR-compliant and digitally auditable, so organizations are able to outsource this important task with complete confidence.

We provide accuracy and speed, minimizing the time to hire for HR and recruiting departments all over the world, and ensuring both employer and candidate enjoy a digitally seamless and enjoyable user experience from start to finish.