How do I prove my right to work in the UK?

This is one of the few pieces of pre-employment admin that can delay a start date, and almost always for the same reason: the candidate assumes they can hand over a card and the employer needs an online check. Generating the share code takes a few minutes and doing it before the offer stage removes the problem entirely.

Step by step

1. Work out which route applies to you.British and Irish citizens can show a passport, current or expired, or use a certified digital identity service. Everyone else with immigration status uses the online share code. A small group with pending applications is covered by the employer checking service.
2. Generate the share code.Use the GOV.UK 'prove your right to work to an employer' service. You will need your identity document details and your date of birth. The code is nine characters, begins with a W, and is valid for ninety days.
3. Give the code and your date of birth to the employer.They check it on the separate employer-facing GOV.UK service. Showing them your own screen does not give them the statutory protection they need, so the correct service matters to them as well as to you.
4. Know that permits have been replaced.Physical biometric residence permits stopped being issued and expired at the end of 2024. If you hold one you may still be able to use it to log in to your UKVI account, but an employer cannot rely on the card itself.
5. Set up and check your eVisa.Create or access your UKVI account, check that your passport and contact details are current, and confirm your status displays correctly before you need it. Problems are far easier to fix a fortnight before a start date than the day before.
6. Understand time-limited status.Where your permission has an end date, the employer's check is time limited and must be repeated before it expires. Diarise it and renew in good time — a lapse puts your employer in a difficult position as well as you.
7. Use the employer checking service if you have an outstanding application.Where an application or appeal is pending, or you have no documents, the employer can ask the Home Office directly and receive a notice that gives them a defence for a period. Many employers do not know this exists — tell them.
8. Expect the check before you start, not after.The employer's protection depends on the check being done before employment begins. Do not be surprised by a request during onboarding, and do not start work before it is completed.
9. Push back on discriminatory practice.An employer must not check selectively based on how someone looks or sounds, and must not insist on a British passport when other evidence is acceptable. There is a statutory code of practice on avoiding discrimination in these checks.
10. Know it applies across the UK.Right to work checks are required by employers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland alike. The parallel right to rent scheme for housing, by contrast, applies in England only.

Tips

• Log in to your UKVI account once a year and check your details are current, whether or not you are job hunting.
• Generate the share code when you accept an offer, not before — the ninety days should cover the onboarding, not be half spent already.
• If your status has an end date, put a reminder in the calendar three months before it. Renewals take longer than people expect.

Common mistakes

• Waiting until the start date — Account access problems and outdated details are common, and they take days to resolve. Check your status the week you start applying.
• Relying on an expired residence permit — The cards expired and an employer cannot use one for a check. The online route is the only one that works.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask