Foreign Workers – Employing Foreign Workers Without Permission
With the recent EU extension seeing an influx of foreign, a points system that allows people from outside the EU to work here and the threat of a fine and prison for employing illegal workers, employing foreign workers can seem like a minefield.
Who can work here without permission
- British citizens and citizens of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Ireland.
- Commonwealth citizens with the right of abode in the UK.
- European Economic Area (EEA) nationals – which is made up of the 25 European Union member states plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. (For a full list, see the link at the bottom of this page.)
- Nationals of some EEA countries will need to register the UK Border Agency.
- Swiss nationals
- Individuals who are not EEA or Swiss nationals but who are family members of nationals from EEA countries and Switzerland lawfully residing in the UK.
- Dependants of migrants who have entered the UK under one of the tiers of the points-based system.
Checking entitlement to work
- You need to ask for original versions of documents specified by the UK Border Agency.
- The specified documents are split into List A and List B.
- You need to see the original versions of one of the documents from List A or two documents from List B – which are included in Prevention of Illegal Working: Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 – Summary Guidance for Employers. (You can download this publication at the bottom of this page.
- If an employee provides a document from List A, no further checks are required during their employment with you.
- If an employee provides a documents from List B, you must repeat this check every 12 months during their employment with you.
- It is sensible to ask them to bring these documents to their interview and you must see them before you allow them to sign an employment contract or start working for you.
Documentation validity
- If you are concerned about the validity of documentation you have been show, call the UK Border Agency helpline on 0300 123 4699.
Entitlement records
- Keep photocopies or electronic copies of List A and List B documentation.
- Make sure you take a copy of any page containing information about the foreign worker including, for example, the front cover of the passport and any pages containing UK stamps, as well as the page containing the photograph.
- Keep these copies for two years after they leave your employment.
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