Right to work and immigration status
A licence may not be held by an individual or an individual in a partnership which is not a limited liability partnership who:
- does not have the right to live and work in the UK
- is subject to a condition preventing him or her from doing work relating to the carrying on of a licensable activity
Any premises licence issued on or after 6 April 2017 will lapse if the holder ceases to be entitled to work in the UK.
Applicants must demonstrate that they have the right to work in the UK and are not subject to a condition preventing them from doing work relating to the carrying on of a licensing activity. They do this in one of two ways; 1) by providing with this application copies or scanned copies of the following documents (which do not need to be certified) or 2) by providing their ‘share code’ to enable the licensing authority to carry out a check using the Home Office online right to work checking service.
Documents which demonstrate entitlement to work in the UK
- An expired or current passport showing the holder, or a person named in the passport as the child of the holder, is a British citizen or a citizen of the UK and Colonies having the right of abode in the UK.
- An expired or current passport or national identity card showing the holder, or a person named in the passport as the child of the holder, is a national of a European Economic Area country or Switzerland.
- A current passport endorsed to show that the holder is exempt from immigration control, is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK, has the right of abode in the UK, or has no time limit on their stay in the UK.
- A current passport endorsed to show that the holder is allowed to stay in the UK and is currently allowed to work and is not subject to a condition preventing the holder from doing work relating to the carrying on of a licensable activity.
- A birth or adoption certificate issued in the UK, together with an official document giving the person’s permanent National Insurance number and their name issued by a Government agency or a previous employer.
- A birth or adoption certificate issued in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Ireland when produced in combination with an official document giving the person’s permanent National Insurance number and their name issued by a Government agency or a previous employer.
- A certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen, when produced in combination with an official document giving the person’s permanent National Insurance number and their name issued by a Government agency or a previous employer.
- A Certificate of Application, less than 6 months old, issued by the Home Office under regulation 17(3) or 18A (2) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006, to a person who is not a national of an EEA state or Switzerland but who is a family member of such a national or who has derivative rights of residence.
- A Registration Certificate or document certifying permanent residence issued by the Home Office to a national of a European Economic Area country or Switzerland.
- A current Biometric Immigration Document (Biometric Residence Permit) issued by the Home Office to the holder indicating that the person named is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK, or has no time limit on their stay in the UK.
- A current Immigration Status Document issued by the Home Office to the holder with an endorsement indicating that the named person is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK or has no time limit on their stay in the UK, when produced in combination with an official document giving the person’s permanent National Insurance number and their name issued by a Government agency or a previous employer.
- A current Biometric Immigration Document (Biometric Residence Permit) issued by the Home Office to the holder which indicates that the named person can currently stay in the UK and is allowed to do the work in question.
- A current Immigration Status Document containing a photograph issued by the Home Office to the holder with an endorsement indicating that the named person may stay in the UK, and is allowed to work and is not subject to a condition preventing the holder from doing work relating to the carrying on of a licensable activity when produced in combination with an official document giving the person’s permanent National Insurance number and their name issued by a Government agency or a previous employer.
- A Permanent Residence Card issued by the Home Office to the family member of a national of a European Economic Area country or Switzerland.
- A current Residence Card issued by the Home Office to a person who is not a national of an EEA state or Switzerland but who is a family member of such a national or who has derivative rights or residence
- reasonable evidence that the person has an outstanding application to vary their permission to be in the UK with the Home Office such as the Home Office acknowledgement letter or proof of postage evidence, or evidence that the person has an appeal or administrative review pending on an immigration decision, such as an appeal or administrative review reference number
- reasonable evidence that a person who is not a national of an EEA state or Switzerland but who is a family member of such a national or who has derivative rights of residence in exercising treaty rights in the UK including:
- evidence of the applicant’s own identity – such as a passport
- evidence of their relationship with the EEA family member – e.g. a marriage certificate, civil partnership certificate or birth certificate
- evidence that the EEA national has a right of permanent residence in the UK or is one of the following if they have been in the UK for more than three months:
- working e.g. employment contract, wage slips, letter from the employer
- self-employed e.g. contracts, invoices, or audited accounts with a bank
- studying e.g. letter from the school, college or university and evidence of sufficient funds
- self-sufficient e.g. bank statements
Family members of EEA nationals who are studying or financially independent must also provide evidence that the EEA national and any family members hold comprehensive sickness insurance in the UK. This can include a private medical insurance policy, an EHIC card or an S1, S2 or S3 form.
Original documents must not be sent to licensing authorities. If the document copied is a passport, a copy of any page containing:
- the holder’s personal details including nationality
- the holder’s photograph
- the holder’s signature
- the date of expiry
- information indicating the holder has permission to enter or remain in the UK and is permitted to work should be provided with the document (if the document is not a passport, a copy of the whole document should be provided)
Your right to work will be checked as part of your licensing application and this could involve us checking your immigration status with the Home Office. We may otherwise share information with the Home Office. Your licence application will not be determined until you have complied with this guidance.
Home Office online right to work checking service
As an alternative to providing a copy of the documents, applicants may demonstrate their right to work by allowing the licensing authority to carry out a check with the Home Office online right to work checking service.
To demonstrate their right to work via the Home Office online right to work checking service, applicants should include in this application their nine-digit share code (provided to them upon accessing the service at Gov.UK) which along with the applicant’s date of birth (provided within this application), will allow the licensing authority to carry out the check.
In order to establish the applicant’s right to work, the check will need to indicate that the applicant is allowed to work in the United Kingdom and is not subject to a condition preventing them from doing work relating to the carrying on of a licensable activity.
An online check will not be possible in all circumstances because not all applicants will have immigration status that can be checked online. The right to work checking service sets out what information and/or documentation applicants will need in order to access the service. Applicants who are unable to obtain a share code from the service should submit copy documents.
The application form must be signed. An applicant’s agent (for example solicitor) may sign the form on their behalf provided that they have actual authority to do so. Where there is more than one applicant, both applicants or their respective agents must sign the application form. The address on the form is the address which we shall use to correspond with you about this application.