Recruiting overseas staff

As some UK firms struggle to find the staff they need, recruiting from abroad might appear a simple and cost-efficient way to fill vacancies. However, as Tom Whitney reports, it is essential to make sure that potential recruits are entitled to work in the UK
"There are lots of reasons to recruit people from abroad," argues the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) international manager Frances Wilson. "Overseas candidates can offer specialist skills that aren't available in the UK. They can also bring in new ideas or simply fill temporary vacancies."

However, while some people have automatic entitlement to work, others face restrictions on whether they can work in the UK, what type of work that they can do and how long they can stay.

Employers need to check potential employees' eligibility. If you don't, you risk prosecution, with the maximum penalty currently £5,000 per illegal employee.

Eligibility to work

Many overseas workers are free to enter and work in the UK without having a work permit and with barely any restriction on their length of stay or the jobs they can take. They include: European Economic Area (EEA) nationals and their families (the EEA encompasses all EU members); Commonwealth citizens with the right of abode in the UK; working holidaymakers from the Commonwealth; overseas nationals who have 'settled status'; spouses and dependent children under 18 of overseas workers who can lawfully work in the UK; citizens of Switzerland and those born in Gibraltar.

"It's easier to recruit people from within the EU, because they have the right to work elsewhere in the EU," says Wilson. "EEA nationals are free to work in the UK, but they must produce a document proving their nationality, which could be a passport, national identity card or a residence permit issued by the Home Office confirming their right to reside and work here."

Outside the EU

Recruiting workers from outside the EU is usually a longer and more costly process. You need to organise a work permit before recruits come to the UK.

In general, before it issues a work permit, the Home Office must be satisfied that it is essential for you to recruit the overseas national and that there is no suitable and available person settled in the UK or the EEA who could fill the post. Currently, there is a flat rate fee of £153 for work permit applications.

Along with Home Office permission, you also need to ensure that the applicant has been given leave to enter or remain in the UK. This will be in the form of an endorsement in their passport or other travel document, or it may be a confirmation letter issued by the Home Office.

Nationals of certain countries will also need a UK work permit to get an exit visa to leave their own country or for an entry visa to the UK.