proof of nationality request

surreysaver

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

Yes. Its the law & also they should ask it from everyone & hold a copy.

Hold a copy? Is that not illegal under the data protection act? Once they have seen a copy, should it not be destroyed?

fengirl_2

It is unlawful to copy passports as they are Crown Copyright. The employer just needs to make a note of the passport number. Yes, they have to do the check for all exisitng employees and make sure that they check anyone who is on temporary visas to make sure they are still eligible.
However, there are many documents apart from passports which can be used as proof of right to work in the UK and a list is here:
https://www.btprecruitment.com/btpr2006967320.asp

surreysaver

fengirl wrote: »

However, there are many documents apart from passports which can be used as proof of right to work in the UK and a list is here:
https://www.btprecruitment.com/btpr2006967320.asp

All that is is a list of different passports! What is someone supposed to do who does not have a passport?

fengirl_2

No, if you look further down the list, you will see it includes loads of other things.

surreysaver

Sorry - didn't notice the list was scroll-downable! Could still be difficult for a resident to prove they a resident, though, if they don't drive and don't go abroad!

Paulos77

The company i work for done this a couple of months back. For those that started after Feb 2008 they needed your passport, for those that have worked before 2008 (I have been there 10 years) all they wanted was a copy of your birth certificate. It is to do with some new law.

fengirl_2

Its not a new law, its the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, although many employers are only just realising it applies to them!
You are not proving residence (this is a tax concept), but the right to work in the UK. A NI number or birth certificate, which most people have, proves this.

Debt_Free_Chick

Employers are now required to prove that their employees have the right to work in the UK. The cynics might suggest that the Government has effectively dumped immigration control on employers - and that's a view that many companies have sympathy with.

Whether or not you have the right to work in the UK depends on your nationality and whether or not your nationality is from an EEA country - see here

Certain aspects of the Asylum, Immigration etc Act 1996 only came into effect twelve months ago (Feb 2008).

Some lawyers argue that the penalties on employers for employing someone with no right to work in the UK are retrospective i.e. you might have employed someone with no right to work in the UK for the past 20 years and not realised it.

However, if you are caught out "now" you are liable - therefore, it's best to check all existing all current employees as well as new joiners.

HappyG1rl

fengirl wrote: »

It is unlawful to copy passports as they are Crown Copyright. The employer just needs to make a note of the passport number. Yes, they have to do the check for all exisitng employees and make sure that they check anyone who is on temporary visas to make sure they are still eligible.
However, there are many documents apart from passports which can be used as proof of right to work in the UK and a list is here:
https://www.btprecruitment.com/btpr2006967320.asp

Hi fengirl,

Are you sure it is unlawful to copy passports as I have registered with a few agencies and they have all taken away my passport, photocopied it and returned it to me?

fengirl_2

The British Passport (the Passport) is subject to Crown copyright protection under section 163 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This means that it may not lawfully be reproduced without the prior permission of the Controller of HMSO, an official who as Queen's Printer and Queen's Printer for Scotland manages Crown copyright on behalf of Her Majesty under the terms of Letters Patent. HMSO's Licensing Division administers Crown copyright on behalf of the Controller.

Definition of copying

4. For the purposes of this guidance, the term copying includes:

• photocopying;
• scanning;
• filming;
• reproduction in any other medium, including the placing of material on the Internet.