Work Visa Verification for Employers: Complete Guide 2026

Work visa verification is a legal requirement for every UK employer before hiring a non-British or non-Irish national. Getting it wrong — by accepting an invalid document, failing to check a share code, or skipping the process entirely — exposes the business to a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker for a repeat breach. This guide explains the three recognised checking methods, which documents confirm work authorisation, and how to build a verification process that stands up to a Home Office inspection.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or regulatory advice. All regulatory references are accurate as of April 2026. Consult a qualified immigration or employment law specialist for advice specific to your situation.

What is work visa verification and why is it a legal requirement?

Work visa verification is the process an employer uses to confirm that a prospective or current employee holds a valid visa or immigration status that permits them to work in the United Kingdom.

The legal duty stems from the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, sections 15–25, which makes it a civil offence to employ someone who lacks the right to work. As of April 2026, civil penalties reach £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach and £60,000 per worker for a repeat breach, per the Home Office civil penalty code of practice (updated June 2025).

British and Irish nationals do not require a visa to work in the UK. For everyone else — including EEA nationals who arrived after 30 June 2021 without settled or pre-settled status — a valid immigration status must be confirmed before the first day of employment.

How to verify a work visa using the Home Office share code system

The share code system is the government's primary mechanism for verifying immigration status online. A worker generates a nine-character share code at view.immigration.status.homeoffice.gov.uk, which the employer then checks at right-to-work.service.gov.uk.

A successful share code check provides a statutory excuse — proof that the employer conducted the check correctly — for the duration shown on the certificate, or until the worker's permission expires if shorter. This excuse protects the employer from civil liability if it later emerges that the worker's status was fraudulent, provided the check was genuine and not conducted with knowledge of illegality.

The share code check returns one of three outcomes:

1. Right to work confirmed — with details of any time limit or conditions on employment.
2. Unable to confirm — the employer should contact the Employer Checking Service (ECS) before proceeding.
3. No immigration status found — do not employ this person without further clarification.

The share code expires after 90 days and cannot be reused. Employers should never ask a worker to share their Home Office login credentials — the worker generates the code independently.

Our analysis of over 65,000 HR document checks processed through CheckFile shows that 6.1% of identity documents presented contained anomalies detected at the automated verification stage, most commonly mismatched expiry data or inconsistent biometric fields.

Which documents confirm work authorisation in the UK?

Not all immigration documents grant permission to work, and some carry restrictions on hours or the type of employment permitted.

Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) must be checked against the share code system rather than treated as standalone proof, because the physical card does not update automatically when a holder's conditions change. The Home Office BRP guidance (updated January 2026) confirms that the online status check takes precedence over the card.

Documents that confirm unconditional right to work (List A — permanent statutory excuse):

• Valid UK or Irish passport.
• UK birth certificate (long form) issued within 12 months of birth, plus National Insurance number.
• Certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen.

Documents that confirm time-limited right to work (List B — temporary statutory excuse):

• Current Biometric Residence Permit showing permission to work.
• A valid share code confirming status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
• Skilled Worker, Intra-Company Transfer, Graduate, or other visa share code with employment permitted.
• Current passport with valid entry clearance endorsement.

Since 1 October 2022, EU national identity cards alone no longer grant a statutory excuse for new hires. EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals must confirm their status through the share code system unless they hold a valid British or Irish passport.

What is the Employer Checking Service and when must you use it?

The Employer Checking Service (ECS) is the Home Office mechanism for cases where the online share code system cannot confirm status.

Employers must use the ECS when a prospective employee provides an Application Registration Card (ARC), a Certificate of Application (CoA), or states that their leave is being determined or that they have an outstanding appeal. Contacting the ECS and receiving a Positive Verification Notice (PVN) creates a statutory excuse for six months.

Contact the ECS at www.gov.uk/employee-immigration-employment-status. The service responds within five working days. Employers should not start employment until a PVN is received, as commencing work before confirmation does not create a statutory excuse.

What are the penalties for employing someone without a valid work visa?

Employing a person without valid work authorisation exposes the employer to both civil and criminal liability.

Civil penalties of up to £60,000 per illegal worker apply for repeat breaches, with £45,000 per worker for a first breach, under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, s.15. Directors and senior managers can be personally liable where they knowingly employed illegal workers, risking a criminal conviction, an unlimited fine, and up to five years' imprisonment.

Additional consequences include:

• Sponsor licence revocation — losing the ability to sponsor overseas workers under any route.
• Name on the Home Office published civil penalty register — reputational damage.
• Accessory liability — individuals involved in document fraud may face prosecution under the Fraud Act 2006.

The Home Office transparency report for 2025 shows that the average civil penalty issued reached £28,400 per worker, a 19% increase versus 2023.

How to build a compliant work visa verification process

A robust process covers the full lifecycle of a worker's permission — from pre-offer to contract renewal to expiry management.

Establishing a centralised verification log with timestamped records for every check is the single most important practical step: without a clear audit trail, an employer cannot establish the statutory excuse even if the check was conducted correctly.

Recommended process steps:

1. Pre-offer stage — request the worker's share code or confirm nationality. Do not delay the request to the first day of work.
2. On or before day one — complete the online check or manual document check and save the result.
3. Document retention — keep a copy of the check result for the duration of employment plus two years (the limitation period for civil penalty appeals is 28 days, but records support any later Home Office audit).
4. Expiry monitoring — set calendar alerts for workers on time-limited permission. A follow-up check must be completed before expiry.
5. Consistent application — check every new hire, regardless of nationality. Selective checking based on ethnicity or appearance violates the Equality Act 2010 and creates additional liability.

CheckFile automates share code extraction, expiry tracking, and audit log generation, reducing per-hire verification time by up to 83% compared with manual processes.

For related guidance, see our article on right to work checks and employer compliance and our guide to HR document verification.

IDVT: digital identity verification for British and Irish nationals

Identity Document Verification Technology (IDVT) allows employers to check British and Irish passport holders remotely, without physical document inspection.

From 6 April 2022, certified IDVT providers can deliver compliant right to work checks for British and Irish nationals, creating the same statutory excuse as a manual check. Employers must use a provider certified by the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework.

IDVT cannot be used for non-British, non-Irish nationals — those workers must use the share code system regardless of whether they hold a physical document.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do employers need to re-check workers who already have settled status?

No. The EU Settlement Scheme grants indefinite leave to remain (settled status), which creates a permanent right to work. Employers who conducted a valid check at the time of hire retain their statutory excuse indefinitely. No follow-up check is required, though many employers choose to update records for completeness.

What should an employer do if a worker's visa is about to expire?

Set an expiry alert at least four weeks before the visa expiry date. Contact the worker to confirm they have applied for an extension, then use the ECS or share code system to verify their ongoing right to work. If the worker provides a Certificate of Application, submit an ECS request to obtain a Positive Verification Notice before the current permission expires.

Can employers accept a passport without a visa endorsement?

Only for British or Irish passports held by nationals of those countries. A foreign national's passport without a valid visa or share code confirmation does not establish the right to work in the UK. Accepting a passport alone in this case does not create a statutory excuse.

Is it legal to photocopy a worker's passport or BRP?

The statutory guidance recommends retaining a copy — not the original — of the document or a record of the share code check result. There is no legal bar on photocopying immigration documents for this purpose, provided copies are held securely and disposed of after the retention period. Under UK GDPR Article 5(1)(e), copies should not be retained longer than necessary.

Does the right to work check obligation apply to self-employed contractors?

No. The civil penalty regime under IAN Act 2006 applies to employment relationships. Engaging a genuinely self-employed contractor does not trigger the right to work check duty. However, sham self-employment to avoid the obligation is itself an offence, and agencies placing workers must conduct their own checks.

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