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There are strict rules governing the employment in the UK of individuals from overseas. Overseas nationals who wish to take up employment in the UK must be in possession of a work permit and valid passport when they arrive here. If not, the Immigration Officer may refuse them admission. On 27 January 1997, new provisions came into force under the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 making it a criminal offence to employ a person who is in the UK unlawfully or whose immigration status does not permit him or her to work.
Work permits are not issued to individuals; an application for a work permit can only be made by an employer in Great Britain who has a specific job to offer a named person. The Home Office tend to issue work permits only for jobs requiring people with degree level or equivalent professional qualifications, people with work experience at a senior level, or for specific areas in which there is a particular skills shortage. They need to be satisfied that the vacancy cannot be filled by resident or EEA labour. UK employers wishing to make a work permit application should contact Work Permits ( UK ) www.workpermits.gov.uk for application forms and the information leaflet 'Guide for Employers'.
Is a Work Permit Needed?
The following categories of people do not require a work permit to work in the UK.
- European Economic Area (EEA) nationals
- Nationals of Austria* , Belgium* , Denmark* , Finland* , France* , Germany* , Greece* , Iceland , Ireland*, Italy* , Liechtenstein , Luxembourg* , Netherlands*, Norway , Portugal* , Spain* and Sweden* are free to work in the UK without obtaining any special permission. The families of EEA nationals will normally be granted residence permits and they are free to work in the UK, even if they are not EEA nationals themselves. * Those countries marked with stars are also members of the EU (European Union).
From 1st June 2002, nationals from Switzerland have also had the same free movement and employment rights as existing EEA nationals.
On 1st May 2004 a further ten countries joined the EU and also became part of the EEA and nationals from all ten of these countries will be free to come and work in the UK from 1st May 2004. The countries that joined were Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia. With the exception of those nationals from Cyprus and Malta, all other nationals are permitted to enter and work in the UK without restriction provided they apply for a registration certificate from the Home Office. Before engaging a worker from one of these eight accession countries a UK agency will follow an ID checking procedure in line with new Home Office guidance, and as soon as a worker commences work the worker must submit a registration application to the Home Office within 30 days of commencing an assignment. For further information on how to register, please go to the following website page: www.workingintheuk.gov.uk or contact Work Permits (UK), the government authority administering the scheme on 0114 259 6262.
- Commonwealth citizens with a grandparent born in the UK or Islands
- Commonwealth countries : - Antigua and Barouda, Namibia, Australia, Nauru, The Bahamas, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Barbardos, Pakistan, Belise, Papua New Guinea, Botswana, St Christopher and St Nevis, Britain, St Lucia, Brunei, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Canada, Seychelles, Cyprus (from 1/5/04 in EU & EEA), Sierre Leone, Dominica, Singapore, The Gambia, Solomon Islands, Ghana, South Africa, Granada, Sri Lanka, Guyana, Swaziland, India, Tanzania, Jamaica, Tonga, Kenya, Trinidad and Tobago, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Lesotho, Uganda, Malawi, Vanuatu, Malaysia, Western Samoa, Maldives, Zambia, Malta (from 1/5/04 in EU & EAA), Zimbabwe, Mauritius
- Commonwealth citizens who are able to show that one of their grandparents was born in the UK, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man may work in the UK without a work permit. They also must be able to maintain and accommodate themselves in the UK without any recourse to public funds (i.e. social security). A person wishing to take advantage of this rule will need to obtain an entry clearance before they arrive in the UK . For example, an Australian visiting the UK on a temporary basis might be offered a job here. If the Australian's grandfather had been born in Scotland he or she would be eligible to apply for an entry clearance to come to the UK on the grounds of his or her UK ancestry. The immigration rules do not provide for visitors to change to this category while in the UK so the Australian would have to leave and make the application from outside the UK . On entry to the UK the passport would be endorsed to show that there was no restriction on taking employment.
Work Permits (UK) / The Home Office have identified various IT skills that it lists as being in "particularly short supply", and will "through a rolling programme of sector analysis and consultation" continue to identify shortages in the Information Technology, Communications and Electronics (ITCE) sector. Their intention is to make the work permit process easier and quicker for individuals whose skills, education and experience fall within certain criteria.
Individuals of "outstanding ability" seeking entry must satisfy certain criteria areas where a points based system is used to assess applications. These areas include: a PhD or equivalent; five-year postgraduate experience with two years in a senior position; a current salary equivalent of £40,000; evidence of significant achievement in their specialism.
The Home Office recently undertook a further review of the Working Holidaymakers Scheme as part of the Government's five year strategy for immigration and asylum. With effect from 8th February 2005 these changes will apply:
Commonwealth citizens aged between 17 and 30 may come to the UK to take employment incidental to their holiday. An applicant must intend to only take employment incidental to a holiday, must not engage in business and in any event is not permitted to work for more than 12 months during their stay. This effectively is a reversal in policy and a return to previous restrictions on the type and amount of work a working holiday maker may perform i.e. new applicants under the working holiday maker scheme will not be permitted to take career enhancing positions.
Working holidaymakers are only permitted to spend a total of two years in the UK from the time of their first entry and are expected to leave the UK at the end of their working holiday. Entry clearance is required before a person enters in this category.
Working holidaymakers CANNOT set up their own companies or buy "off the shelf" companies in the UK. If they do so they are engaging in business contrary to the Immigration Rules.
Working holidaymakers may be able to 'switch' status after twelve months if they meet the necessary criteria, to take up work permits, rather than have to return to their home country and reapply for entry on a work permit visa.
For those granted entry clearance prior to the 8th February 2005 it has been confirmed byThe Home Office that they will be permitted to continue to work without immigration restrictions until the end of their current leave to remain.
People who have been granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK are free to work without a work permit. People in this category will normally have an endorsement in their passport showing that they have been granted indefinite leave or a letter from the Home Office confirming their status. Indefinite leave may be given for a variety of reasons, for example, on the basis of marriage or after residence in the UK for a period of four years in a category that permits employment, for example as a work permit holder.
It is sometimes possible for overseas nationals who are legally working in EU countries to work in the UK, without the need for a work permit. For example, if you are a US employee and you are already working in Belgium under their work permit scheme, you may be able to transfer to work in the UK.
An application visa or Entry Clearance certificate issued for the purposes of travel to the UK. Applications for entry clearance, including for working holiday makers, must be made in the country where you are living, to the British Embassy, High Commission, or other British Diplomatic mission designated to issue entry clearance. Entry Clearance is not required from all countries, please check with your nearest British Diplomatic Post.
It is possible to come to this country for an interview for a job with a business visa, which is normally for one week. You will have to return home whilst your prospective employer applies for a work permit, which will normally take about six weeks.Work Permits are not automatically issued, there would be a residency test and the job must be shown to have been advertised .
For further information please contact the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Lunar House, 40 Wellesly Road, Croydon , Surrey, CR9 2BY. Telephone (+44) 08706 06 77 66 or alternatively see our links to Immigration/Work Permits.
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