Right to work checks for overseas nationals: what documents to accept, what to reject and how to document every decision
On 18 May 2026, the Home Office quietly confirmed something that every UK employer needs to understand before October arrives. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 will extend statutory right to work check duties to all employers from 1 October 2026, broadening the definition of who must be checked and tightening what every organisation is expected to have on record.
If you currently hire overseas nationals and you are not confident that your document checks are being done correctly, that your records would survive a Home Office compliance visit, or that you are using the right verification method for each immigration category, the next four months matter. A lot.
What most organisations get wrong
In 18 years of running a vetting company, the right to work mistakes I saw most often were not deliberate. They came from confusion, assumption and outdated practice that nobody had stopped to question.
The most common was accepting documents that were no longer valid as right to work evidence. Physical Biometric Residence Permits and Biometric Residence Cards are no longer acceptable. Full stop. I still encounter HR teams who have a copy of someone's BRP on file and believe that is sufficient. It is not. For most overseas nationals, the only compliant route is the Home Office online checking service with a share code provided by the individual.
The second mistake was failing to carry out follow up checks. If an overseas national has time limited leave to remain, the initial check gives you a statutory excuse only until the date specified in the Positive Verification Notice. Miss that follow up and you lose your statutory excuse entirely. I saw this happen repeatedly, often because nobody had set a reminder and the original screener had since moved on.
The third was inconsistent application. Some managers checked overseas national candidates thoroughly and waved British nationals through without documentation. The Equality Act 2010 makes that approach dangerous from two directions at once.
Who you must check and how
Every individual you employ must have their right to work verified before they start. That obligation applies regardless of nationality. For overseas nationals, the method of checking depends entirely on their immigration status and the type of leave they hold.
The Home Office online checking service is the correct route for the vast majority of overseas nationals in the UK today. The individual generates a share code through the Home Office portal and provides it to you along with their date of birth. You enter both into the online service, which returns a real time confirmation of their right to work, the conditions attached and, where relevant, the expiry date. You print or save that result, record the date you conducted the check and keep it on file.
This applies to anyone holding digital immigration status. That now includes EU, EEA and Swiss nationals with settled or pre-settled status, Skilled Worker visa holders, students with limited leave to remain and a wide range of other categories.
For a broader overview of how the right to work framework operates across all nationalities and employment scenarios, I cover it in detail in my complete right to work employer guide.
What paper documents are still acceptable
A small number of document types remain on List A, meaning they give you a continuous statutory excuse with no requirement for a follow up check. A British passport, an Irish passport or a passport endorsed to show indefinite leave to remain still qualify, as do certain other specified documents.
If the document is on List A and you have seen the original, checked the photograph against the person in front of you and made a copy, you have a continuous statutory excuse for the duration of employment.
Even where paper documents are still acceptable, verifying that they are genuine is a separate obligation that many organisations overlook. The specific fraud risks around document checking at the point of hire, and what to look for, are something I cover in my post on document fraud at the point of hire.
Time limited checks and follow up obligations
Where the online check returns a result showing that an individual's leave expires on a specific date, your statutory excuse expires on that same date. You must carry out a follow up check before that date to maintain your protection.
Build your follow up reminder into whatever HR or screening system you use on the day the initial check is completed. Not later. That day. The reason most employers miss follow up checks is not negligence. It is because the reminder never gets set at the start.
Charlotte in action
To give you a sense of what Charlotte can do on this, here is the question I put to her and the answer she came back with.
Question put to Charlotte: A candidate from India has a Skilled Worker visa and has given me a share code. The visa expires in eight months. What do I need to check, how do I record it correctly and when do I need to carry out a follow up check?
Charlotte's answer: Use the Home Office online checking service. Enter the share code and the candidate's date of birth to receive a real time confirmation of their right to work and the conditions attached. Save or print the result, record the date you conducted the check and keep it in the individual's personnel file. Because the visa expires in eight months, your statutory excuse is time limited to that expiry date. Set a follow up check reminder for before that date. If you do not carry out the follow up check in time, you lose your statutory excuse and are exposed to civil penalty even if the individual has since renewed their leave.
Charlotte provides expert guidance based on 18 years of real operational experience in UK employment screening and vetting. She does not provide legal advice. For legal matters specific to your organisation, always consult a qualified solicitor.
The October 2026 change and what it means now
From 1 October 2026, the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 will widen the statutory right to work framework to cover all employment commencing on or after that date. The definition of who counts as an employer is being broadened and record keeping expectations are being tightened further. If your current process is inconsistent, relies on outdated documents or lacks a structured follow up system, you have four months to put that right.
The consequences of getting it wrong
Civil penalties for employing someone without the right to work run to up to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach and up to £60,000 for repeat breaches. Those figures apply per individual. Employ three overseas nationals without a compliant check and your exposure multiplies accordingly.
Beyond civil penalties, knowingly employing a person who does not have the right to work is a criminal offence under section 21 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, carrying an unlimited fine and up to five years in prison for the individuals responsible.
Accepting a BRP as right to work evidence when the prescribed method is an online share code check does not give you a statutory excuse. You have carried out a check of sorts. You have not carried out the prescribed check. That distinction is the one that matters when a Home Office compliance officer is sitting across the table from you.
If you hold a sponsor licence, the consequences go further. Systemic weaknesses in your right to work process can trigger licence suspension or revocation, removing your ability to sponsor overseas workers entirely.
Frequently asked questions
Can I accept a Biometric Residence Permit as proof of right to work?
No. Physical BRPs, BRCs and Frontier Worker Permits are no longer valid as right to work evidence. For most overseas nationals, you must use the Home Office online checking service with a share code provided by the individual. Accepting a BRP gives the impression of compliance without establishing a statutory excuse.
What is a share code and how do I use it?
A share code is a unique nine character code generated by the individual through the Home Office online portal. They provide it to you alongside their date of birth. You enter both into the online right to work checking service, which confirms their immigration status, the conditions attached and any time limit on their leave. Save the result, record the date of the check and keep it on file. Codes are valid for 90 days from generation.
What happens if I miss a follow up right to work check?
You lose your statutory excuse from the date the original leave expired. Even if the individual has renewed their visa and remains lawfully in the UK, your failure to check before the expiry date leaves you without protection. A civil penalty can follow. The follow up must happen before the expiry date, not after.
Do right to work checks apply to British nationals too?
Yes. Right to work checks must be applied consistently to every person you employ, regardless of nationality. Checking only those who appear to be overseas nationals is a breach of the Equality Act 2010 and can generate discrimination claims. Consistency across every hire protects you from both immigration enforcement and tribunal risk.
What changes from 1 October 2026?
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 widens statutory right to work obligations to all UK employers from that date, broadening the definition of employer and tightening record keeping requirements. If your process is not consistent and fully documented, the time to fix it is now.
Where to go from here
Right to work checks for overseas nationals are one of the areas where small process gaps translate into large financial exposure. The October 2026 changes make it more urgent than ever to have a process built around the prescribed methods, applied consistently and backed by clear documentation.
If you use a vetting platform, HR system or recruitment tool, this is worth raising with your provider. Charlotte can be embedded into any authenticated software environment with two lines of HTML. No technical complexity. No data risk. Ask your platform whether Charlotte is something they offer or are considering.
If your organisation operates its own internal software or system, you can trial Charlotte directly. Software platforms and organisations with their own internal systems can access Charlotte free for seven days at https://vettinghub.co.uk/trial. One user. Full access. No commitment and nothing to cancel if she is not right for you.
Charlotte's monthly licence is £1,495. No setup fee. No per-user charges. No long-term contract. Access runs month to month.
She covers 65 specialist topic areas across pre-employment screening, vetting, compliance and risk and is available every hour of every day, at the exact point screening decisions are being made.
I built Charlotte because the guidance that HR teams and compliance officers need when they are making these decisions should not require a two-day wait or a call to someone with a commercial interest in the answer. If your team is checking overseas nationals and they are not certain about the process, Charlotte can help them get it right.
