Working in the UK: your rights by status

After a seasonal visa

If you claimed asylum while your seasonal visa was still valid, the law (Section 3C) automatically extends your visa — with its conditions — until your case is decided. What this means:

• You may work only for your sponsor — the one who gave you the visa. This condition does not disappear when the season ends.
• Other work (construction, delivery, car wash) is work outside your visa conditions. Legally this is a breach, it carries penalties, and it can complicate future applications.
• Claiming asylum does not by itself give you the right to work.

We understand that living without income is hard. That is why two routes matter: asylum support (housing and money while you wait) and Permission to Work after 12 months — below.

If you have already worked outside your conditions and were not paid, or you are being exploited — do not stay alone with this: there are safe routes, described on the Work dispute page.

Permission to Work (for people waiting)

If there has been no decision for more than 12 months and the delay is not your fault, you can ask for permission to work. The exact rules:

• Applied for PtW on or before 26 March 2026 → jobs from the Immigration Salary List only.
• Applied after 26 March 2026 → only professions at RQF level 6+ (doctors, engineers, IT, scientists). For most people this is a high bar: manual trades are not on the list.
• Self-employment is not allowed on PtW. The permission ends if your claim is refused and appeals are exhausted.

Honestly: for a former seasonal worker, PtW rarely opens real vacancies. But 12+ months of waiting is time you can invest in English and qualifications — see Study and career below.

You have refugee status

From the moment you get status (refugee status, humanitarian protection, leave to remain), your work rights are the same as British workers'. In full:

• Any job, any profession, no lists or restrictions.
• Self-employment and your own business — allowed (construction/CIS — separate page).
• Minimum wage £12.71/hour (21+), £10.85 (18–20), a maximum of 48 hours a week on average (you can refuse to work more), 28 days of paid leave, sick pay, employer pension contributions.
• You need: eVisa (share code for the employer) and an NI Number.

Employer says "you have no rights" or threatens you with deportation? That is false and unlawful. → /en/work/spor

Study and career

Work in the UK is a track, not a point. A typical path for our readers: seasonal work → construction → qualification → profession. What speeds it up:

• English: free ESOL at colleges (for asylum seekers in many regions — from day one or after 6 months, depending on the region).
• Your diploma from home: recognition through ENIC — how to convert your qualification into a British one.
• College and retraining
• CSCS card for construction

Rights being broken?

Not paid, paid below minimum wage, documents taken away, threatened with deportation — there are procedures for all of this, and almost all of them are free. The key thing is deadlines: most work disputes have a limit of 3 months minus 1 day.