Right to work in UK

We have a legal responsibility to ensure that all our workers and employees have the legal right to live and work in the UK.

Check of original documents as proof of right to work in the UK or online check of digital UK immigration status.

If you are invited to an interview, you will be asked to bring with you original copies of documentation that provides evidence of your right to live and work in the UK. We understand that some applicants may wish to know who is going to see their passport or other right to work document that holds personal information. This will be a department or HR representative who will securely handle and store the data. Please see our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion webpage which we hope will reassure you of our processes and answer any questions you may have.

When producing evidence of your right to work, if you have a digital UK immigration status you will be asked to provide a share code for us to conduct an online check.

For those who hold original physical documents, this can be one or a combination of original documents from the list of acceptable documents produced by the Home Office.

Please note that for EU nationals from 1 July 2021 an EU Passport or ID card is no longer an acceptable document for proof of right to work and a UK immigration status will be required to be shown. This is usually a digital status without a physical document and an online check of this will be required before commencing work.

Since May 2014, it has been a requirement for visas and Indefinite Leave to Remain stamps in passports to be in a valid document in order to be acceptable evidence of right to work. Visas/stamps in expired passports cannot be accepted.

For physical documents where an online check cannot be undertaken, the original documents will be checked by a member of staff in your presence to check that documents are genuine, valid and that there are no work restrictions that prevent you from undertaking the work concerned. A copy will be taken and signed and dated as checked by the member of staff.

These documents will be retained securely until the end of the selection process. At that point, if you are successful, the copy of the document will be retained on your personal file. If you are not successful, the copy will be destroyed securely.

If you have not provided evidence of your right to work in the UK at an interview with us, any offer of work or employment made to you will be conditional upon you presenting this before you join the University. This document check must be carried out before you start or can be paid for any work with us.

What if I don't yet have the right to work in the UK?

Any job application you submit to us will be assessed using criteria based on the knowledge, skills and experience required for the relevant post. You will not be treated less favourably than another applicant on the grounds of national origin.

Skilled roles

The most common route through which you can gain the right to work in the UK is through the points-based immigration system. The University is able to sponsor workers in skilled occupations through the new UK immigration system that has replaced the previous system from 1 January 2021.

Only occupations listed as eligible for a Skilled Worker visa can be sponsored. The list of skilled occupations is in Table 1 here.

There is also a requirement for the person to meet the 70 points required to be granted a visa which includes meeting a minimum salary level for sponsorship. You can check to see if you are eligible for a Skilled worker visa here.

If you believe you may be able to obtain the right to work in the UK by sponsorship, please tick the relevant box on the application form that indicates you would like to be considered for sponsorship.

If we advise you that the role is not on the list of occupations eligible for sponsorship, you will need to check you can obtain right to work by other means. You can do this by visiting the UK government website gov.uk under the ' Check if you need a UK visa' section of the Home Office webpages.

Any offer of employment we make to you will be conditional upon you gaining permission to work in the UK. You will not be able to start work until you are able to provide evidence that this has been granted.

Roles not classed as skilled

There is no specific route for lower-skilled roles not listed as eligible for sponsorship by the UK Government. Table 5 in the link here lists the occupations that are not eligible for sponsorship for a Skilled Worker visa.

If the role is not eligible for skilled worker visa you may however be able to apply for one of the other UK visa routes available. We strongly recommend that you check if you are eligible for any of these routes as part of your preparation when applying for the role. You can do this by visiting the UK government website gov.uk under the ' Check if you need a UK visa' section of the Home Office webpages.

If you believe you may be able to obtain the right to work in the UK by one of the other visa routes, you are still welcome to apply for a job with the University. Any job application you submit to us will be assessed using criteria based on the knowledge, skills and experience required for the relevant post. You will not be treated less favourably than another applicant on the grounds of national origin.