Working in the UK during your studies

My employer says I must prove I can work during my studies

If you have a passport sticker that does not prohibit work, you are allowed to take employment as described above without getting any further approval or permission. This is explained in a UK Government leaflet you might want to show your employer:

Find your way to work.

Your employer can also check with the UK Border Agency that you are allowed to work. The Agency has an employers' helpline on 0845 010 6677.

Employers have a legal obligation to check that you are allowed to work in the UK, so you must be able to provide evidence of this, usually by showing them your passport. You might not have your passport because you have applied to extend your immigration permission in the UK. If you made your immigration application before your previous student immigration permission ended, you still have the right to work under the usual student conditions. However, a new employer must see evidence that you are currently in the UK with student immigration permisssion before allowing you to start work. The same sometimes applies to your existing employer, who might have noted when your immigration permission ended and now wants to be sure that you still have the right to work. From 29 February 2008, employers will be obliged to check your entitlement to work at least once a year.

In these cases, you will usually have to provide a letter from the UK Border Agency which confirms that you have made an in-time application to extend your immigration permission. If you do not have such a letter, the UK Border Agency's employer checking service might be able to confirm this to your employer. Alternatively, you might be able to provide a combination of other documents which prove you are allowed to work, or to continue working, in the UK. You will find a list of documents that employers can accept as evidence of your right to work in:

Preventing illegal working: current guidance for United Kingdom employers

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