Eligible to Work in the UK?
Below you can find information on your eligibility to work in the UK.
Who can work in the UK?
If you want to come to the UK to work, whether you can do so depends on who you are. Unless you’re a British citizen or a citizen of one of the European Economic Area (EEA) countries, you may need a visa before you travel here. If you have to get a visa, you’ll need to be cleared by officials at a British Overseas Mission in your country of origin. Once cleared, the entry clearance certificate, or visa, will be put into your passport or travel document.
Accession state workers
If you’re from one of the new European Union member, or ‘accession’, states you may need to register with the Home Office under the Worker Registration Scheme within one month of starting a job. The countries affected are:
- Poland
- Lithuania
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Slovenia
- Slovakia
- Hungary
- The Czech Republic
- Bulgaria
- Romania
Workers from Bulgaria and Romania are restricted in the sorts of work they can do. However, you don’t need to register to work in the UK if you’re:
- self-employed
- from Cyprus or Malta
There are a few other circumstances when you wouldn’t need to register if you’re from one of the accession states.
As an agency or temporary worker you’ll need to register to work within a month of starting work.
Highly skilled migrants
From 29 February 2008 any highly skilled foreign national currently working in Britain who wants to extend their stay will need to apply under a new points-based system. This new points based system will be extended to those applying from overseas later in the year. It will not apply to citizens of EEA countries.
Students
If you’re an international student you may not need permission to work here when you’re studying. If your home country is in the EEA, or you’re a Swiss national, you can work without restrictions on the type or amount of work you do.
Otherwise, you should check the visa stamp in your passport. If it says ‘prohibited’ you can’t work in the UK. If it grants you leave to enter or remain in the UK as a student, you can work here provided you:
- Don’t work more than 20 hours a week during term time, unless the employment is part of your studies or is an internship
- Don’t engage in business, are not self-employed and don’t provide services as a professional sportsperson or entertainer
- Don’t take a permanent full-time position
What proof an employer will need
If you’re from an EEA country, you’ll need to show a prospective employer your passport, national identity card or Home Office Residence Permit. Employers can face unlimited fines if they employ illegal workers, so they need to make sure that no one they employ is working in the UK illegally. However, to protect themselves against discrimination laws they should treat all job applicants equally. So don’t be offended if you’re asked to prove your nationality, even if it’s ‘obvious’. Even UK nationals will be asked to provide proof of their nationality.
Work Permits
There are a number of schemes and programmes for people who want to work in the UK. If you’re not from an EEA country or Switzerland, you’re likely to need a work permit to work here.
There are six separate groups for ordinary work permit applications:
- Business and commercial
- Training and work experience
- Sportspeople and entertainers
- Student internships
- General agreement on trade in services(GATS)
- Hospitality and food processing (sector-based schemes)
How to apply for a permit and how long it lasts for
You can’t apply for a permit yourself – you’ll need the UK-based employer who wants to employ you to do it for you. How long your permit lasts for will depend on the work you do and the type of permit applied for. For example, business and commercial work permits can be issued for up to five years, but sector-based permits are only issued for up to 12 months.
All information has been obtained from the direct gov website and can be found at www.direct.gov.uk. Kinetica (UK) Ltd accepts no responsibility for the validity of this information and or liability for the issuing of any work permit or visa associated with employment E. & O. E. For further information & links please view the www.direct.gov.uk website.
