Guidance

Treaty rights: authorisation to work

Published 20 October 2026

Version 4.0

Guidance for His Majesty’s Passport Office staff dealing with Treaty rights passport applications on how to check if an EU8, EU2 or Croatian national met the relevant worker authorisation scheme.

About: Treaty rights: authorisation to work

This guidance tells HM Passport Office dealing with Treaty rights passport applications how to check if an EU8, EU2 or Croatian national met the relevant worker authorisation scheme.

You must use this guidance in line with the Treaty rights passport applications guidance.

When this guidance, mentions:

• European Economic Area (EEA) nationals, it means a citizen of a member state of the European Union, EEA or Switzerland
• exercised Treaty rights, it means someone who exercised free movement rights in the UK

Contacts

If you have any questions about the guidance and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the guidance has factual errors then email the Guidance team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this guidance (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the guidance then email the Guidance team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the guidance was published:

• version 4.0
• published for Home Office staff on 7 November 2023

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance was previously in the Treaty rights passport applications guidance and has been updated to:

• make it clearer:
  • when an EU8, EU2 or Croatian national could not exercise Treaty rights as a jobseeker
  • when an EU8 national is considered to have completed 12 months legal employment on the Workers Registration Scheme and how to assess if they did, including examples
  • how to assess if an EU2 national is considered to have completed 12 months legal employment on the Accession Worker Scheme
• reflect the change in our sovereign from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to His Majesty King Charles III
• add a new section for how to deal with half blue registration certificates (in the AWS: half blue registration certificates section)
• reflect a change of name and role for the Guidance team

Treaty rights: authorisation to work

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff when a European Economic Area (EEA) national who exercised their Treaty rights as a worker needs the correct authorisation to be legally working in the UK. It also tells them how to check they had the correct authorisation. 

There were transitional arrangements in place when EU8 countries, EU2 countries and Croatia joined the European Union (EU). During this time, nationals from these countries had to be in authorised employment for it be considered legal (unless they were exempt).

We will not accept periods of work during the qualifying period if an EU8, EU2 or Croatian national was working while the transitional arrangements were in place but did not have authorisation to work and were not exempt. 

While the transitional arrangements were in place, an EU8, EU2 or Croatian national could not exercise Treaty rights as a jobseeker if they were subject to worker authorisation. This means an EU8, EU2 or Croatian could only exercise Treaty rights as a jobseeker if any of the following apply:

• they were exempt from worker authorisation
• they completed 12 months legal employment on the relevant worker authorisation scheme
• the relevant worker authorisation scheme had ended

For more information about when an EU8, EU2 or Croatian national could, or could not exercise Treaty rights as jobseeker, see Jobseeker: EU8, EU2 and Croatian nationals).

EU8: authorisation to work

A transitional arrangement was in place from 1 May 2004 to 30 April 2009 for EU8 nationals who wanted to start work in the UK during this time. Unless they were exempt, EU8 nationals had to register their employment on the Workers Registration Scheme (WRS).

The WRS was extended to 30 April 2011, but the Supreme Court ruled the extension unlawful. It means the WRS ended on 30 April 2009 and there was no requirement for EU8 nationals to register any employment on the WRS after this date.

The first 30 days of employment is always considered legal employment, regardless of if (and when) an EU8 national registered it on the WRS. If an EU8 national expected to be employed for:

• less than 30 days, they did not need to register their employment on the WRS
• 30 days or more, they had to apply to register their employment on the WRS within the first 30 days of starting employment – if they:
  • did, their employment would continue to be considered legal
  • did not, only the first 30 days of employment is considered legal and any remaining employment would not be considered legal until they were issued with an Accession State WRS Registration Certificate

When an EU8 national registered on the WRS for the first time, they were issued with an:

• Accession State WRS Registration Card, showing the date of issue and the EU8 national’s:
  • photo
  • name
  • date of birth
  • nationality
  • reference number
• Accession State WRS Registration Certificate, showing the date of issue and the EU8 national’s:
  • name
  • date of birth
  • nationality
  • reference number
  • job start date
  • employer name and address

You can check Accession State WRS Registration Cards and Accession State WRS Registration Certificates on the UKVI system and find examples of them in Knowledge Base.

When an EU8 national completed 12 months legal employment on the WRS (see How an EU8 national completes 12 months legal employment on the WRS), they:

• became exempt from registering further employment on the WRS
• could apply for a Registration Certificate, although it was not compulsory (a  Registration Certificate is different to an Accession State WRS Registration Certificate and is also known as a Home Office Blue Card)

We previously issued some passports without checking if an EU8 national registered on the WRS. You must refer to WRS: completing checks for which applications are affected, including how to deal with them.

How an EU8 national completes 12 months legal employment on the WRS

An EU8 national is considered to have completed 12 months legal employment on the WRS if they met all of the following criteria:

• they were in legal employment at the start of the 12 month period (the first 30 days of employment is always considered legal employment)
• they were in legal employment at the end of the 12 month period – this means either:
  • the employer who they were working for at the end of the 12 month period, is registered on the WRS
  • they started new employment within the final 30 days of the 12 month period that they did not register on the WRS or registered after 30 days (as the first 30 days is considered legal employment)
• during the 12 month period, the total number of days they were not working or not in legal employment is not more than 30 days

Exemptions to the WRS

EU8 nationals did not have to register on the Workers Registration Scheme (WRS), if they:

• had leave (permission) on 30 April 2004 (for example, they were granted leave to enter or leave to remain in the UK under the Immigration Act 1971) and that leave did not have any restrictions on employment
• exercised their Treaty rights for the full 5 year qualifying period other than as a worker
• were sent to the UK to work (or provide a service) for a non UK-based employer (for example, a posted worker)
• had dual citizenship with the UK and another EEA country other than an EU8 country or Switzerland
• worked in the UK and were the family member of an EEA national who was not an EU8 national
• were the family member of an EEA national who was living in the UK as a student or self-sufficient person
• completed 12 months legal employment that either:
  • started before 30 April 2004 and finished on 30 April 2004
  • started before and finished after 30 April 2004
  • started after 30 April 2004 (for example, when they already completed 12 months legal employment on the WRS)
• worked in Guernsey, Jersey, or the Isle of Man (as they’ll have been working outside of the UK)

What we mean by legal employment

Legal employment means an EU8 national had leave to enter or remain in the UK, under immigration laws that allowed them to work. For example:

• permit holders who worked in line with their work permit
• students who worked in line with their student leave conditions, for example, working:
  • up to 20 hours per week during term time
  • full-time outside of term time
  • on course related placements

EU8 nationals who started work before 30 April 2004 (the day before the EU8 countries joined the EU) in line with immigration laws that allowed them to work, will have been in legal employment. If they:

• completed 12 months of employment (without any breaks) that ended on, or after 30 April 2004, they would be exempt from registering on the WRS
• changed employer on, or after 30 April before completing 12 months employment, they needed to register their new employment on WRS (until they completed 12 months continuous employment)

EU8 nationals who started work on or after 30 April 2004 and completed 12 months continuous employment on the WRS would be:

• in legal employment
• exempt from registering further employment on the WRS

An EU8 national would not be in legal employment if they had leave that allowed them to work but were not working. For example, an EU8 national who had leave as a student on 30 April 2004 who started work on, or after 1 May 2004, would have needed, to:

• register on the WRS
• complete 12 months continuous employment on the WRS

WRS: changes to employment and agency workers

If an EU8 national changed employer during the first 12 months of employment, their new employment is considered legal employment for the first 30 days. If they expected it to last more than 30 days, they had to apply to register it on the Workers Registration Scheme (WRS) within 30 days of starting. If they did not, their new employment would only be considered legal for the first 30 days and would then not be considered legal employment until they were issued with an Accession State WRS Registration Certificate.        

When an EU8 national changed employer and registered them on the WRS, they were issued with a new Accession State WRS Registration Certificate but did not get a new Accession State WRS Registration Card. This means you may get 1 Accession State WRS Registration Card and multiple Accession State WRS Registration Certificates as part of a Treaty rights passport application.

If an EU8 national gained employment with an employer after working with them through an agency, we would:

• not consider this to be a change in employment (if the employer had always paid their wages)
• consider this to be a change in employment (if the agency was paying their wages and the employer took over, paying the wages)

If an EU8 national registered their employment on the WRS but took additional employment which they did not register on the WRS, their employment will still be lawful as long they met the WRS conditions with their registered employer.

If an EU8 national left employment because of pregnancy, you must refer to retaining worker status following pregnancy. This is because we will treat them as having completed 12 months lawful employment if they registered on the WRS before the child was born, even if they did not complete 12 months.

Workers Registration Scheme: family members

An EU8 national’s family member, including if they were non-EEA nationals who were issued with residence document:

• did not need to register on the WRS separately (they must still provide evidence to show the EU national exercised Treaty rights for the qualifying period)
• can have a Registration Certificate without having to register on the WRS

This means an EU8 national’s family member may not have a WRS card. However, as part of the passport application, they must still supply evidence to show the EU8 national who they depend on, met the WRS conditions.

WRS: how to deal with the Treaty rights application

If an EU8 national was relying on a period of work between 1 May 2004 and 30 April 2009 as part of the qualifying period, you must consider if:

• they were exempt from the Workers Registration Scheme (WRS)
• the work they did was considered legal work under the WRS (if they were not exempt from the WRS)

This is particularly important as depending on if, and when, an EU8 national is considered to have been in legal employment, it could affect if they exercised Treaty rights as a worker during the qualifying period. For example, you may need to discount periods of employment from the qualifying period if the EU8 national was not exempt from the WRS and they:

• were not considered to have been in legal employment
• did not register on the WRS at all (as the earliest the qualifying period can start will be 30 April 2009)

If an EU8 national gives us evidence to show they were exempt from the WRS, you must accept they did not need to register on the WRS and you can continue to process the application.

If an EU8 national was not exempt from the WRS, you must ask them for evidence and use UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) systems to help you decide if they met the WRS conditions (by completing 12 months legal employment on the WRS). Evidence you may ask for includes:

• Registration Certificates
• Accession State WRS Registration Certificates, including employment evidence such as P60s or payslips (so we can check they met the WRS conditions)

You must only accept an EU8 national’s period of work between 1 May 2004 and 30 April 2009 as part of the qualifying period if either of the following apply:

• the period of work is considered legal, for example because:
  • they were issued with a Registration Certificate before the start of the qualifying period
  • their Accession State WRS Registration Certificates (or information from the UKVI systems) together with P60s and payslips shows they completed 12 months legal employment on the WRS
• they registered on the WRS once before the child was born (only in certain cases when we will accept they met they conditions by registering on it once before the child was born)

WRS examples: EU8 national had 1 employer

Below are some examples to show when an EU8 national who had 1 employer would, or would not, have met the conditions of the Workers Registration Scheme (WRS).

Example 1. An EU8 national:

• had 1 employer that started on 1 January 2005
• applied to register the employment on the WRS on 15 January 2005 and was subsequently issued with an  Accession State WRS Registration Certificate on 20 January 2005

In this case, the EU8 national completed 12 months legal employment on 1 January 2006 as:

1. They were legally working at the start of the 12 month period. This is because  the first 30 days of employment is considered legal.
2. They were legally working at the end of the 12 month period. This because they had registered the employer who they were working for at the end of the 12 month period, on the WRS.

3. They did not have a gap of 30 days or more when they were not in employment or legal employment. This is because there was no gap at all as they:

   • applied to register their employment on the WRS within 30 days of starting work so their employment continued to be legal after the first 30 days
   • had no further changes or gaps in employment

For the purpose of Treaty rights passport applications, we can accept periods of employment from 1 January 2005.

Example 2. An EU8 national:

• had 1 employer that started on 1 January 2005
• applied to register the employment on the WRS on 30 January 2005 and was subsequently issued with an      Accession State WRS Registration Certificate on 15 February 2005

In this case, the EU8 national completed 12 months legal employment on 1 January 2006 as:

1. They were legally working at the start of the 12 month period. This is because  the first 30 days of employment is considered legal.
2. They were legally working at the end of the 12 month period. This because they had registered the employer who they were working for at the end of the 12 month period, on the WRS.

3. They did not have a gap of 30 days or more when they were not in employment or legal employment. There was no gap at all as:

   • they applied to register on the WRS within 30 days of starting work (even though they were not subsequently issued with an Accession State WRS Registration Certificate until 15 February 2005) meaning their employment continued to be legal after the first 30 days
   • had no further changes in employment

For the purpose of Treaty rights passport applications, we can accept periods of employment from 1 January 2005.

Example 3. An EU8 national:

• had 1 employer that started on 1 January 2005
• applied to register the employment on the WRS on 15 February 2005 and was subsequently issued with an Accession State WRS Registration Certificate on 20 February 2005

In this case, the EU8 national completed 12 months legal employment on 1 January 2006 as:

1. They were legally working at the start of the 12 month period. This is because  the first 30 days of employment is considered legal.
2. They were legally working at the end of the 12 month period. This because they had registered the employer who they were working for at the end of the 12 month period, on the WRS.
3. They did not have a gap of 30 days or more when they were not in employment or legal employment. There is gap of unlawful employment between the end of the first 30 days that is considered legal employment (30 January 2005) and the date they were issued with an Accession State WRS Registration Certificate (20 February 2005), but it is less than 30 days.

For the purpose of Treaty rights passport applications, we can accept periods of employment from 1 January 2005.

Example 4. An EU8 national:

• had 1 employer that started on 1 March 2005
• applied to register the employment on the WRS on 1 May 2005 and was subsequently issued with an  Accession State WRS Registration Certificate on 3 May 2005

In this case, the EU8 national would not have completed 12 months legal employment on 1 March 2006 as:

1. They were legally working at the start of the 12 month period. This is because  the first 30 days of employment is considered legal.
2. They were legally working at the end of the 12 month period. This because they had registered the employer who they were working for at the end of the 12 month period, on the WRS.
3. They had a gap of 30 days or more when they were not in legal employment. The gap of 30 days or more of unlawful employment is between the end of the first 30 days of employment that is considered legal employment and the date they were issued with an Accession State WRS Registration Certificate.

The earliest the EU8 national would have completed 12 months legal employment would have been 3 May 2006 (12 months after they were issued with an Accession State WRS Registration Certificate). For the purpose of Treaty rights passport applications, we can accept periods of employment from 3 May 2005.

WRS examples: EU8 national had multiple employers

Below are some examples to show when an EU8 national who had more than 1 employer would, or would not, have met the conditions of the Workers Registration Scheme (WRS).

Example 1. An EU8 national:

• started work with the first employer on 1 January 2005, applied to register the employment on the WRS on 15 January 2005 and was subsequently issued with an Accession State WRS Registration Certificate on 20 January 2005
• stopped working with the first employer on 30 June 2005
• started work with the second employer on 5 July 2005, applied to register the employment on the WRS on 10 July 2005 and was subsequently issued with an Accession State WRS Registration Certificate on 12 July 2005

In this case, the EU8 national completed 12 months legal employment on 1 January 2006 as:

1. They were legally working at the start of the 12 month period. This is because  the first 30 days of employment is considered legal.
2. They were legally working at the end of the 12 month period. This is because they had registered the second employer who they were working with at the end of the 12 month period, on the WRS.

3. They did not have a gap of 30 days or more when they were not in employment or legal employment. This is because:

   • they applied to register their first employment on the WRS within 30 days of starting (so there was no gap when their employment is not considered legal)
   • they applied to register their second employment on the WRS within 30 days of starting (so there was no gap when their employment is not considered legal)
   • the only gap they had was when they were not working between the first employment ending and the second one starting (which was less than 30 days)

For the purpose of Treaty rights passport applications, we can accept periods of employment from 1 January 2005.

Example 2. EU8 national:

• started work with the first employer on 1 January 2005, applied to register the employment on the WRS on 30 January 2005 and was subsequently issued with an Accession State WRS Registration Certificate on 15 February 2005
• stopped working with the first employer on 30 July 2005
• started work with the second employer on 5 August 2005, applied to register it on the WRS on 10 September 2005 and was subsequently issued with an       Accession State WRS Registration Certificate on 12 September 2005

In this case, the EU8 national completed 12 months legal employment on 1 January 2006 as:

1. They were legally working at the start of the 12 month period. This is because  the first 30 days of employment is considered legal.
2. They were legally working at the end of the 12 month period. This is because they had registered the second employer who they were working with at the end of the 12 month period, on the WRS.

3. They did not have a gap of 30 days or more when they were not in employment or legal employment. This is because:

   • they applied to register their first employment on the WRS within 30 days of starting work (so there was no gap when their employment was not considered legal)
   • they applied to register their second employment on the WRS after 30 days of starting work (so there is a gap of unlawful employment between the end of the first 30 days that is considered legal employment and the date they were issued with an Accession State WRS Registration Certificate)
   • they were not working between 30 July 2005 and 5 August 2005 (so there was a gap when they were not employment)
   • the total gap when they were not working and not in legal employment is less than 30 days

For the purpose of Treaty rights passport applications, we can accept periods of employment from 1 January 2005.

Example 3. EU8 national:

• started work with the first employer on 1 January 2005, applied to register the employment on the WRS on 15 February and was subsequently issued with an Accession State WRS Registration Certificate on 20 February 2005
• stopped working with the first employer on 30 July 2005
• started work with a second employer on 5 August 2005, applied to register it on the WRS on 20 September and was subsequently issued with an    Accession State WRS Registration Certificate on 23 September 2005

In this cases, the EU8 national did not complete 12 months legal employment on 1 January 2006 as:

1. They were legally working at the start of the 12 month period. This is because  the first 30 days of employment is considered legal.
2. They were legally working at the end of the 12 month period. This is because they had registered the second employer who they were working with at the end of the 12 month period, on the WRS.

3. They had a gap of 30 days or more when they were not working and not in legal employment. This is because:

   • they applied to register their first employment on the WRS after 30 days of starting (so there is a gap of unlawful employment between the end of the first 30 days that is considered legal employment and the date they were issued with an Accession State WRS Registration Certificate)
   • they applied to register their second employment on the WRS after 30 days of starting (so there is a gap of unlawful employment between the end of the first 30 days that is considered legal employment and the date they were issued with an Accession State WRS Registration Certificate)
   • they were not working between 30 July 2005 and 5 August 2005 (so there was a gap when they were not in employment)
   • the total gap when they were not working and not in legal employment is more than 30 days

The earliest the EU8 national would have completed 12 months legal employment is 20 February 2006 (the date they were issued with the Accession State WRS Registration Certificate for the first job). This is because from this date, the total gap when the EU8 national was not in employment or legal employment was less than 30 days.

For the purpose of Treaty rights passport applications, we can accept periods of employment from 20 February 2005.

EU2 worker: authorisation to work

A transitional arrangement was in place from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013 for EU2 nationals who wanted to start work in the UK.

Unless they were exempt, EU2 nationals had to register their employment on the Accession Worker Scheme (AWS) before they started work. When they did, they were issued with an Accession Worker Card (known as a purple card) that gave them permission to work for a named employer only.

If an EU2 national changed employer within the first 12 months, they had to register the new employment on the AWS before starting work. When they registered the new employment on the AWS, they got a new Accession Worker Card.

When an EU2 national completed 12 months legal employment on the AWS, they became exempt from registering further employment on it and could apply for a Registration Certificate (known as a blue card). An EU2 national is considered to have completed 12 months legal employment on the WRS if they met all of the following criteria:

• they were in legal employment at the start of the 12 month period - this means they registered their employment on the AWS before they started working with the employer
• they were in legal employment at the end of the 12 month period - this means they registered the employer who they were working for at the end of the 12 month period on the AWS, before they started working with them
• during the 12 month period, the total number of days they were not working or not in legal employment is not more than 30 days

Before 1 January 2014, an EU2 national who was not exempt from the AWS who worked in line with their Accession Worker Card:

• only had a right of residence as a worker
• is not considered a worker if they became unemployed (under 6(2) of the EEA Regulations)

Accession Worker Scheme: students who were working

EU2 national students did not need to register on the AWS if they:

• worked no more than 20 hours during term-time (they must have a registration certificate (which is yellow) that confirms they are a student with access to the UK labour market for 20 hours per week)
• worked full-time during student holidays
• were doing work that was part of their course

If an EU2 student wanted to work more than 20 hours per week during term-time, they needed to register their employment on the AWS.

EU2 students could work for up to 4 months after their course ended, as long as they were issued with a valid Registration Certificate while they were studying.

Accession Worker Scheme: exemptions

EU2 nationals did not have to register on the AWS, if they:

• exercised their Treaty rights for the full 5 year qualifying period as, a:
  • self-employed person
  • student (if they were not working, only worked up to 20 hours a week during term-time or full-time during student holidays)
  • self-sufficient person
• had indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or indefinite leave to enter (ILE) (under the Immigration Act 1971)
• had limited leave to remain on 31 December 2006 that did not place any restrictions on taking employment in the UK, for example, when they:
  • were given leave to remain under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme
  • are the spouse of a British citizen
  • are the dependent of a work permit holder
• have been working in line with their leave (for example, work permit holders or students working less than 20 hours per week) without any breaks in employment that ended on, or after 31 December 2006
• are a citizen of the UK, Switzerland, or any other EEA country other than Bulgaria or Romania
• are the family member of a non-EU2 national who exercised Treaty rights in the UK, or the spouse or civil partner of either, a
  • British citizen
  • person who is settled in the UK
• are the family member of an EU2 national worker who was issued with a valid Accession Worker Card or valid Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) card (except if they were issued it as part of an application for an authorised family member)
• are the family member of another EU2 national who exercised Treaty rights as a student, self-sufficient person, or self-employed person – you must be aware, the family member remained exempt while the EU2 national continued to be a student, self-sufficient person or self-employed person
• have been issued with a ‘half blue’ registration certificate
• are the spouse, civil partner, descendant under the age of 21 or dependant, descendant of another EU2 national who was working in line with the AWS or SAWS requirements (the spouse, civil partner of descendant may have a ‘half blue’ registration certificate)
• are the spouse, civil partner or child under the age of 18 of a person who has ILR or ILE that allows them to work
• they have a Registration Certificate on the basis they are a highly skilled worker
• they have 12 months legal employment made up of up to 6 months work in line with their SAWS card and the remining period of the 12 months made up by other legal work, for example:
  • 6 months spent working under SAWS directly followed by 6 months working as student (in line with their student visa)
  • 4 months spent working under SAWS directly followed by 8 months for an employer that they registered on the AWS
• came to work in the UK under the SAWS and have a SAWS card (as this is a worker authorisation document)

EU2 nationals who were students, self-employed or self-sufficient who started work during the qualifying period, needed to register on the AWS (unless they were exempt).

AWS: half blue registration certificates

Half blue (also known as light blue or new blue) registration certificates are issued to EU2 family members of EU2 nationals. If a family member has one, it means they are exempt from the Accession Worker Scheme (AWS) while the EU2 national had a right of residence as an authorised worker, self-employed person, student or self-sufficient person.

This means to decide if we can accept a half blue registration certificate as evidence the family member was exempt from the AWS, we will also need evidence to show the EU2 national exercised Treaty rights for the same period of time.

A half blue registration certificate may look similar to a blue (also known as a full blue) registration certificate. If you get a blue certificate, you must therefore check UKVI systems to help you decide if it’s a half blue certificate.

If the UKVI systems confirm the family member was issued with a half blue registration certificate, you must ask for evidence to show the EU2 national exercised Treaty rights as an authorised worker, self-employed person, student or self-sufficient person.

You must accept the half blue certificate as evidence the family member was exempt from the AWS if evidence from the EU2 national shows they:

• continued to exercise Treaty rights as an authorised worker (in line with current guidance), self-employed person, student or self-sufficient person for the same period of time
• they stopped exercising Treaty rights as an authorised worker, self-employed person, student or self-sufficient person for the same period of time but the family member had already worked for 12 months or more in line with their AWS half blue conditions (as after 12 months, they, and the EU2 national, will have become exempt from the AWS)

The family member will stop being exempt from the AWS if evidence from the EU2 national shows they only exercised Treaty rights as an authorised worker, self-employed person, student or self-sufficient person for less than 12 months. The date the family member will stop being exempt is from the date the EU2 national stopped exercising Treaty rights and in these cases, the family member must either:

• show they complied with the AWS (if they working)
• exercised Treaty rights other than as a worker

AWS: how to deal with the Treaty rights application

If an EU2 national was relying on a period of work between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2013 as part of the qualifying period, you must consider if:

• they were exempt from the Accession Worker Scheme (AWS)
• the work they did was considered legal work under the AWS (if they were not exempt from the WRS)

This is particularly important as depending on if, and when, an EU2 national is considered to have been in legal employment, it could affect if they exercised Treaty rights as a worker during the qualifying period. For example, you may need to discount periods of employment from the qualifying period if the EU2 national was not exempt from the WRS and they:

• were not considered to have been in legal employment
• did not register on the AWS at all (as the earliest the qualifying period can start will be 1 January 2014)

If an EU2 national gives us evidence to show they were exempt from the AWS, you must accept they did not need to register on the AWS and you can continue to process the application.

If an EU2 was not exempt from the AWS, you must use all available evidence to check if they completed 12 months legal employment on the AWS. For example, by using:

• their Accession Worker Card, P60s and payslips to check they registered the employer on the AWS before they started working with them and completed 12 months employment
• the UKVI systems

You must accept an EU2 national completed 12 months legal employment on the AWS if they met all of the following criteria:

• they were in legal employment at the start of the 12 month period - this means they registered their employment on the AWS before they started working with the employer
• they were in legal employment at the end of the 12 month period - this means they registered the employer who they were working for at the end of the 12 month period on the AWS, before they started working with them
• during the 12 month period, the total number of days they were not working or not in legal employment is not more than 30 days

If an EU2 national’s evidence shows they did not register their employment on the AWS before they started work, none of the employment is considered legal and you must discount any periods of work from the qualifying period.

Accession Worker Scheme: SAWS

The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) was designed to help farmers and growers in the UK recruit low-skilled overseas workers to carry out short term agricultural work.

The SAWS worked on an annual quota basis. Farmers and growers could only recruit a certain number of workers each year. When the quota was full, the SAWS scheme closed for that year.

EU2 nationals had to apply for a SAWS card that gave them permission to work in the UK for a fixed period of time (usually between 5 weeks and 6 months).

If you get a SAWS card, you must make sure the employment details on it match the details on EU2 nationals P60s and payslips for the period of time the SAWS card was valid. If:

• it does, the EU2 national will be in legal employment and you can count the employment towards the 5 year qualifying period
• does not, the EU2 national will not be in legal employment and you cannot count it towards the 5 year qualifying period

After an EU2 national’s seasonal work ended, they may have returned to their home country, or they may have continued to exercise Treaty rights in the UK. If they stayed in the UK and:

• continued to work, you must refer to Treaty rights: worker - you must be aware:
  • they needed to register their employment on the AWS (unless they were exempt)
  • if they had already completed 6 months lawful employment under SAWS, they would only need to complete 6 months registered employment on the AWS
• stayed in the UK and became a jobseeker, you must refer to Treaty rights: jobseeker
• stayed in the UK and became a self-employed person, you must refer to Treaty rights: self-employed person
• stayed in the UK and became a self-sufficient person, you must refer to Treaty rights: self-sufficient person
• stayed in the UK and became a student, you must refer to Treaty rights: student
• returned to their home country but continued to come back to UK every 6 months under the SAWS, we would not consider them to have been exercising Treaty rights (as they are not a resident of the UK)

If you get a SAWS card and are unsure how to deal with it, you must send a guidance query to the Quality and Examination Support team (QuESt).

EU2 national registered on SAWS but cannot supply evidence

If an EEA national tells us they registered on the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) but cannot provide evidence, you must check the UKVI system to see if they did and use their employment evidence to make sure they complied with it.

If there is no record on the UKVI system to show the EEA national registered on the SAWS, you must:

1. Ask them for a signed statement that confirms:

• they registered on the SAWS
• who they worked for
• the start and end date of their employment (we will accept the month and year if they cannot provide the exact date).

2. Decide on a balance of probability if the EEA registered on the SAWS using the employment evidence and signed statement.

Croatian worker: authorisation to work

A transitional arrangement was in place from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2018 for Croatian nationals who wanted to start work in the UK. This worked in the same way as if they were an EU2 national.