Home Office's right to work guidance updated

The Home Office recently updated its guidance document (Employer's guide to right to work checks) with several small but potentially significant changes that employers should be aware of.

The most significant change to the guidance, which was updated on 12 February 2025, is clarification that a ‘clipped’ British or Irish passport is not an acceptable document for the purpose of a right to work check. British and Irish citizens have always been able to rely on either a current or expired passport for right to work check purposes, but the updated guidance distinguishes a cancelled passport, the corner of which has been cut or ‘clipped’ and which cannot be used for a right to work check, from a document that has merely expired.

The new guidance also:

• Clarifies that where relying on a birth certificate for a right to work check, a short or long form certificate is acceptable. A birth certificate must still be accompanied by an official document confirming the worker’s National Insurance Number.
• Emphasises that individuals who currently have a physical document to prove their UK immigration status must take action to create a UKVI account to access their eVisa and prove their right to work.
• Updates the provisions on employment of Ukrainian nationals to confirm the opening of the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme on 4 February 2025.
• Removes the section on Covid-19 adjusted checks, which were permissible from 30 March 2020 until 30 September 2022. This will be frustrating for employers conducting audits on right to work checks, including those carried out during this period, but previous versions of the guidance can still be obtained via the National Archives.

It’s essential that employers conduct right to work checks in accordance with the latest Home Office guidance to gain the protection of a statutory excuse against a civil penalty of up to £60,000 for employing an illegal worker.

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