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You must check that a job applicant is allowed to work for you in the UK before you employ them. If you employ someone who does not have the right to work, you could have to pay a civil penalty of up to £60,000 for each illegal worker.

Acceptable right to work documents

Check the original documents, or use the online service, before their first day of work.

For a manual check, employers must check a document or specified combination of documents from List A (proves an ongoing right to work) OR a document or combination from List B (proves a time-limited right to work, requiring follow-up checks). List B is divided into Group 1 (documents showing the holder's own time-limited permission) and Group 2 (documents giving a 6-month statutory excuse, such as an Employer Checking Service verification notice). There is no rule requiring two List B documents.

List A - Ongoing right to work (British/Irish citizens, settled status)

UK passport (current or expired): British citizen passport
Irish passport (current or expired): Irish citizen passport or passport card
Certificate of registration/naturalisation: British citizenship certificate with unrestricted right to work (in combination with an official document giving the National Insurance number)
Birth/adoption certificate + NI number: UK birth or adoption certificate issued in UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Ireland PLUS official document with National Insurance number
Frontier Worker permit: Irish or EEA/Swiss citizens working in UK but living elsewhere
Immigration status document: Endorsement of indefinite leave to enter/remain (in combination with an official document giving the National Insurance number)

List B - Time-limited right to work (requires follow-up checks)

Passport with visa/stamp (Group 1): Current passport with UK visa endorsement showing the holder's time-limited permission
Immigration status document with expiry (Group 1): Limited leave to enter/remain with expiry date (in combination with an official document giving the National Insurance number)
Certificate of Application (Group 2): Outstanding application or appeal with Home Office. Digital CoAs (issued on/after 1 July 2021) no longer require Employer Checking Service verification. Non-digital CoAs require a Positive Verification Notice from the Employer Checking Service
Positive Verification Notice (Group 2): Issued by the Employer Checking Service - gives a 6-month statutory excuse

Defunct documents

All Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) and Biometric Residence Cards (BRCs) expired on 31 December 2024 and cannot be accepted for right to work checks. Their holders have been moved to eVisas - they must create a UKVI account and provide a share code for the online checking service.

Online Right to Work Checks (Share Code)

For most modern visas, the online checking service can be used where the employee generates a share code. This is now the primary method for:

eVisas (digital immigration status)
EU Settlement Scheme (settled or pre-settled status)
Most visa holders from 2024 onwards

Check someone's right to work online (opens in a new tab)

Check your employee's right to work

Manual and online checks, and the records to keep.

Check their right to work

Check your employee's right to work