General Updates
United Kingdom
The COVID-19 adjustments to right to work checks introduced on 30 March 2020 will end on 30 September 2022.
Until 30 September 2022, the following temporary adjusted check measures are in place:
- checks can currently be carried out over video calls;
- job applicants and existing workers can send scanned documents or a photo of documents for checks using email or a mobile app, rather than sending originals;
- employers should use the Home Office Employer Checking Service if a prospective or existing employee cannot provide any of the accepted documents.
From 1 October 2022, employers must carry out one of the below checks before employment commences:
- a manual right to work check using original documents
- a Home Office online right to work check
- a right to work check using IDVT through the services of an identity service provider (IDSP).
Conducting any of these checks will provide employers with a statutory excuse which is a defence against a civil penalty.
Employers must check that a job applicant is allowed to work for them in the UK before employing them.
To fulfil this requirement, employers can:
- check the applicant’s original documents manually
- check the applicant’s right to work online, if the applicant has given the employer their share code
When carrying out a manual right to work check, employers must obtain original documents from either List A or B of acceptable documents. The employer must check that the documents are valid with the applicant present (or, until 30 September 2022, on a video call), and must make and keep copies of the documents and record the date they made the check.
Currently, the Home Office online service supports checks for a range of individuals, depending on the type of immigration documentation they are issued with. This includes holders of status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).
Some individuals have been issued with an eVisa and can only use the online service to prove their right to work.
Holders of Biometric Residence Cards (BRC), Biometric Residence Permits (BRP) and Frontier Worker Permits (FWP) are also only able to evidence their right to work using the Home Office online service. This means employers cannot accept or check a physical BRC, BRP or FWP as proof of right to work.
The employer must ask the applicant to obtain and send them a share code and use this to view an applicant’s right to work details.
Since 6 April 2022, accredited Identity Service Providers (“IDSPs”) are permitted to complete the identity verification elements of right to work checks involving British and Irish citizens.
This means that employers can pay a privately operated and Home Office approved provider to conduct such checks remotely using Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT). The Home Office guidance contains detailed information here.
In certain circumstances, employers will need to contact the Home Office’s Employer Checking Service (ECS) to establish a statutory excuse.
COVID-19 Updates
Luxembourg
- Effective 1 October 2022, third-country nationals residing outside the European Union or the Schengen area can once again travel to the Grand Duchy for any kind of travel, including for non-essential travel (i.e. for tourist or other reasons), regardless of their vaccination status.
- From this date, all travellers from third countries are no longer required to present a vaccination, recovery, or test certificate upon their arrival
- Entry was already permitted for citizens of the European Union and of the countries associated with the Schengen area, as well as citizens of San Marino, Andorra, Monaco and the Vatican/Saint See, regardless of the purpose of the stay.
