• Caroline Nokes tells MPs firms will have to check eligibility after
a no-deal Brexit �` but does not know how
Caroline Nokes. Employers’ groups said they have ‘serious concerns’
that the Home Office was setting them an impossible task Photograph:
Alan Davidson/AJDImages/Rex/Shutterstock
Employers will be expected to check whether EU nationals have the
right to work in the UK if there is a no-deal Brexit, even though it
will be almost impossible to assess this, and the nature of the checks
remain unknown, Caroline Nokes, the immigration minister, has told MPs.
Her disclosure caused dismay among employers’ groups, which have said
they have “serious concerns” that the Home Office may give them an
impossible task with just five months left until Britain leaves the EU.
In a fractious appearance before the home affairs select committee,
Nokes said it would be up to companies offering jobs to EU nationals
after Brexit to determine whether those applicants were eligible to
work in the UK.
“If somebody hasn’t been here prior to the end of March next year,
employers will have to make sure they go through adequately rigorous
checks to evidence somebody’s right to work,” Nokes said, in an
apparent new policy disclosure.
This appears to contradict a press briefing this summer in which the
Home Office indicated it would not require employers to make
immigration checks on staff who are EU citizens.
When questioned by MPs, Nokes conceded that it would be difficult for
employers to make such checks, given that longstanding residents from
EU member states had a guaranteed two-year period to go through the
“settled status” programme, proving their right to remain and to work.
When asked how employers could be expected to make the checks, Nokes
said she did not know, and would have to write to the committee later.
EU citizens are required to apply for “settled status” to stay in the
UK after Brexit, but the registration process is still being tested in
a live trial and MPs heard that so far only 650 of the estimated 3.5m
who will need to apply have gone through the process.
They were also told that the digital system allowing people to apply
for the scheme only worked with Android devices, as it had not been
possible to come to an agreement for it to work on Apple’s systems.
While confirming that a promised immigration bill would “turn off free
movement” once Brexit happened �` removing the automatic right of EU
nationals to live and work in the UK �` Nokes said that determining
people’s status would be tricky during the planned two-year transition
period, whether or not there a deal was agreed. Even if there was no
deal, EU nationals would still have until March 2021 to apply for
settled status.
“In the intervening period of any transition period, it will be
incredibly difficult

to differentiate between an EU citizen coming
here for the first time, for example, and somebody who has been here
for a significant period of time and hasn’t yet applied for their
settled status but would be perfectly entitled to it if they were to,”
Nokes said.
Asked by Yvette Cooper, the Labour MP who chairs the committee,
whether companies would be expected to distinguish between the groups,
Nokes confirmed that they would: “As part of the right-to-work check,
we expect employers to make sure that they are not employing people
who do not have the right to work here.”.
Repeatedly questioned on the practicalities of any checks, Nokes
struggled to respond, at first saying she hoped that “a pragmatic
approach” would prevail.
Cooper said she was “really baffled”, adding: “Either you’re going to
have a system that in practice is unworkable because employers can’t
implement it, or you’re going to have to accept that people who are
arriving after March 2019 will just be covered by exactly the same
rules as people who are already here.”
Questioned by Kate Green, the Labour MP for Stretford and Urmston,
Nokes conceded that she did not know what checks might be required.
Green replied: “I think it would be very important to employers to
know very soon what it is you’re expecting them to check.”
After Cooper allowed more questions from MPs, Nokes protested that the
session had gone 45 minutes over schedule and she was being kept away
from important Brexit planning.
Cooper said with only five months to go to a potential no-deal Brexit,
the committee had “a whole series of questions that parliament hasn’t
had answers to”. Kristiina Cooper of BBC Radio 4’s Today in Parliament
shared a video of the tense exchange on Twitter:
Nokes said that in talks with business groups, no employer had raised
that issue with her. This was disputed, with some saying they had
repeatedly raised the issue of what they would be required to do in
the event of no deal and had not been given any guidance.
“We’ve raised this as a source of serious concern for business
communities given the shortening timeframe,” said Mike Spicer,
director of economics and research at the British Chambers of
Commerce. “Businesses can’t plan on the basis of warm words; they need
to see written in black and white directions from the government about
how exactly this scheme will operate if no deal is reached.”
The Home Office said the government was “considering a number of
options” for a no-deal scenario and would “set out more information
shortly”. V.2582

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

 V.6131
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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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