Right to work checks and hiring workers from Europe (EU, EEA or Swiss citizens)

All Europeans (EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals) can continue to use their passport and government issued identity cards to prove their 'Right to work' in the UK until 30 June 2021.

The law is changing and from 1st July 2021, new rules for Right to work checks will apply to all EU, EEA, or Swiss nationals who will need to provide evidence of their lawful immigration status in the UK. The most common routes will be 'Skilled Worker Visa' or 'Temporary Worker Visa'.

EU, EEA or Swiss citizens who have already applied to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) can use their settled status to prove their Right to Work in the UK. They can use the ‘Share Code’ service and share a code with their employer, where employers may be able to confirm their Right to Work eligibility.

Employers are not required to retrospectively check the Right to work status of any EU, EEA, or Swiss nationals they have employed before 1st July 2021. Irish citizens can continue to use their passport to prove their right to work in the UK even after 30th June 2021.

Please check our previous article on using 'share code' for 'Right to work checks.'

Click here to learn more about share codes.

Employers must not discriminate when conducting right to work checks. Please check the 'Code of Practice for employers'.

If you have any questions about the changing immigration landscape including Right to work checks, Share codes or Skilled Worker Compliance. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information.

Our expert team of former immigration officers (Ex Home Office) can help you. We have vast experience in understanding who is lawfully allowed to stay and work in the UK and who is not; how illegal migrants try to beat the system by adopting false identities or using fraudulent documents; how you can prepare for a UKVI or immigration enforcement inspection; and how you can establish a “statutory defence” to any sanctions brought against you.

We can help you with online or on-premise training to support you and your HR teams to implement best practice in document checking, copying and retention and to protect you from fraud. We also offer an in house audit and assurance function, carried out by our team of professionals, to give you peace of mind.