Right to work check

Which method you use depends on where the person is from and what they want to show you.

• There is no share code for British and Irish citizens. For them, you check the passport or go through an identity service provider.
• Everyone else may either give you a share code or hand over eligible documents. If they prefer the paper route, you cannot turn those documents away (GOV.UK).

Biometric residence cards and permits are no longer accepted as proof.

You do not need to go back and check existing staff from the EU, the wider European Economic Area or Switzerland who arrived in the UK before 1 July 2021. You still need to repeat a check before any time-limited permission to work expires.

A share code is a short code issued by the Home Office to the worker. With it, you can view their immigration status online. You will need two things from the applicant: their date of birth and the code itself (GOV.UK).

The result tells you what kind of work the person may do, whether there is a cap on their hours, and when their permission runs out. Students are a bit different. You also need proof of their term dates and holidays (GOV.UK).

When a worker gives you documents rather than a code, follow the Home Office steps:

1. Ask for the originals. Copies will not do.
2. Check they are valid with the applicant present.
3. Take copies, hold on to them, and write down the date of the check.

As you go through them, satisfy yourself that the documents are real, have not been tampered with, and belong to this person. The photos and dates of birth should line up across everything they show you. If the person is not British or Irish, also confirm their permission has not run out and covers the sort of job and hours you are offering.

There are times when an applicant simply cannot produce documents, say while an appeal is still going through. In these cases, ask the Home Office to check whether the applicant has permission to work. If the Home Office confirms they can work, keep the Positive Verification Notice it sends you with your records.

Hold on to your copies for as long as the person works for you, plus another 2 years after they leave. Where the right to work has an end date, run the check again before it runs out (GOV.UK).

A Graduate visa covers most jobs. It lasts 2 years for applications made by 31 December 2026, or 3 years for someone who has finished a PhD, and there is no way to extend it (GOV.UK). For applications made on or after 1 January 2027 it lasts 18 months.

Since it cannot be extended, the worker would need another visa to stay with you for longer. Someone on a Graduate visa can move onto a Skilled Worker visa, which in most cases means holding a sponsor licence yourself (GOV.UK).

This visa lasts 2 years, or 3 with a PhD, and covers most jobs (GOV.UK). Because this visa has an end date, check their right to work again before it runs out.

A Global Talent visa lets someone stay and work in the UK in stretches of up to 5 years (GOV.UK).

To employ someone from outside the UK, you normally need a sponsor licence. The same rule applies to EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals who came to the UK after the end of 2020 (GOV.UK).

Your record on right to work counts here. If you have taken on a worker who lacked permission and never ran the checks, your licence application will normally be refused (GOV.UK).

If you seek immigration advice, the adviser needs to be on the register of the Immigration Advice Authority or a member of an approved professional body, for example the Law Society (GOV.UK).

The Home Office can hand you a civil penalty. That is a fine rather than a criminal charge, and it can reach £60,000 per illegal worker if you did not carry out the checks properly. If you get a civil penalty notice, you have 28 days to respond.

Knowingly employing someone who is not allowed to work is far more serious. It can carry up to 5 years in prison and a fine with no upper limit (GOV.UK).