Right to work checks: what employers need to know
Updated 31 March 2025.
Right to work checks can be tricky. This is a summary for employers. For more detailed information see the Home Office’s guide: An Employer’s Guide to Right to Work Checks.
Who has the right to work in the UK?
British and Irish citizens have the right to work in the UK. So do people with the right of abode or indefinite leave to remain (also known as settlement).
EEA nationals and their family members who have been granted a status under the EU Settlement Scheme also have the right to work.
Almost everyone else needs a visa to be able to work. There are dozens of types of visas, all with different rules on working. For instance, a Partner/Spouse visa allows the person to work. A Skilled Worker visa allows the person to work but only for a specified employer. A Student visa restricts the person’s hours of work. A Visitor visa prohibits work except in very limited circumstances.
What is a right to work check?
A right to work check is a check carried out by an employer on a prospective or existing employee’s documents or digital immigration status.
The aim is to find out if the person is allowed to work in the UK and to do the job in question.
If the person can produce the right documents it’s very likely that they do have the right to work. But it’s a blunt instrument. There are many people living in the UK who have the right to work but don’t have the right documents. Some people have the right documents but don’t in fact have the right to work.
Why carry out right to work checks?
The Home Office likes to say that employers must carry out right to work checks. That’s not true, in the sense that it isn’t a legal requirement. So why bother?
For employers, the main reason to carry out a right to work check is to reduce the risk of receiving a civil penalty for employing an illegal worker. And if the employer has a sponsor licence they have to carry out right to work checks or they risk losing their licence.
Civil penalties
Employers who are caught employing a foreign national without the right type of visa can be given a civil penalty – a fine of up to £60,000.
Carrying out right to work checks reduces the risk of this happening. If it does happen – for instance if a person’s visa is cancelled without the employer’s knowledge and the Home Office finds out that the person is still working – the employer will have a statutory excuse (a defence) against a civil penalty if they can show that they carried out a right to work check on the employee.
Losing a sponsor licence
If the employer has a sponsor licence and the Home Office finds out that the employer isn’t carrying out right to work checks properly it will take steps to revoke the sponsor licence.
There are other reasons for carrying out right to work checks. Employers don’t want to be faced with an employee who suddenly has to leave the UK because of visa problems. In serious cases employers can be prosecuted and be given a prison sentence, although that is extremely rare.
Getting it right
It’s not enough to have a copy of the person’s passport and visa on file.
The check has to be done in the way specified by the Home Office and at the right time to count as a valid right to work check.
An incomplete or late check is better than nothing but it won’t protect an employer from a civil penalty so it’s important to get it right.
Who needs to be checked?
Right to work checks should be carried out on all prospective employees (and existing employees if a follow-up check is required) regardless of their nationality or immigration status.
As a general rule, only employees need to be checked. Self-employed contractors and agency workers (people engaged through an employment agency) do not have to be checked for the purpose of obtaining a statutory excuse.
Sponsored workers always have to be checked by the sponsor, even if they are not employees.
When to carry out the check
Pre-employment checks
A right to work check has to be carried out before an employee starts work.
If the person is already employed by you (the UK employer) outside the UK the check must be carried out before the person starts work in the UK.
If possible the check should be carried out at least one day before the person starts work. If this isn’t practical it can be done first thing on the person’s first day of employment.
If the check is carried out later it won’t be a valid check. This can’t be fixed retrospectively. If you want to do a right to work check on an original document on a new employee’s first day and the employee forgets to bring the document there is a problem. You have to decide whether to take the risk of letting the person start work on condition that they bring it for checking the next day – in which case it won’t be a valid right to work check – or to send the person home and delay their employment by one day.
Follow-up checks
The pre-employment check is the only check needed if the person is a British or Irish citizen or if they produce the necessary evidence of their right of abode, indefinite leave to remain or pre-settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme. This is because for these people only one check is needed to give the employer a continuous statutory excuse (a permanent defence) against a civil penalty. No follow-up check is needed.
If an employee has a visa with a time limit you need to carry out a follow-up check before the visa expires if you want to continue employing them (but see below about the 28-day grace period if you are using the Employer Checking Service).
Which type of check?
There are four types of right to work check:
- an online check
- an original document check (also known as a manual check)
- a check using an Identity Service Provider (IDSP)
- a check using the Home Office’s Employer Checking Service
The appropriate type of check depends on the situation. The most common situations are as follows:
If the person is a British or Irish citizen: original document check or IDSP check
If the person is a British or Irish citizen you need to:
- carry out an original document check (usually on the person’s passport), or
- use an Identity Service Provider (IDSP).
If the person has a digital immigration status or a biometric residence permit (BRP): online check
If the person has a digital immigration status (eVisa) or a BRP you need to carry out an online check. Since 6 April 2022 it has not been possible to carry out an original document check on a BRP.
Before 6 April 2022 you had the choice of whether to do an online right to work check or an original document check on a BRP. As the Home Office is transitioning BRPs to eVisas by the end of 2024, many people have BRPs which expire on 31 December 2024 but the visa is valid longer (our FAQs on the transition to eVisas have more information). Anyone with a BRP must create a UKVI account before the end of 2024 so that they have an eVisa. For visa decisions made on or after 1 November 2024 a BRP will not be issued.
If an original document check was carried out on a BRP expiring on 31 December 2024 you may not know when the visa itself expires. Where you have carried out such a check and recorded 31 December 2024 as the right to work expiry date, the Home Office guidance for employers says “a follow up check will be required” – an online right to work check – before the end of the year. Even if you have seen the UKVI approval letter showing the visa end date you should carry out an online check because you will not continue to have a statutory excuse beyond 31 December 2024 if you carried out an original document check on the BRP.
If the person has settlement (indefinite leave to remain), the BRP may also have a 31 December 2024 expiry date but an extra right to work check is not necessary.
If the person has settlement (indefinite leave to remain), the BRP may also have a 31 December 2024 expiry date but an extra right to work check is not necessary.
If the person has a visa in their passport but not an eVisa : original document check.
For any visa decisions made on or after 1 November 2024 a BRP will not be issued.
If the person applied outside the UK and has a 90-day visa in their passport, they should create a UKVI account as soon as possible so that an online check can be carried out. If their UKVI account is not created before they start work you will need to carry out an original document check on the visa and then a follow up online check on the eVisa.
If the visa is valid for 6 months or less, the full duration will be shown in the visa in their passport and you will need to check the original document.
If the person does not have an eVisa and has a pending Home Office application: Employer Checking Service
If the person does not have an eVisa and cannot show you a valid visa because they have applied in the UK to extend or change it and they are waiting for the Home Office to process the application you need to use the Employer Checking Service.
If the person has an eVisa and they’ve submitted an application using the ID Check app you can carry out an online right to work check instead. There is no need to use the Employer Checking Service.
How to carry out an online right to work check
- The employee (or prospective employee) logs into the UK Visas and Immigration website here. They use this to generate a share code which they give to you.
- You enter the employee’s share code and date of birth here.
- You make sure that the profile page confirms that the person has the right to work.
- You make sure that the photo on the profile page matches the person – so you must see the person, either in person or over video.
- You save a pdf or HTML copy of the profile page and keep it for 2 years after the employment ends.
How to carry out a right to work check on an original document (also known as a manual right to work check)
Which document to check
See “Which type of check?” above for information about which document to check in the most common situations.
The full range of acceptable documents for a right to work check is contained in the Home Office’s An Employer’s Guide to Right to Work Checks, the Code of practice on preventing illegal working and the Right to Work Checklist.
How to carry out the check
- The employee (or prospective employee) gives you the original document.
- You check the document, making sure that it appears genuine and (if the document is a visa) indicates that the person has the right to work.
- You make sure that the photo on the profile page matches the person – so you must see the person, either in person or over video.
- You make a copy of the document (physical or digital) together with a note of the date when the check was carried out.
- You keep the copy for 2 years after the employment ends.
Temporary Covid-19 adjusted check measures
On 30 March 2020 the Home Office introduced temporary COVID-19 adjusted check measures. These measures allowed employers to carry out a right to work check over video when they would normally have had to carry out an original document check. The adjusted check measures ended on 30 September 2022.
How to use the Employer Checking Service
Sometimes an online check or original document check cannot be carried out because the person’s current visa has expired. In some cases the person still has the right to work because they submitted an application for permission to stay to the Home Office before the expiry date, which means that their visa is automatically extended while the application is pending.
In this situation you need to use the Home Office’s Employer Checking Service.
Pre-employment checks using the Employer Checking Service
If the person has not yet started work you need to fill in an online form on the Employer Checking Service website.
You need to enter details of the job and the person, including the person’s Home Office unique application number (a 16-digit number printed on the person’s Home Office application form).
Within five working days you should receive an email from the Home Office. If the email is accompanied by a document called a Positive Verification Notice you have a statutory excuse against a civil penalty for the next 6 months. The Positive Verification Notice must be received by you before the person starts work.
Before the Positive Verification Notice expires you should carry out an online check (if the person’s Home Office application has been approved) or apply for another Positive Verification Notice (if the person’s application is still pending).
Follow-up checks using the Employer Checking Service
If an existing employee’s visa is about to expire and they have submitted an application for permission to stay which is unlikely to be approved before the visa expires, you will need to use the Employer Checking Service.
The process is the same as for a pre-employment check using the Employer Checking Service, except that for existing employees there is a 28-day grace period starting from the expiry of the employee’s visa. You must receive a Positive Verification Notice before the end of the grace period. In the meantime the employee can continue to work.
How to use an Identity Service Provider (IDSP)
For prospective employees who are British or Irish citizens and have a valid passport (British passport, Irish passport or Irish passport card) you can, if you wish, use an Identity Service Provider (IDSP) to help you with right to work checks.
If you choose this option, the IDSP uses Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) to check the passport and verify that the prospective employee is the holder of the passport.
Using an IDSP is an alternative to carrying out original document checks. It can be helpful if you have staff who work remotely.
IDSPs charge for their services and their fees vary.
The Home Office publishes a list of certified IDSPs. You do not have to use a certified IDSP but the Home Office recommends that you do because certified IDSPs have been assessed as capable of carrying out the process correctly. If an IDSP does not carry out the process correctly and it turns out that one of your employees does not have the right to work you will not have a statutory excuse against a civil penalty.
How to carry out the check
If you use an IDSP for a right to work check you have to take the following steps before the person’s employment starts:
- Obtain an output of the IDVT identity check from the IDSP containing a copy of the IDVT identity check and the document checked, in a clear, legible format that cannot be altered.
- Satisfy yourself that the IDSP has completed the check correctly in the prescribed manner. (This is especially important if you are using a non-certified IDSP.)
- Check that the photograph and biographic details (for example, date of birth) on the output from the IDVT identity check are consistent with the prospective employee – in other words that the prospective employee is not an imposter. If the prospective employee provides documents with names which do not match you must establish why this is. You must not employ the person unless you are satisfied that the documents relate to them. You will not have a statutory excuse against a civil penalty if it is reasonably apparent that the prospective employee is not the individual linked to the identity which was verified by the IDSP
You need to keep this information for 2 years after the employment ends.
For detailed information about how to complete a right to work check using an IDSP see Annex D of the Home Office’s An employer’s guide to right to work checks.
Right to work checks on students
There are special rules for right to work checks on international students who have a Student visa or a Tier 4 (General) visa.
Most students are allowed to work 20 hours a week during their university term-time, and full-time during vacations and after the end of their course.
If you want to employ a student you must carry out an online check. If you want to employ the student for more than 20 hours a week you also need to copy and keep evidence of the student’s term-times and vacations, for instance by taking a screenshot of the relevant page on the university’s website.
If the student will start a full-time permanent job while an application to switch from Student to Skilled Worker is pending, you should also keep:
- evidence of the employee’s university course end date (for instance a copy of their certificate of acceptance for studies); and
- evidence that the Skilled Worker application was submitted no more than 3 months before the course end date (for instance a copy of the submitted Skilled Worker application form).
Right to work checks on EEA nationals
Existing employees
EEA nationals (EU citizens and other EEA/Swiss nationals) who were living in the UK on or before 31 December 2020 had until 30 June 2021 to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.
If you carried out a right to work check on an EEA national before 1 July 2021 you do not have to carry out another check. You are not required to find out whether they applied to the EU Settlement Scheme or what the outcome was.
If it comes to your attention that an EEA national who joined you before 1 July 2021 did not apply to the EU Settlement Scheme you should contact us for advice straightaway.
New recruits
If you want to recruit an EEA national you should a carry out a right to work check before they start work.
If the EEA national has a status under the EU Settlement Scheme or another eVisa (such as a Skilled Worker visa) you need to carry out an online check.
If the EEA national has a pending application under the EU Settlement Scheme (or for permission to stay under a different route) you need to carry out a check using the Home Office’s Employer Checking Service.
Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) Regulations 2006
If you acquire staff from a relevant TUPE transfer you should undertake fresh right to work checks on them. The Home Office recognises those checks may not be possible before the new employment commences. There is a grace period of 60 days from the date of the transfer to carry out the checks. This is a complex area and so please contact us for immigration and employment advice.
What to do when someone can’t produce an acceptable document
Sometimes people who have the right to work can’t produce an acceptable document for a right to work check.
For instance, someone might have an indefinite leave to remain sticker in an expired passport. This is not acceptable for a right to work check because List A in An Employer’s Guide to Right to Work Checks says that it has to be in a current passport.
In these situations you need to decide whether to take the risk of allowing the person to start work without a valid right to work check or to delay the employment until the person can provide an acceptable document or a share code for an online check. If in doubt seek legal advice.
Extra record-keeping duties for licensed sponsors
Employers with a sponsor licence have to keep various documents and records on their sponsored workers to comply with their sponsor duties. These duties overlap with right to work checks but extend beyond them.
Licensed sponsors need to keep copies of the following documents for each sponsored worker:
- Evidence that the worker arrived in the UK during the validity of their current visa (only required if the sponsored worker was granted a visa outside the UK as opposed to permission to stay following an application made in the UK). If the worker’s visa was stamped on entry the employer must keep a copy of this. If the worker’s visa was not stamped (for instance because they have an eVisa or they used the e-passport gates) you need to see other evidence such as a travel ticket or boarding pass and keep a record of the date of entry.
- National insurance document. Employees who had a visa decision before 1 November 2024 may have a BRP. There is no longer a requirement to keep a copy of the BRP for its own sake, but licensed sponsors need to keep a copy of a document showing the sponsored worker’s National Insurance number. In many cases this number was printed on the BRP, if the employee had one. Alternatives to a BRP are a P60, P45, payslip, letter from HMRC or the National Insurance number may be shown in the result of an online right to work check.
It makes sense to ask for these documents before or at the same time as carrying out a right to work check.
As above, the right to work of sponsored workers always has to be checked by the sponsor, even if they are not employees.
Various other records need to be kept, such as a history of the worker’s contact details. For full details of the record-keeping duties for sponsors see Appendix D: guidance for sponsors on keeping documents.
These documents need to be kept for one year after the worker’s sponsorship has ended.