Questions and Answers

If you can't find answers you need on this page, or by browsing the rest of this section, please contact the Relocation Advisory Service

• How do I find and recruit overseas workers?
• What is an Immigration Employment Document?
• Do I need an Immigration Employment Document to employ overseas workers?
• What categories of migrant don't need Immigration Employment Documents?
• If I do need an Immigration Employment Document, how hard is it to get one?
• What if I apply for an Immigration Employment Document and get refused? Can I appeal?
• Who pays for a work or business application?
• How do I apply for a work permit?
• Do I need a lawyer to make an application?
• Am I breaking the law if I employ an illegal immigrant?
• If I employ a migrant worker, will I be able to keep them on after their leave expires? I don't want to train them up only to have to start again a year or two later
• What about workers whose applications have been refused by the Home Office or are having difficulties with the immigration authorities?
• Are there any special migrant workers schemes that operate in Scotland?

How do I find and recruit overseas workers?

You can recruit overseas workers by advertising in the UK, Europe and further afield or you can use an agency that specialises in recruiting abroad. If a person who does not have permission to work in the UK holds the skills you require, you may be able to apply for an Immigration Employment Document.

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What is an Immigration Employment Document?

• Work Permits and Work Permit Approval Letters
• Highly Skilled Migrant Programme Approval Letters
• Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme Approval Letters
• Home Office Approved Training or Work Experience Scheme Permits and Approval Letters

An Immigration Employment Document (IED) shows that a person from a country outside the European Economic Area (EEA) meets the criteria of one of the employment schemes operated by the Home Office.

The holder of an IED must also demonstrate that they meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules before they can live and work in the UK. For Work Permits the employer applies on behalf of the individual.

SAWS applicants apply to their operator for a work card. HSMP applicants make their own applications. The work permit is not an immigration document. The worker will need to apply separately for entry clearance to come to the UK or to vary their status if they are already here in another capacity (such as student).

Not all individuals will be able to vary their status if they are already in the UK, depending on the type of leave they have. The UK Border Agency website contains further information on who may be allowed to vary their status in the UK.

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Do I need an Immigration Employment Document to employ overseas workers?

Not necessarily. You do not need an Immigration Employment Document for –

• EEA nationals (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland). Special rules apply to employing nationals from those countries in bold. For more information please visit:   Bulgarian and Romanian nationals or  Worker Registration Scheme sections of the UK Border Agency website.    
• Many other categories of immigrant worker (see below)
• Spouses of migrants with leave in certain categories including dependants of WP holders, HSMP, students, FT:WISS, WHM. For further guidance please refer to the UK Border Agency website . Alternatively you can contact the Relocation Advisory Service (RAS) for further clarification
• Those with Indefinite Leave to Enter or Remain in the UK (this includes recognised refugees)
• Those with Exceptional Leave to Remain, Discretionary Leave to Remain, or Humanitarian Protection.

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What categories of migrant don't need Immigration Employment Documents?
There are many migrants who have permission to work in the UK already or who can come to the UK without a formal work permit. For example –

• Students can automatically work part-time during term time and full-time during vacations
• Young Commonwealth nationals who enter the UK with entry clearance issued for the purpose of working holidays can work for any employer while they are here – for one year out of the two years granted. The scheme is open to Commonwealth nationals between the ages of 17 and 30 and leave is granted for up to two years, which is the maximum period of stay permitted in this category
• Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born grandparent can apply to come to the UK to work under the UK ancestry category. The leave lasts for four years and the person can apply to stay in the UK before it expires

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If I do need an Immigration Employment Document, how hard is it to get one?

The application process is straightforward.The UK Border Agency website provides useful and comprehensive guidance on their website and operate an advice line for employers.

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What if I apply for an Immigration Employment Document and get refused? Can I appeal?

Where the information supplied does not meet the criteria, and you wish to re-apply with further information, please complete a WP1 or WP1X form and include the appropriate payment. You should include further evidence to support your application including, but not restricted to, the issues raised in the refusal letter.

If you think that the decision based on the information sent in with your original application was an error and you wish us to reconsider your previous application, please write to the business team that dealt with your application.

A letter should be sent within 28 days of the decision and it should explain why you believe that the decision was wrong, referring to the guidance notes as appropriate. You must make it clear that you are requesting a review of the decision on your previous application and, providing you are not asking us to consider new information, there will be no fee for the consideration.

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Who pays for a work or business application?

The employer normally pays for work permit applications but the worker will need to apply for entry clearance or to change their immigration status if already in the UK. Charges change from time to time but a summary of current charges is provided on the charges and fees page of this website. Some employers pay for the entry clearance application as well as the work permit application.

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How do I apply for a work permit?

The application form and detailed guidance notes are freely available on the UK Border Agency website. Full details about the application process are also provided there.

Remember that getting the work permit is the first step, after which the worker will need to apply for an entry clearance or to change their status if already in the UK.

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Do I need a lawyer to make an application? 

The UK Border Agency website provides all the information an employer needs to make an application, and it is not necessary to employ a lawyer. Experienced immigration lawyers should be aware of any recent changes to the different schemes and can guide you through the process and can negotiate with the UK Border Agency on your behalf.

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Am I breaking the law if I employ an illegal immigrant?

You are, but it is easy to comply with legal requirements. You simply need to keep a copy of a document for every employee showing he or she has permission to work. Further guidance is provided on the "Preventing Illegal Working" section found at the UK Border Agency website. If it turns out that you actually knew the person was illegal, you will have broken the law, but keeping a copy of one of the documents listed by the Home Office is usually sufficient.

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If I employ a migrant worker, will I be able to keep them on after their leave expires?
I don't want to train them up only to have to start again a year or two later.

Leave in all the work and business categories is granted for up to a maximum initial period of five years.

In some categories (such as the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme or General sub-category of the new Tier 1), leave will initially be granted for 24 months or 36 months, but can later be extended up to five years from the date that entry clearance was granted (after which the individual can apply for settlement).

Consult the comparative table to check the maximum time allowed and whether the person can apply to remain permanently in the UK at the end of that period.

Note: the employer must ensure that employees have complied with the law, otherwise the employer may be committing a criminal offence. From February 2008, under a new system of Civil penalties, employers who negligently hire illegal workers could face a maximum fine of £10,000 for each illegal worker at a business.  If employers are found to have knowingly hired illegal workers they could incur an unlimited fine and be sent to prison.

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What about workers whose applications have been refused by the Home Office or are having difficulties with the immigration authorities?

If a person's application to remain in the UK has been refused by the Home Office, he or she may no longer be allowed to work in the UK and you could potentially be committing a criminal offence if you employ or continue to employ him or her.

However, if the person is appealing against a refusal, the original terms and conditions of their stay in the UK will be extended while the appeal lasts, as long as they applied to extend their stay before their previous leave expired and appealed within 10 working days of the decision to refuse further leave.

For example, this means that a student refused an extension of their leave may still work part-time during term time and full-time during vacations, or someone refused an extension of a work permit may continue working in their original job until the appeal is decided.

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Are there any special migrant workers schemes that operate in Scotland?

Immigration is governed by schemes set by the UK Home Office. However, under the Fresh Talent:
Working in Scotland Scheme students who have completed an HND, first degree, Masters, PhD or postgraduate certificate or diploma in Scotland will be able to apply to return to or remain in Scotland for a further two years after their graduation if they intend to take full-time employment.

Successful applicants will be able to work for these two years without the need for a work permit.

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Please note that overseas nationals may enter the UK to work in categories not mentioned in this section of the website.

Their passport will contain an endorsement showing the category in which they were granted leave and any restrictions on the employment they can take. For more information on endorsements and restrictions on employment, please refer to the "Preventing Illegal Working" section found at the UK Border Agency website