Guide
Right to work share code: how the Home Office online check works
Updated
For anyone who is not a British or Irish citizen, the online check is now the normal route. It is free, it works over video, and it fails in two predictable ways.
Talk to a specialist One minute in the wizard against a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker.
How the check runs
- The worker signs in to their UKVI account and chooses Prove your right to work to an employer, which generates a share code (gov.uk).
- You enter that code and their date of birth at Check a job applicant's right to work, the employer part of the service.
- You read the result: what work they are allowed to do, and any time limit. You save or print the profile page and record the date of the check.
The two ways this goes wrong
- Wrong kind of share code
- Share codes begin with a letter that says what they are for. A right to work code begins with W. Codes beginning R or S are generated for other services and an employer cannot use them: ask for a new right to work code. Codes are 9 characters and valid for 90 calendar days.
- Looking at the worker's screen
- The guide is explicit that it is not sufficient to view the details on the migrant part of the service. You must run the code yourself through the employer service, or you have no statutory excuse.
Why physical cards no longer work
People granted immigration permission now receive an eVisa, an online record of their status, rather than a physical document, and gov.uk states plainly that employers can no longer accept biometric residence cards or permits and should ask for a share code instead (gov.uk). If a candidate produces a BRP, do not check it: ask them to create or sign in to their UKVI account and send you a code.
British and Irish citizens cannot use this route
gov.uk says British and Irish citizens cannot get a share code. For them the routes are a manual document check, or a certified digital verification service if they hold a valid passport or Irish passport card. Asking a British candidate for a share code is a wasted week.
When the online check is not available
Where someone has an outstanding application, administrative review or appeal, holds a Certificate of Application or an Application Registration Card, or is a long-term lawful resident who arrived before 1988 without documents, you use the Home Office Employer Checking Service. A Positive Verification Notice provides a statutory excuse for six months from the date specified in the notice, so it is a re-check date as well as a result.