Online right to work checks can only be used for individuals who hold the following:

• a biometric residence permit
• a biometric residence card
• status under the EU Settlement Scheme – either pre-settlement or settlement
• a visa that allows them to work in the UK and they were not issued with a vignette in their passport, usually because they proved their identity via the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' app and not in person at a visa application centre e.g. an EEA citizen who has applied for a Skilled Worker Visa or Global Talent Visa using the ID Check app, or a BNO visa holder who applied using the ID Check app.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can no longer demonstrate their right to work by presenting their EEA passport or national identity card and will need to do so by using the online checking service.

An online right to work check must be undertaken prior to an individual commencing work at the University and must be conducted with the individual present via a video call or in-person.

For all other types of right to work checks, please visit our Right to Work webpages for further guidance.

Step 1 - Obtain

1. After first seeking permission from the individual that they would like to demonstrate their right to work using the online service, arrange a video call with them at a convenient time to undertake the check.

2. Prior to or during the video call, the individual should view their own Home Office right to work record and provide you with the ‘share code’ generated by the service. They may provide this to you directly, or they may choose to send this to you via the service, in which case you will receive an email from right.to.work.service@notifications.service.gov.uk. The share code will be valid for 90 days, after which a new code will be required in order to conduct an online check. All share codes now begin with a letter denoting the purpose it can be used for, for example, a share code beginning with the letter 'W' will indicate that the share code has been generated by an individual to evidence their right to work.

3. To view the individual’s right to work details, you will need to type in the share code and the individual’s date of birth.

You must use the Home Office Online Right to Work Checking Service to conduct an online check. It is not sufficient to simply view the details provided to the individual on the migrant part of the service and doing so will not provide you with a statutory excuse.

Step 2 - Check

1. Check that the photograph on the online right to work check is of the individual presenting themselves for work (i.e. the information provided by the check relates to the individual and they are not an imposter). If the appearance of the individual does not correspond with the photograph and/or they want to be known under a different name then you must ask the individual to provide you with a further document to explain the reason for this. This further document could be a marriage/civil partnership certificate, a divorce decree absolute, an enrolled deed poll or gender recognition certificate for example.

2. You must only employ the individual, or continue to employ an existing employee if you are conducting a follow-up check, if the online check confirms they have the right to work and are not subject to a condition preventing them from doing the work in question.

3. If the online right to work check does not confirm that the individual has the right to work in the UK and do the work in question, you will not have established a statutory excuse from this check if you proceed to employ them.

Step 3 - Retain

1. You must retain evidence of the online right to work check. For online checks, this should be the ‘profile’ page confirming the individual’s right to work. This is the page that includes the individual's photo and date on which the check was conducted. You will need to ensure that the 'Legal basis of status' drop-down option is selected prior to saving so that information on the type of immigration status is displayed. You will have the option of printing the profile page or saving it as a PDF or HTML file.

2. You will need to include the following declaration ‘Date on which this right to work check was made’, signed and dated by yourself with the document.

3. A copy of the online right to work check and declaration should then be uploaded to the relevant University system (as appropriate for your position/department) as one document. For sponsored individuals, you may also need to upload a copy of the individual's passport along with your declaration, if applicable*. Your HR Co-ordinator will then upload these documents to iTrent under the individual’s record.

4. It is important that you confidentially destroy/delete the right to work documentation once it has been forwarded to HR.

*If an individual is working at the University under a sponsored route such as a Skilled Worker Visa (Tier 2 Visa previously), or a Temporary Work Visa, you will need to:

• follow Steps 2 and 3 of our Right to Work webpages and take a copy of their current passport for HR to keep on file in addition to their online right to work check document;
• take a copy of their most recent entry clearance stamp in their passport (a visa to enter the UK) indicating the holder has an entitlement to enter or remain in the UK and undertake the work in question and check that they entered the UK during the validity period of their visa. If they entered before the ‘valid from’ date on their visa, they will not have permission to work for the University; and
• contact your HR Co-ordinator who will be able to advise further.

Student/Tier 4 Visa holders

If the individual is a Student/Tier 4 Visa holder you must follow the Student/Tier 4 Visa booking process before engaging them in any work.