When you are moving to the UK, or any other country, there are always certain legal procedures that you must follow. It can sometimes look like a very complicated and intimidating task if, like most people, you find dealing with large organizations and filling out forms a bit tedious.

Once you have gotten over the initial hurdles, contacted the right people and filled out the correct form etc, things start to become much easier and suddenly you don’t feel like you have such a mountain to climb anymore.

OKinUK can provide you with a helpful overview of how things work in the UK but it is important to point out that if you are seeking legal advice on immigration or employment issues then you will need to do your own research and speak to a registered organization that is legally qualified to advise people on such subjects.

OKinUK is not qualified to give this advice, but you can look for someone who is by visiting our “Find a…” section.

The A8 countries

In 2004 the British Government introduced something called the Worker Registration Scheme for people who want to come to work in the UK from one of the new accession countries listed below:

Czech Republic
Estonia
Hungary
Latvia
Lithuania
Poland
Slovakia
Slovenia

The registration scheme was introduced to monitor the number of people coming to the UK from the new accession countries (known as the A8 – Accession 8).  According to the British government, it has been put in place to calculate not just the number of people working in the UK, but also which sectors they work in and what impact this has on the UK economy. 

If you come from one of the above counties then you need to contact the UK Border Agency (part of the Home Office department of the British Government) once you have found a job. You cannot apply to join the workers registration scheme until you have found a job.

Fees

The cost of registering on the scheme is £90, in summer 2008, which must be paid in full before the Home Office completes your registration. You will then be issued with a registration card and certificate, however if for some reason your application is rejected, or if you decide to withdraw it, then you will be refunded.

If you change jobs within the 12 month period you will have to obtain a new certificate but not a registration card, therefore you will not have to pay a another fee. This also applies if you have more than one job; you will need a certificate for each job, but only one card.

After you have been working in the UK, legally, for 12 months with no more than a 30 day break in employment, you will no longer have to register on the Worker Registration Scheme; you can apply for a residence permit confirming your right to work in the UK.

When you start work your employer must give you a letter on headed paper confirming the date on which you started work, and they must also keep a copy of your application form, for the Workers Registration Scheme, they will also be sent a copy of your registration certificate once it has been issued.

If you do not apply for registration within one month then your employer will be committing an offence and they could be fined up to £5000 by the government. They can also be fined for failing to keep a copy of your certificate on file.

You will also be classed as working illegally until you apply, so this time will not count towards your 12 month period, meaning it will just take longer to get your residence card.

Employment Agencies

If you are working for an employment agency on a temporary basis you might find yourself changing jobs, although still working for the same agency. In this case you will only need a new certificate if there is more than a 1 week gap between different jobs.

Exemptions and Self-Employed

There are a number of reasons why you do not have to go through the registration process; you will not be required to register if:

You are self-employed
You have been working legally in the United Kingdom for 12 months without a break in employment;
You are providing services in the United Kingdom on behalf of an employer who is not established in this country;
You have dual citizenship of the United Kingdom, another country within the European Economic Area (EEA) that is not listed above, or Switzerland;
You are the family member of a Swiss or EEA citizen (except the countries listed above) and that person is working in the United Kingdom; or
You are the family member of a Swiss or EEA citizen who is living in the United Kingdom as a student, or a retired or self-sufficient person.

 
If you are self-employed you will need to register with Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise for tax purposes. Failure to do this immediately, before you start working in the UK, will result in a fine. You can apply for a card which proves you are exempt from the Workers Registration Scheme by completing an EEA1 form but there is no legal obligation for you to do this.

You will also need to fill out a form EEA2 with the UK Border Agency if you are a family member of an EEA citizen, doing this will provide you with a residence card that will confirm your right to work in the UK.

By John Hillman

To be listed here click

USEFUL WORDS

register with the Police
book an appointment
attend an appointment
Police Headquarters
Police Registration Certificate
passport
current address
fee
get a stamp in your passport

GRAMMAR SPOT

Use have to and have got to to express necessity:

I have to register with the police within 7 days of arrival
I have got to / I’ve got to take my passport with me

Have to is used in both formal and informal English.  Have got to is informal.  It is generally safer to use have to rather than have got to.

Have got to is mostly used in the Present Simple.  In the Past Simple had to is more usual than had got to:

I couldn’t register today - I had to book an appointment

Have got to cannot be used with the perfect or continuous forms or in the infinitive or  –ing form:

Day after day I was having to work long hours
(NOT I was having got to work)
It’s a nuisance to have to wait so long
(NOT It’s a nuisance to have got to wait so long)

Negatives:
I don’t have to register with the Police
I haven’t got to register with the Police
He doesn’t have to wait
He hasn’t got to wait

Questions:
How much do I have to pay?
How much have I got to pay?
How long does he have to wait?
How long has he got to wait?

In the Past Simple form negatives and questions with did:
I didn’t have to pay
Did he have to wait long?