Right to Work Check Using Share Code: Step-by-Step Employer Guide

Your new employee sends you a 9-character code and their date of birth. You go to the government website, type both in, and the system tells you whether they can work in the UK. That's the theory.

In practice, share codes expire, employees generate the wrong type of code, the system goes down at 5pm on a Friday, or the employee has never heard of their Home Office online account. Here's how the process works when it goes right — and what to do when it doesn't.

This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice on your specific situation, consult a qualified immigration solicitor.

What a share code is

A share code is a 9-character alphanumeric code that an employee generates through their Home Office online account. It gives you, the employer, temporary access to view their immigration status.

Key facts:

Codes starting with W are for right-to-work checks (what you need)
Codes starting with S are for right-to-rent checks (not what you need — the employee must generate a new one)
Each code is valid for 90 calendar days from generation
A code can be used multiple times within its validity period
The service is free — for both the employee and the employer

Who needs a share code check

Share code checks are required for anyone whose immigration status is held digitally. Since BRPs expired on 31 December 2024, this now includes most non-British, non-Irish workers:

eVisa holders (work visas, family visas, student visas)
EU Settlement Scheme status holders (settled and pre-settled status)
Anyone granted immigration permission since late 2024

British and Irish citizens don't use share codes — they provide physical documents (passport, birth certificate + NI proof). See our guide to checking British citizens for details.

For a full overview of the eVisa transition and its impact on your checking process, see our eVisa guide.

Step-by-step: the employer's process

Step 1: Receive the share code and date of birth

Ask the employee to generate a share code and send it to you along with their date of birth. Do this before their start date — not on their first morning.

Communicate clearly: "Please go to gov.uk/prove-right-to-work, sign in or create an account, and select 'Prove your right to work to an employer.' Send me the 9-character code and your date of birth."

Step 2: Enter the details

Go to the online right to work checking service and enter:

The 9-character share code (case sensitive)
The employee's date of birth

Step 3: Review the result

The system displays:

The employee's photo — check it matches the person
Their name — check it matches the name they're using for employment
Their immigration status — what type of permission they have
Any work restrictions — some visas limit the type or hours of work
The expiry date — when their current permission ends (if time-limited)

Read the work restrictions carefully. Some visas restrict the employee to specific types of work, limit hours (common for student visas — typically 20 hours/week during term time), or prohibit certain occupations. If you employ someone outside their restrictions, you don't have a statutory excuse.

Step 4: Save the result

Download or screenshot the full profile page showing the photo, immigration status, and date of check. This is your evidence of a compliant check.

What to save:

The profile page with photo, name, immigration status, and restrictions
The date you conducted the check
Any reference numbers shown

Store this securely — digital storage is fine — for the duration of employment plus 2 years after the employee leaves.

Step 5: Record the follow-up date

If the check shows time-limited permission (most eVisa checks will), your statutory excuse has an expiry date. It's either:

The permission expiry date shown in the check result, or
6 months from the date of the check (for Positive Verification Notices)

Whichever comes first. Record this date and set reminders at 90, 30, and 14 days before expiry. Use our follow-up check timeline calculator to generate the full reminder schedule.

When things go wrong

"The share code isn't working"

Check the basics first:

Is the code exactly 9 characters? No spaces, no dashes.
Does it start with W? If it starts with S, it's a right-to-rent code — the employee needs to generate a new one for right-to-work purposes.
Has it expired? Codes are valid for 90 days. If it's older than that, the employee generates a new one.
Is the date of birth correct? The date must match what the Home Office has on file, which may differ from what the employee told you if there was an error in their original application.

"The employee can't generate a share code"

This happens when:

They haven't set up their Home Office online account. Direct them to get access to their eVisa to create or link their account. This can take a few days.
They're locked out of their account. They'll need to contact the UK Visas and Immigration helpline to regain access.
Their immigration status hasn't been linked to their account. Common for people who held BRPs and haven't transitioned. They need to link their status to their account.

Your fallback: Use the Employer Checking Service. Submit the employee's name, date of birth, nationality, and any Home Office reference number. The Home Office will respond with a Positive or Negative Verification Notice, typically within 5 working days.

Important: You cannot let the employee start work while waiting for the ECS response. No completed check = no statutory excuse = full penalty exposure.

"The system is down"

The Home Office online service has occasional downtime. If you can't access the checking service:

Wait and try again later — outages are usually resolved within hours
Do not accept a screenshot from the employee's own account as a substitute
Do not let the employee start work until you've completed the check yourself

"The check shows work restrictions I don't understand"

Some common restrictions:

Restriction	What it means
"No recourse to public funds"	Doesn't affect employment — the person can work normally
"Work limited to 20 hours per week during term time"	Student visa — can work full time during holidays, limited hours during term
"Employment prohibited"	This person cannot work for you under their current visa
"Work must be in the profession stated on the visa"	Sponsored worker — can only do the specific job their visa was issued for

If you're unsure about a restriction, do not employ the person until you've confirmed their permitted work with an immigration solicitor or the Home Office.

After the check: ongoing obligations

A successful share code check isn't the end of the process — it's the beginning of a tracking obligation.

For employees with time-limited permission, you'll need to run follow-up checks before their permission expires. Miss the follow-up, and your statutory excuse lapses — leaving you exposed to penalties of up to £45,000 per worker for a first offence.

If their permission expires while they have a pending application, you have a 28-day window to verify their status through the Employer Checking Service. After that, your statutory excuse is gone.

For the complete lifecycle — from initial check through follow-up scheduling and grace period management — see our employer's guide to ongoing RTW compliance. For an interactive step-by-step version of this process — including what to do when codes start with the wrong letter, expire, or the system is down — try our share code walkthrough tool.