The purpose of this
update is to inform you of the procedures you need to follow
should you hire a national of the 10 countries that joined
the European Union on 1 May 2004. The countries concerned
are Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Worker Registration Scheme (WRS)
From 1 May 2004 citizens of all ten accession countries will be free to live and work in the UK.
However, the Government has decided that it requires nationals of eight of those countries to register
with the Home Office if they do take up work on or after the accession date. Only Malta and Cyprus
are free from registration requirements.
If you hire a national of any of the eight registration countries, on or after 1 May 2004, you will
need to make sure that they register with the Home Office. They must do so within 1 month of commencing
work with you. On successful registration the Home Office will issue a certificate to the individual and
to you, the employer. You need to retain this certificate on the individual's personnel file.
If your employee does not register and you continue to employ them you may be guilty of a criminal
offence and face a penalty of up to £5,000. To ensure you are complying with the legislation you should
take a copy of the individual's registration form. Whilst the application is in process you may continue
to employ the individual.
Registration is not required by nationals of the 8 accession countries if they are already working legally
for you on 1 May 2004. Neither is it required if they have already been working legally in the UK for the last
12 months, in which case they should apply for a Residence Permit (see below).
Family members
Family members are able to come to the UK to join a worker who is an accession country national.
This includes spouse, children and dependent relatives. If family members take up UK employment and
they are also nationals of the 8 accession countries, they are subject to the Worker Registration Scheme.
If they are not nationals of any EU country and they have an EEA family permit they are permitted to
work here and are not subject to the Scheme.
WRS Application Process
Application is made to the Home Office in Cannock and should include the following:
- Completed form WRS (obtained from the Home Office website www.workingintheuk.gov.uk or from Cannock on 08705 210 224).
- Passport or ID Card
- 2 passport photos
- A letter from the employer confirming employment
- Payment of £50
The Home Office is aiming to process 80% of applications within 24 hours of receipt.
This may extend to 5 days if a cheque is sent in for payment of the fee.
Once processed the Home Office issues the individual with a registration card and a certificate, which
authorises work with the named employer. A copy of the certificate is also sent directly to the employer.
The certificate expires once the employment ceases.
If the individual changes jobs an application should be made for a new certificate. At this stage the
Home Office will not charge any fee. After 12 months under the WRS an individual may apply for an EU
Residence Permit.
European Union Residence Permit
Only those EU residents living in the UK who have full rights to free movement within the EU are able
to apply for a residence permit. As far as new arrivals from the accession countries are concerned this
applies to Cyprus and Malta only.
However, nationals of any of the other 8 accession countries may apply if they are living in the UK
and meet any of the following criteria:
- As soon as they have been working in the UK continuously and legally for 12 months
- They are self-employed
- They are a full time student, a retired person or a self-sufficient person
As an employer, if your prospective employee has a valid EU Residence Permit, they do not need to
register under the Worker Registration Scheme.
Can Coppergate help you?
For further clarification or assistance on any of these matters please contact us.
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