The information provided is correct at 3 April 2025. It provides general guidance only: expert advice should be sought in relation to particular circumstances.
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Right to work checks |
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| Does the ability to complete an online right to work check mean that the employee has a UKVI account? If not, how do we know who does and who doesn’t have a UKVI account? |
An online right to work check can be completed both for those with eVisas and most Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs). An individual with valid immigration status can use an expired BRP to generate a share code for an online right to work check with for the time-being. So currently the only definitive way to establish if a person has set up an eVisa is to ask them to confirm this. We would also suggest sending centralised communications to remind staff to set up their eVisa. Doing this would also ensure that those who are settled receive a reminder, as they would not need to be reviewed as part of a repeat right to work check. |
| The online right to work check does not confirm an individual’s visa issue date. Previously, we could see this information on the physical BRP. Where we must keep a record of the visa issue date, how do we locate it? |
An online right to work check does not contain a visa issue date. You are not required to keep a record of the visa issue date. . However, if you have sponsored a worker’s entry clearance, you do need to keep evidence of the date they entered the UK, in accordance with the sponsor guidance Appendix D. To establish whether a sponsored worker entered the UK after the issue date of their entry clearance, we would suggest that you ask them for a copy of their approval email and any visa vignette along with evidence of their date of entry. If you have further questions about your obligations as a sponsor or as an employer, please get in touch with a member of our immigration team. |
| How do we perform a repeat check on someone who started working for the organisation prior to 29 February 2008? We cannot submit an Employer Checking Service (ECS) request. |
The employer’s guide to right to work checks confirms: You should not contact the ECS where employment commenced before 29 February 2008 and has been continuous ever since. You will receive a Negative Verification Notice because this employment is out of scope of the civil penalty scheme. This notice does not require you to take action and does not indicate that they do not have the requisite permission to work. An ECS request would only be required for a repeat check if the employee cannot otherwise establish their ongoing right to work using a digital, online or manual right to work check. This may happen for example if they have an outstanding immigration application at the time their repeat check is due. If the person has an eVisa and an outstanding immigration application, their ongoing right to work would normally be confirmed through an online right to work check. It would also be rare for a person to remain in the UK with limited immigration permission for such an extended period of time, so this scenario is not likely to arise often in practice. |
| How do we perform an online right to work check for someone who presents an ILR wet ink stamp in their passport? |
If an individual presents an ILE or an ILR wet ink stamp in a current passport, a manual right to work check could be completed. However, in practice, due to the lapse of time since these endorsements stopped being issued, the passport the endorsement is in will most likely have expired. To prove their right to work to a new employer, a person with a wet ink ILE or ILR endorsement would need to obtain an eVisa and have their right to work checked online. For this group, the process is to make a ‘No Time Limit application’ from inside the UK. More information about eVisa process for physical document holders is available in the Home Office’s eVisa guidance. Please note this guidance is frequently updated, and the process is subject to change. |
| What should we do if we have lost the record of a right to work check? Should we perform a fresh check? | If you have lost evidence of the check that was carried out before the commencement of employment (or before the expiry of an existing statutory excuse in the case of a repeat right to work check), performing a replacement right to work check (and any subsequent repeat right to work checks, if applicable) will not allow you to benefit from a statutory excuse if the individual is identified by the Home Office as not having the right to work. However, performing a replacement check with the employee’s agreement (and timely repeat checks) can minimise the risk of receiving a civil penalty by satisfying you of their right to work. If the lost record is subsequently found, you would also be able to demonstrate a statutory excuse through having a full set of documentation. |
| Can we complete online right to work check for a candidate who is not yet in the UK and visa validity is not yet started? |
An online right to work check can only be carried out once the person’s visa has become valid. This is because the individual will not have the right to work before this date. Once the visa start date has passed, it is possible to carry out an online right to work check with the person present by live video link. |
| There are often instances where we need to know the type of visa someone is on. The online right to work output does not confirm the visa type. Can we ask to see an employee’s eVisa, which will show us the visa type? | You can ask an employee to provide you with evidence of their eVisa (personal profile page),or to issue you with an ‘S’ share code, or to provide you with the email issued by the Home Office granting them immigration permission. However, you should restrict this to cases where you have a legitimate reason to seek this information rather than asking for it routinely, and should not impose any sanction if the employee declines to provide this. |
| Is a fresh online right to work check needed for those who previously had a manual check completed before 6 April 2022? | Manual right to work checks carried out on holders of limited immigration permission evidenced by a BRP, BRC or frontier worker permit before 6 April 2022 all expired on 31 December 2024. A repeat online right to work check should have been completed before this date. |
| Should right to work checks be carried out for work experience students working one day a week? | You should carry out a right to work check for any worker or employee, even if they are only working part-time. You should seek separate advice on whether the work experience student is a worker or employee for the purposes of doing right to work checks. |
| Is there a best practice when it comes to establishing and implementing a right to work policy? |
It is essential to ensure that your right to work process is effective, and that any policy document containing the process enables users to implement it successfully. If you’re not sure how robust your policy is, or if you have doubt as to whether your checks are carried out compliantly, consider conducting an internal audit. Lewis Silkin has a specialist sponsor compliance team, who can assist with or complete an audit for you. Feel free to get in touch. |
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Sponsored worker – start date of entry clearance |
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| Applicants used to be able to enter the UK up to 14 days before the start date on their CoS - under the entry clearance vignette. The new process looks to only allow entry from the start date on the CoS so people aren't able to easily come and set up ahead of starting, any suggestions? | The applicant can continue to add the date that they plan to enter the UK to the visa application form. The Home Office should consider this when deciding the start date of entry clearance. The current guidance for Home Office caseworkers states that the start date for entry clearance should be the date of decision, or the date requested by the applicant, whichever is later. Once the entry clearance is issued, it will still have a start date as mentioned on the approval email, and the individual must ensure they do not arrive to start their sponsored role before this date. |
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Skilled Worker |
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| If we have a Skilled Worker who is due to for an extension, does the lower going rate apply to them? We sponsored them before 4 April 2024. Also, does the lower salary threshold transitional arrangement apply if the Skilled Worker changes employer? |
The below cohorts (and some others) can benefit from the transitional (lower) salary requirements. a) An individual working in a Health & Care ASHE salary job; b) An individual applying before 4 April 2030, who was sponsored as a Skilled Worker before 4 April 2024 (meaning that they applied with a Certificate of Sponsorship assigned on or before 3 April 2024), and who has had continuous permission as a Skilled Worker since then; c) Individuals sponsored in certain health or education occupation codes listed in Table 3 of Appendix Skilled Occupations. This includes individuals who are extending their permission with the same employer, or who are making a change of employment application to work for a new employer. Be aware that for Certificates of Sponsorship assigned from 9 April 2025, the lowest general salary threshold is rising from £23,000 to £25,000. This impacts those who are eligible to apply under the transitional arrangements mentioned above. Occupation-based going rates that are lower than £25,000 per year will also be updated. For more information about this change and to understand who is affected, in our March 2025 update. |
| Who is affected by the 9 April 2025 salary rises? |
The lowest general salary threshold will increase from £23,200 per year (or £11.90 per hour) to £25,000 per year (or £12.82 per hour). A Skilled Worker will be affected if:
Because of the general minimum salary increase, occupation-based going rates that are lower than £25,000 per year (£12.82 per hour) will also be updated. You can read more about who is impacted in our article Salary rises and other changes to the Skilled Worker route from 9 April 2025. |
| We pay the visa application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge upfront for Skilled Workers. If they leave work early, we’ll recoup it back either through a salary deduction or by transferring the funds to us. Would this fall under the scope of the 9 April 2025 rule changes that require deductions, loans and investments to be excluded from the qualifying salary calculation? To ensure compliance, should we avoid requesting repayment altogether? |
The new Rules will require the salary being relied on for a Skilled Worker application to be reduced where the applicant pays money to their sponsor or a related organisation and this is deducted from their salary, repaid as a loan or is made as an investment. The drafting suggests this would need to be declared and calculated at the application stage, however the Home Office normally produces updated sponsor and caseworker guidance which may provide clarity. This is due to be published on 9 April 2025, so check our Insights page for updates. As a reminder, a sponsor cannot pass on certain immigration-related costs to a sponsored worker. See our previous article for more details. |
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Employment and immigration interactions |
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| If we already employ a worker on a Graduate Visa, but they don't meet the salary requirement to switch to a Sponsored Skilled worker visa, can we terminate employment? | This may potentially give rise to employment law risks. The employee will have protection against race discrimination and (depending on their length of service) unfair dismissal. You should be mindful of these risks and follow a form of process that explores alternatives to dismissal. We recommend seeking legal advice from a firm that specialises in both immigration and employment law, such as Lewis Silkin. Feel free to get in touch with a member of our immigration team. |
| If all employees are offered training and sign up to a learning agreement whereby they will pay training costs back if they leave employment, can we impose the same requirements for those subject to sponsorship? Or would it be indirect discrimination on the grounds there is likely to be a greater impact on them if right to work is lost? |
This sort of clawback arrangement will carry with it certain employment law risks. The risk of an indirect race discrimination claim should be considered and balanced against the commercial desire for such an arrangement. For a sponsored worker assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship on or after 9 April 2025, the answer is different. It arguably rests on whether the cost has the character of being a genuine benefit, which an individual has the choice to take up. A full analysis of the facts and circumstances is needed, as well as a full risk assessment. Additionally, depending on how the cost is considered, there could be an impact on how an individual meets the salary requirement. For more information about the new Immigration Rules, read our article Salary rises and other changes to the Skilled Worker route from 9 April 2025. Note that Home Office guidance is expected to be published on or around the same date. As a reminder, a sponsor cannot pass on certain immigration-related costs to a sponsored worker. See our previous article for more details. |
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I have frequently seen job adverts saying 'we are unable to sponsor a visa for this role'. Is this allowed? If we know a position isn’t eligible for sponsorship because of salary level, do we still need to consider applications from candidates who do not already have right to work in the UK? |
A recruitment policy that excludes applicants who would need sponsorship risks being found to be indirectly race discriminatory in an employment tribunal. The employer would have to ‘objectively justify’ its policy to successfully defend that claim. This will be a fact-specific question. It is possible that an employer may mount a successful objective justification defence if the role does not meet the salary threshold for sponsorship. However, the point remains untested in law. Such a policy would still risk being found to be indirectly discriminatory. Further, there are potential exceptions to the general salary threshold (such as a new entrant discount) which may complicate the overall picture. It may be that employers who make such statements in their adverts have given thought to these risks and consider that they have a good justification defence. Alternatively, they may have made a commercial decision to proceed regardless of the risk. Equally, they may not have considered the question at all. We recommend that a careful risk assessment and strategic approach to the topic is undertaken, after having sought legal advice from a firm that specialises in employment and immigration law, such as Lewis Silkin. |
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Global mobility |
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| Will there be an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) or equivalent pre-entry authorisation required for travel to Europe? |
The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is similar to the UK’s ETA and is a pre-travel authorisation system designed for short stays. It’s not operational yet. It will apply to visitors travelling to the Schengen area, who don’t usually need a visa to visit, including British citizens. ETIAS will use data from the new Entry and Exit System (EES), which is new digital border management system. The rollout has been delayed several times. The EES is due to launch in October 2025, and the ETIAS is due to launch in Autumn, 2026. You can read more about the system here. |