UK Right to Work checks are live: Veriff outlines how platforms can avoid onboarding bottlenecks

Automated verification takes under a minute. Routing workers and managing manual steps is where delays arise, says Veriff’s Director of Product.

London, Oct. 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The UK’s expanded Right to Work requirements came into effect on 1 October, after a compressed implementation period. The Home Office’s final employer guidance was itself only published on the day the rules took effect. Veriff, a registered Right to Work digital verification service provider, is sharing what it has learned from working with several major platforms on their onboarding changes.

Platforms’ experiences have varied widely depending on their existing technology. Some needed relatively straightforward changes, while others had to rework processes built for a different legislative environment. The main pressure point is the manual handling introduced into otherwise automated onboarding.

“Automated verification is the easy part,” said Raul Liive, Director of Product at Veriff. “Document verification and face-matching take under a minute with the right provider. The real challenge is routing workers through the appropriate verification journeys.”

Where manual steps come in

British and Irish passports require different checks from eVisas. Sign-up with a British or Irish passport can be largely automated, while eVisas require an online Home Office check using a share code and date of birth. The Home Office does not currently offer an API through which platforms can retrieve the result directly, which introduces a manual step.

Once the Home Office record is retrieved, the platform must confirm that the photo matches the worker. This can be done in person, by video call, or through facial recognition, where a registered provider matches the Home Office photo to a worker’s selfie, reducing the need for a follow-up call or in-person meeting.

“How quickly this manual stage happens depends on the processes underpinning it,” said Liive. “Platforms still need to assign a named Team , set a realistic turnaround time and define an escalation process. That Team needs to be resourced for peaks in registrations, so workers aren’t left waiting unnecessarily.”

Designing a practical onboarding journey

Platforms should focus on qualifying and routing applicants early. Onboarding logic that treats every document alike will need updating so that British and Irish passports can be quickly separated from eVisas. Platforms also need a route for people who have a right to work but cannot prove it through the usual digital process, such as manual checks or, where appropriate, the Employer Checking Service. A clear Interface that shows applicants which documents are outstanding, and only refers them for manual checks once everything is available, also helps efficiency.

“The focus should be on qualifying and routing applicants early,” Liive added. “Platforms that do this will avoid the bottlenecks.”

Record-keeping requirements

Under the Home Office’s final guidance, businesses must keep a copy of the online right-to-work result for as long as the person works for them, plus an additional two years. Where facial recognition is used to match the worker to the photograph, platforms must use a registered Right to Work digital verification service provider for the comparison. A copy of that comparison must be kept alongside the online result.

Assurance after onboarding

One of the biggest changes affects online matching services and platforms that allow workers to send substitutes. They must have “proportionate systems and processes” in place to ensure the person doing the work has a confirmed right to work, and any substitute needs their own check before starting. This does not apply to businesses using agency staff under a standard supply arrangement, where the agency remains responsible for the checks.

Periodic re-verification is one way platforms can provide this ongoing assurance. The Home Office recommends it takes place at least once in any 24-hour period or shift. For example, some platforms already run repeat identity checks, matching a selfie against the biometrics on file each week or each day, to tackle account renting and sharing.

“Now that the requirements are live, the first weeks of sign-ups will show where applications get held up and whether post-onboarding checks work as intended,” said Liive.

About Veriff

Veriff is an AI-native enterprise identity platform that helps organizations build trust online. Leading companies across financial services, marketplaces, mobility, gig economy, and other digital sectors rely on Veriff’s technology to stay compliant, prevent fraud, protect users, and scale globally.

Veriff’s trust infrastructure supports the full customer journey, from verification to ongoing authentication and fraud prevention, with the least friction for honest people. Built for global scale, Veriff helps businesses expand across borders without the complexity of managing identity verification, compliance, and fraud in multiple markets – creating a single source of truth for trusted identities.

CONTACT: Veriff
press@veriff.com