Worker Registration Scheme Details
Call the London Office on +44 (0)845 658 0410 for a consultation or an appointment.
If you are a citizen of one of the eight countries mentioned above and you intend to work in the UK, you will need to register with the Worker Registration Team at the Home Office if you start a new job in the UK on or after 1 May 2004 or if you have been working illegally in the UK before that date. If you are already working legally in the UK and remain in your same job then you will not need to register.
You do not have to register if you:
- are self-employed
- were working legally in the UK already in the same job that you held on 1 May
- had leave to enter on the SAWS scheme before 1 May and started working in the UK under the SAWS scheme on or after 1 May
- are providing services in the UK on behalf of an employer who is not established in the UK
If you are from one of the eight Central and Eastern European new EU member countries, you will need to register under this scheme within one month of starting a new job. If you do not apply within one month of starting a job, your employment will be considered illegal after that date, and will continue to be illegal until you obtain a registration certificate. The application form should be completed and sent along with a letter from your employer confirming your employment, two passport photographs, your passport or national ID card and payment of £90. Decisions will be made on most applications within 24 hours of payment being received.
Successful applicants will receive by post a registration card and registration certificate, a copy of which will also be sent to your employer. If your application is not successful, a refusal letter will be sent to both you and your employer together with the return of your passport or ID card. If you stop working for your employer, the registration card and certificate will become invalid. If you take up a new position, then you should apply for a new registration certificate. There is no additional fee for subsequent registration certificates.
If you have more than one job, you must apply for a separate registration certificate for each employer you are working for.
Once you have worked in the UK for at least 12 months without interruption, then a registration card and certificate will no longer be required, and you will be able to apply for an EEA residence permit exercising your EU treaty rights.
The Worker Registration Scheme came into effect on 1 May 2004.