Reading tools
A control framework for right-to-work checks, follow-up checks, eVisas, repeatable evidence and sponsor escalation.
01
Choose the correct check for the individual.
The prescribed process can involve the Home Office online service, an identity service provider for eligible British and Irish passport holders, a manual document check or the Employer Checking Service.
The employer must use the route available for the person and retain evidence in the required form. A visual inspection of an eVisa screen or document is not automatically a prescribed check.
02
Control timing and follow-up.
The check must be completed before employment begins to establish a statutory excuse. Time-limited permission requires a follow-up control tied to the expiry or verification notice.
Recruitment, onboarding and HR systems should prevent work from beginning before clearance and should escalate status changes, pending applications and technical problems.
03
Reconcile the immigration and employment records.
Name, date of birth, work permission, role restrictions, start date and follow-up date should align across right-to-work evidence, the Certificate of Sponsorship and the HR record.
A discrepancy may be a data problem, a sponsor-reporting issue or an indication that the individual is not permitted to perform the work proposed. It should not be silently overwritten.
Working checklist
Questions before the next step.
- Use the correct prescribed check
- Complete it before employment starts
- Retain dated evidence securely
- Diary follow-up checks
- Escalate restrictions and discrepancies
- Apply the process consistently to all recruits
Primary sources
Rules and official guidance.
Reviewed 20 July 2026. Check the current provision and complete facts before relying on this resource.
How to use the source record
Verify the current instrument, commencement date, transitional position and caseworker guidance against the application date and complete facts. The source may change after this resource was reviewed.
Questions
Points that commonly alter the answer.
Does a share code prove the right to work by itself?+
No. The employer must conduct the online check using the Home Office service and verify the result against the individual as required.
Are British citizens checked?+
Employers should operate a non-discriminatory process and obtain a prescribed right-to-work check for all employees, using the appropriate method.
Does a valid check remove sponsor duties?+
No. Right-to-work and sponsor duties are related but separate. The sponsor must still monitor, report and retain the information required by the sponsor guidance.
Continue within this subject
Follow the sponsor position from licence to continuing control.
Applications, sponsored roles, reporting, payroll and inspection readiness form one regulatory system. Continue with the part of that system that determines the present risk.
Sponsor position review
Test the licence, role and operating evidence together.
Quastels can review the organisation, sponsor controls, role, salary, reporting position and the decision that must be made next.
Request a sponsor position review ↗︎