Passports, visas and eligibility to work

Your eligibility to work in the UK will have been checked before you commence employment. If we are aware that your eligibility to work is of a fixed duration, we will contact you before it expires to establish whether you are seeking to extend your permit. However it is your responsibility to ensure that you apply for proof of your continuing right to work in sufficient time to be able to demonstrate to us that you remain eligible to work. Should your right to work expire, or be otherwise revoked, we will no longer be able to employ you.

If you do apply to extend your visa you will normally have an ongoing eligibility to work whilst that application is being considered. However, the University has to establish proof of that application and will often use the Employer Checking Service. Unless you secure written confirmation from the Home Office that you have applied to extend your visa, then the University will need to establish your eligibility.

Please note that your authorisation to work may restrict you from changing jobs internally, or from working for another employer, and you should check this before making applications.

The government provides employers with a list of acceptable documents that we can accept as proof of your continued right to work. You must be able to provide original documents and will be required to present them in person when requested.  If you have been granted a Settled/Pre-Settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme you will be obliged to share the digital code issued to you by the Home Office in order for the University to check your eligibility to work in the UK online.

Please ensure that you have a valid passport, if you need to get a new one or if your current passport needs to be revalidated, do this as soon as possible because the process can take several months.

In some countries passports are gradually being renewed/updated so that they meet the latest international standard. The new passports will be machine readable and contain encoded biometric information (e.g. a digital photograph). If you are not living in your own country, please check with your embassy whether you need to return to your home country to get a new passport.

This compulsory identity card is for all migrants. They are credit-card sized plastic visa cards issued to those applying overseas for permission to stay in the UK for more than six months, and if you are applying to extend your visa or settle within the UK.

If you are applying to enter the UK, you will be issued with a 30 day vignette (visa in your passport) to enable you to enter the UK but you must then collect your BRP within 10 days from the Post Office designated in your visa application. Some workers with a long standing right of indefinite leave to remain (ILR) have not secured a BRP. Home Office rules specifically require employers not to engage such workers without a BRP, even though such workers clearly have ILR. In these circumstances the University will insist on a BRP before eligibility to work can be accepted. More information can be found on the government website.

As a general rule, overseas nationals are permitted only to do those tasks for which permission has been granted by the Department for Education and Employment, the Home Office or Immigration Officials. The ease with which the permission is obtained will depend upon your current nationality and your reason for entering the UK. Please note that it is your current nationality which is important and not any permission that you may have to reside in a third country. You can view more information on all the types of working visas online.

If your family members are non-EEA nationals and you are an EEA National, a Swiss national, or an eligible person of Northern Ireland they may be able to get a family permit to come to the UK.  

If your family members are non-EEA nationals and you have (or are applying for) a visa in the UK, your family may be entitled to apply as dependents. More information can be found on the UKVI website.

If you are on a Skilled Worker or Global Talent visa and have been legally resident in the UK for five continuous years you may apply for indefinite leave to remain or “settlement”. This does not change your nationality; you will remain a citizen of your country of origin. UKVI provide guidance and a useful assessment tool.

There are different ways you may become a British citizen. If someone is granted British citizenship they are no longer regarded as a foreign national and are not subject to immigration controls. The most common route is called ‘naturalisation’. For information on how to apply for British Citizenship please see the UKVI website.

If you have any queries about eligibility to work and acceptable documentation please contact the People Directorate Operations team pdteam-operations@brookes.ac.uk.