Since 1 July 2021, EEA citizens and their family members now require immigration status in the UK and are no longer able to prove their right to work using an EEA passport or national identity card. Only British or Irish nationals will be able to prove their right to work in this way.

Instead, the majority of EEA citizens are now able to prove their right to work using the Home Office Online Right to Work Checking Service. Those who have made a successful application to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) will have been granted their immigration status digitally and can only prove their right to work using the Home Office online service.

If an EEA citizen has been granted ‘Settled Status’ by the Home Office, they will have a continuous right to work, in the same way as someone with Indefinite Leave to Enter or Remain status.

If an EEA citizen has been granted ‘Pre-Settled Status’ by the Home Office, they will have a time-limited right to work and you must carry out a follow-up check. The Home Office online service will advise when a follow-up check must be carried out and HR will continue to monitor any time-limited checks as recorded on iTrent as they do currently.

There is no requirement for follow-up right to work checks to be undertaken on any EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who were employed on or before 30 June 2021 as long as the check that was undertaken at the time was valid and carried out correctly.

New members of staff and hourly paid workers who are EU, EEA or Swiss citizens will need to evidence that they have either 'Pre-settled' or 'Settled' status under the EUSS or via a valid UK visa before starting work in the UK.

Existing hourly paid workers may need a further right to work check under the new requirements if they have been engaged before but have had a significant gap since their last engagement.

Please refer to our EUSS FAQs webpage for further information on what to do in the following scenarios:

• an outstanding EUSS application where status has not yet been granted
• an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who was employed by the University prior to 30 June 2021 and has reasonable grounds for missing the EUSS application deadline
• an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who has applied for a job at the University after 30 June 2021, has not applied to the EUSS by the deadline and has no alternative immigration status in the UK