Right to Work Checks UK 2025: Why Stamping a Passport Is No Longer Enough

Your HR team has a process. They collect passports, make copies, date the file. The problem is that for a significant portion of your workforce, that process has been invalid for some time — and the Home Office is now auditing at record levels to find it.

For most non-British and non-Irish employees, the Home Office online checking service or a certified Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) provider is the only method that creates a statutory excuse today. If your team is not using it for every applicable hire, you are not compliant — regardless of how thorough the process feels.

The Regulatory Shift

The right to work regime draws a clear line. For British and Irish nationals, a correctly conducted manual document inspection still provides a statutory excuse — though the recommended route is now a certified IDVT provider. For everyone else, the position is unambiguous: non-British, non-Irish employees with UK immigration permission must be checked using the Home Office online right to work checking service.

The employee provides a share code; the employer enters it alongside the date of birth and receives confirmed status in real time. That retained record is what creates a statutory excuse. A photocopy of a Biometric Residence Permit does not. Neither does a visa stamp, however official it appears.

What a Statutory Excuse Is — and Why You Cannot Afford to Be Without One

A statutory excuse is the employer’s complete defence to a civil penalty. Where an employer carried out the correct check before employment began, retained the evidence properly, and repeated checks for time-limited leave holders, the Home Office cannot impose a fine — even if the worker later turns out to have lacked the right to work.

Without one, liability is strict. The employer’s honest belief and the worker’s apparent documentation are largely irrelevant. The question is whether the prescribed process was completed correctly. This is the gap that catches sophisticated businesses: they have a process, just not the right one.

The Penalty Scale

Since February 2024, the civil penalty regime operates at substantially increased levels. A first breach attracts up to £45,000 per illegal worker. A repeat breach reaches £60,000 per worker. These figures are per individual — five non-compliant records means exposure of up to £225,000 on a first visit.

Civil penalties are not the ceiling. Where a director or senior officer knew or had reasonable cause to believe a worker lacked the right to work, criminal prosecution follows: up to five years’ imprisonment and an unlimited fine, as confirmed by the Home Office penalties guidance. Penalised employers are also named publicly each quarter — reputational damage that compounds the financial exposure.

Common Employer Mistakes That Invalidate the Check

Most employers who receive civil penalties are not trying to hire illegal workers. These are the most common process failures that strip a statutory excuse.

Inspecting the document instead of using the online service. For any employee with a Biometric Residence Permit or visa, copying the document is not a valid check. Only the online service produces a statutory excuse for this group.

Missing follow-up checks on time-limited leave. When a worker’s leave expires, the statutory excuse expires too — unless a further check was completed before that date. Each missed follow-up is treated as a fresh breach.

Using an uncertified IDVT provider. Providers must appear on the government’s digital identity register. Marketing materials are not confirmation of certification. An uncertified provider does not produce a valid check.

Completing the check after employment starts. The check must be done before employment begins. Day two provides no excuse for day one. Caseworkers examine dates.

The Enforcement Surge

The assumption that a Home Office visit is unlikely is no longer defensible. BBC News reported in January 2026 that enforcement visits surged 77% between July 2024 and December 2025, with over 17,400 business visits and 12,300 arrests. Local authorities and enforcement partners are now actively referring suspected breaches, and the current government has committed to further increases.

Most enforcement begins with a paper review, not a raid. The Legal 500 reported in January 2026 that civil penalties are increasingly issued to professional services firms and technology companies with experienced HR teams. The standard is uniform regardless of sector or size.

Sponsored Workers: An Additional Layer of Exposure

If your organisation holds a sponsor licence, the digital check obligation sits on top of — not instead of — your sponsor duties. Even a correctly checked sponsored worker can expose the employer to penalties if the Certificate of Sponsorship was incorrectly assigned. The Home Office revoked 1,948 sponsor licences between July 2024 and June 2025, more than double the previous year, according to Quastels solicitors. Revocation means an immediate inability to employ sponsored workers, with no grace period.

Retrospective Audits: Historic Hires Are Not Safe

A compliance visit does not limit its review to recent hires. Records from 2022 and 2023 are assessed against the process prescribed at that time. Missing follow-ups, wrong check methods, and undated records all generate non-compliant findings — each a potential penalty.

A voluntary audit by a specialist immigration solicitor, completed before any Home Office contact, identifies exposure and creates documented evidence of good faith. Employers who address issues proactively are treated materially differently to those found out during inspection.

The Right Time to Act Is Now

If your HR team is not using the Home Office online checking service for every non-British and non-Irish hire, call NA Law Solicitors to audit your processes before the Home Office does. We advise employers on digital right to work verification, civil penalty defence, sponsor licence compliance, and related employer obligations.

Speak to our immigration team today. NA Law Solicitors is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.