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Who
can work in the UK
Work
permits
Types
of work permits
Worker
Registration Scheme (WRS)
... if you are an asylum seeker: in most cases you cannot work, but you can volunteer. It is good to have experience of life in the UK and learn things that you can use in the future. If 6 months have passed and the Home Office still has not made a decision about your asylum claim, you can ask for permission to work.
...if you are a refugee: you can work, ask for benefits from the government, and take part in special programmes for unemployed.
...if you are a migrant: you can work but you need a work permit, unless
you come from an Accession Country.
There are many programmes
for people who want to work in the UK. If you are not from an EEA country
or Switzerland, you will probably need a work permit to work in the UK.
You cannot apply for a permit yourself - the UK-based employer who wants to
employ you will have to do it for you.
How long your permit lasts for will depend on the work you do and the type
of permit. For example, business and commercial work permits can last up to
5 years, but sector-based permits can only last up to 12 months.
There is a fee of £153 for the consideration of a work permit.
An application for Further Leave to Remain on an FLR(IED) form costs £335.
The Advisory, Conciliation
and Arbitration Service (Acas) offers free, confidential and impartial
advice on all employment rights issues.
You can call the Acas helpline on
08457 47 47 47
from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm Monday to Friday.
Your local Citizens Advice
Bureau (CAB) offers free and impartial advice. You can find your local
CAB office in the phone book or online
- click here.
What your employer will need
You will need to show your employer your passport, national identity card
or Home Office Residence Permit.
Employers can get fines if they employ illegal workers, so they need to make
sure that they are not employing illegal workers. So do not be offended if
you are asked to prove your nationality.
Types of work permits
There are 6 separate groups for work permit applications:
- business and commercial
- training and work experience
- sportspeople and entertainers
- student internships
- general agreement on trade in services (GATS)
- hospitality and food processing (sector-based schemes)
The Business and Commercial Work Permit allows employers in the UK
to recruit people from outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
The Training and Work Experience Scheme gives people from outside the EEA the opportunity to have a work-based training for a professional or specialist qualification, or a period of work experience.
The Sports and Entertainments permit allows employers in the UK to employ sportspeople, entertainers, cultural artists and technical/support people from outside the EEA.
The Student Internship is for students of first or higher degrees from outside the EEA who want to have a work-based training experience (internship) with an employer in the UK.
The General Agreement on Trade in Services allows workers of companies that are based outside the European Union to work in the. The company abroad that is contracted to provide the service needs to apply using the application form GATS-A.
The Sectors Based Scheme (SBS) allows employers in the UK to employ people from outside the EEA in sectors where it is impossible to employ 'resident workers'. SBS currently focuses on food manufacturing and hospitality. The Sectors Based Scheme will end on 31 December 2006.
You can download application
forms and guidance notes from the website - click here.
Students
If you are an international student you may need a work permit to work in
the UK when you are studying.
If you come from a country of the EEA you can work without any problem.
If you come from outside the EEA, you need to check the visa stamp in your
passport. If it says 'prohibited' you cannot work in the UK.
If it says you can enter or remain in the UK as a student, you can work here
but:
- you cannot work more than 20 hours a week, unless the employment is part
of your studies or is an internship
- you cannot engage in business
- you cannot take a permanent full-time position
Highly Skilled Migrants
The Highly Skilled Migrant programme is for highly skilled and qualified workers
who want to come to the UK to work or become self-employed.
If you come to the UK under this programme, you can remain for 12 months.
After that you can apply to stay for longer, but must remain in work/self-employment.
What is the Worker Registration Scheme?
It is a document you need
if you want to work in the UK for more than 1 month and you come from one
of these countries:
Czech Republic
Estonia
Hungary
Latvia
Lithuania
Poland
Slovakia
Slovenia
It started on 1 May 2004, so you need to register if you have been working illegally in the UK before that date.
You do not have to register
if you:
- are self-employed
- were working legally in the UK before 1 May 2004
How to apply for the WRS?
- You have to complete the application form giving your name, address, date of birth, nationality and your job details.
- You need a letter from your employer.
- You need:
- two passport photographs
- your passport or national ID card
- £70 (with the first registration only)
If your application
is accepted, you will receive:
- a registration card
- a registration certificate
- A copy of the documents will also be sent to your employer.
If your application is not accepted, you and your employer will receive a letter and your passport or ID card.
- If you stop working for your employer and you start a new job, you have to apply for a new registration certificate. You will not have to pay again.
- If you have more than one job, you must apply for each job.
- You have to complete separate application forms for each person.
- Once you have worked in the UK for at least 12 months without interruption, you will not need the WRS card and certificate anymore. You will be able to apply for a residence permit.
Where you can find more information
- If you can use Internet
visit
this website
- On the same website you can find information in different languages:
Czech
Estonian
Hungarian
Latvian
Lithuanian
Polish
Slovakian
Slovenian
- You can also find application forms in different languages on the same website.
Click on your language from the list on the left.
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