Can we accept a British Overseas National passport for Right to Work checks?

This article discusses both the worker and client responsibility around British Overseas National Passports and working in the U.K.

''For migrants overseas who are granted permission to enter the U.K. for more than six months, they are issued with a vignette (sticker) in their passport, which is valid for 90 calendar days to enable them to travel to the U.K.

Following their arrival to the U.K., migrants will have 10 calendar days or before their vignette expires (whichever is later) to collect their Biometric Residence Permit from the Post Office branch detailed in their decision letter.''

"BRP (Biometric Residence Permit) holders must still collect their card, but they prove their right to work using the Home Office Online Service rather than showing the physical document.

Those permitted to work in the U.K. are strongly encouraged to collect their BRP before they start work in order to use the information to generate a right-to-work share code.

If the applicant needs to start work for you prior to collecting their BRP, they'll evidence their right to work by producing the short validity vignette in their passport, which they used to travel to the U.K.

You will need to conduct a manual right-to-work check based on this vignette, which must be valid at the time of the check. However, as this will expire 90 calendar days from issue, repeat the check using the online service for the statutory excuse to continue.

If you base employment on the short validity vignette and the employee cannot access their BRP information to use the online service when the vignette time expires, you are not required to terminate the employment immediately if you believe the employee still has the right to work.

However, once the 90 calendar days have expired, you cannot establish a statutory excuse if it transpires that the employee is working illegally."

We have contacted the Home Office and had it confirmed that the passport is not enough, and the worker must confirm their right to work via Share Code.

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