My employer asked to check my right to work. What documents do I need and what are my rights?

Short answer

Employers are legally required to check that every employee has the right to work in the UK before they start work. You must provide specific documents — or allow an online check — before or on your first day. The check is not optional, but employers must carry it out consistently and must not discriminate on the basis of nationality.

If you have the right to work but do not have the specific documents the employer expects, you may be able to use the Home Office online checking service instead. An employer who rejects your documentation without a lawful reason may be committing unlawful race discrimination.

1 The rule

The right to work check regime is set out in the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. Employers who employ someone who does not have the right to work in the UK face a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per worker. Conducting a correct check before employment starts gives the employer a "statutory excuse" against that penalty.

The employer's obligation is to check documents and retain copies — not to make an assessment of immigration status. If an employer carries out the check correctly but is deceived by a forgery, they retain the statutory excuse. If they carry out the check incorrectly or not at all, they face the full penalty.

2 What you can do now

1. 1
   Find out which category of check applies to you

   There are two main routes. List A documents (such as a British passport, a biometric residence permit with indefinite leave, or an EU Settlement Scheme settled status share code) give the employer a permanent statutory excuse and do not need to be rechecked. List B documents (such as a biometric residence permit with time-limited leave, or a visa with an expiry date) give a time-limited excuse and must be rechecked when leave expires.

2. 2
   Provide the required document or online check

   If you have a physical document (British or Irish passport, biometric residence card, etc.), give the original to the employer for inspection and copying. If your leave is held digitally — for example, if you have EU Settlement Scheme pre-settled or settled status, or a digital visa — you do not have a physical document. Instead, generate a share code at gov.uk/prove-right-to-work and give it to the employer to use with the Home Office online service.

3. 3
   Ensure the employer does not discriminate

   The Home Office Code of Practice on Preventing Illegal Working requires employers to carry out the check consistently on all employees — not just those who appear to be foreign nationals. An employer who asks some employees for documents but not others, or who demands more documents than legally required from employees of particular nationalities, may be committing race discrimination under the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Equality Act 2010</a>. If this happens to you, contact the <a href="https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Equality and Human Rights Commission</a>.

4. 4
   Know what happens if your leave expires during employment

   If you are employed on a time-limited visa and it expires, your right to work ceases unless you have been granted an extension (or your application is pending and you have "section 3C leave"). Your employer must carry out a follow-up check when your leave document expires. If your leave has lapsed and you are still working, the employer commits an offence. Keep track of your visa expiry date and apply for any extension well in advance.

3 When this does not apply

• You are under 16 — different rules apply to child employment and work experience.
• You are self-employed or engaged as a contractor — right to work checks apply to "employees" and "workers" under the Act, but the contractor status itself removes the obligation in many cases.
• You are a volunteer with no contract of employment — the Act does not apply to unpaid volunteers.

4 Common questions