Holding a licence under the Licensing Act and Immigration

As of April 6th 2017, any person applying for a licence must provide proof that they are eligible to reside and work in the UK. Proof of residence is now a mandatory document for all applications where a licence is being applied for. If you fail to provide a document as detailed in the notes below, then we will not being processing your application until you do.

It should also be noted that if a person ceases to have the right to live and work within the UK, that any licence issued will lapse. Therefore it is incumbent on the applicant to ensure that any documents are supplied to us as soon as possible if their right to live and work in the UK expires mid way through a licence period.

It also remains an offence to employ persons at a licensed premises who do not have the right to live or work in the UK. It is down to the applicant for any licence that they check the validity of the documents provided to them by their workers. If a licensed premises in Reading is found to be employing illegal workers, it is likely that a review of that licence will be applied for with a view to having it revoked. It is also likely that we will ask for any personal licence to be revoked. This is in addition to the financial and criminal penalties which may apply through other legislation.

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.

Acceptable forms of identification

This must be provided with any licence application where an applicant isn’t using the Online Right to Work Checking Service provided by the Home Office:

List A – acceptable documents to establish a continuous statutory excuse

  1. A passport (current or expired) showing the holder is a British citizen or a citizen of the UK and Colonies having the right of abode in the UK.
  2. A passport or passport card (in either case, whether current or expired) showing that theholder is an Irish citizen.
  3. A document issued by the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey or the Isle of Man, which has been verified as valid by the Home Office Employer Checking Service, showing that the holder has been granted unlimited leave to enter or remain under Appendix EU(J) to the Jersey Immigration Rules, Appendix EU to the Immigration(Bailiwick of Guernsey) Rules 2008 or Appendix EU to the Isle of Man Immigration Rules.
  4. 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.
  5. 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, 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.
  6. 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.
  7. A birth or adoption certificate issued in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Ireland, 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.
  8. A certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen, 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.

List B Group 1 – documents where a time-limited statutory excuse lasts until the expiry date of permission to enter or permission to stay

  1. A current passport endorsed to show that the holder is allowed to stay in the UK and is currently allowed to do the type of work in question.
  2. A document issued by the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey or the Isle of Man, which has been verified as valid by the Home Office Employer Checking Service, showing that the holder has been granted limited leave to enter or remain under Appendix EU(J) to the Jersey Immigration Rules, Appendix EU to the Immigration (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Rules 2008 or Appendix EU to the Isle of Man Immigration Rules.
  3. A current Immigration Status Document containing a photograph issued by the Home Office to the holder with a valid endorsement indicating that the named person may stay in the UK, and is allowed to do the type of work in question, 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.

List B Group 2 – documents where a time-limited statutory excuse lasts for six months

  1. A document issued by the Home Office showing that the holder has made an application for leave to enter or remain under Appendix EU to the immigration rules (known as the EU Settlement Scheme) on or before 30 June 2021 together with a Positive Verification Notice from the Home Office Employer Checking Service.
  2. A Certificate of Application (digital or non-digital) issued by the Home Office showing that the holder has made an application for leave to enter or remain under Appendix EU to the immigration rules (known as the EU Settlement Scheme), on or after 1 July 2021, together with a Positive Verification Notice from the Home Office Employer Checking Service.
  3. A document issued by the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey or the Isle of Man showing that the holder has made an application for leave to enter or remain under Appendix EU(J) to the Jersey Immigration Rules or Appendix EU to the Immigration Rules (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Rules 2008, or Appendix EU to the Isle of Man Immigration Rules together with a Positive Verification Notice from the Home Office Employer Checking Service.
  4. An Application Registration Card issued by the Home Office stating that the holder is permitted to take the employment in question, together with a Positive Verification Notice from the Home Office Employer Checking Service.
  5. A Positive Verification Notice issued by the Home Office Employer Checking Service to the employer or prospective employer, which indicates that the named person may stay in the UK and is permitted to do the work in question.

Right to work checks for EEA citizens from 1 July 2021

The UK has left the European Union (EU) and the Immigration and Social Security Coordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 ended free movement law in the UK on 31 December 2020. There followed a grace period of six-months during which relevant aspects of free movement law were saved to allow eligible EEA citizens and their family members resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 to apply to the EUSS. This period ended on 30 June 2021.

Since 1 July 2021, EEA citizens and their family members are required to have immigration status in the UK. They can no longer rely on an EEA passport or national identity card, which only confirms their nationality, to prove their right to work. They are required to provide evidence of lawful immigration status in the UK, in the same way as other foreign nationals.

Irish citizens

Irish citizens continue to have unrestricted access to work in the UK. They can prove their right to work using their Irish passport or Irish passport card (in either case, whether current or expired), or their Irish birth or adoption certificate 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.

Irish citizens can also apply for a frontier worker permit, this permit can be issued digitally or as a physical permit, so they can prove their right to work using the Home Office online right to work service.

EEA citizens granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

The majority of EEA citizens now prove their right to work using the Home Office online services.

If an EEA citizen has been granted ‘Settled Status’ by the Home Office, they will have a continuous right to work.

If an EEA citizen has been granted ‘Pre-Settled Status’ by the Home Office, they will have a time-limited right to work.

Last updated on 08/04/2022