Job seeking while passport with Home Office 4 PR

So today I was made redundant partially because of Brexit.

Long story short. I am petrified that I won't be able to apply for jobs or register with employment agencies cause I don't have my passport till the end of August cause it's with Home Office. I got only a copy of it and a recently expired Irish driving license.

Would anyone know if this will royally f**k me up in terms of job search or accepting/getting offers? I seem to remember having seen a board member here saying that she was refused for jobs because of the temporary lack of passport.

I can't really afford to sit idle job-wise till end of August...

thanks

tresgoya wrote:So today I was made redundant partially because of Brexit.

Long story short. I am petrified that I won't be able to apply for jobs or register with employment agencies cause I don't have my passport till the end of August cause it's with Home Office. I got only a copy of it and a recently expired Irish driving license.

...

thanks

Why not ask for passport back?
https://www.gov.uk/visa-documents-returned

noajthan wrote:

tresgoya wrote:So today I was made redundant partially because of Brexit.

Long story short. I am petrified that I won't be able to apply for jobs or register with employment agencies cause I don't have my passport till the end of August cause it's with Home Office. I got only a copy of it and a recently expired Irish driving license.

...

thanks

Why not ask for passport back?
https://www.gov.uk/visa-documents-returned

Hi dear (and always super helpful) noajthan,

Home Office advised me when I asked about this back in June that I can only request it back after 2 months of the application sent. Seeing I only sent it 2 weeks ago I still have a bit to go. Plus add the 10 days on top of that.

I just remembered I have my previous expired passport with a still valid US Visa in it. I wonder if that could do. I'm totally anxious. I feel rather positive and calm about finding job (though maybe now after Brexit I shouldn't be, but trying to keep it on the bright side), but if this could prevent me accepting offers or even registering with agencies that could really really hurt me on many levels..

tresgoya wrote:Hi dear (and always super helpful) noajthan,

Home Office advised me when I asked about this back in June that I can only request it back after 2 months of the application sent. Seeing I only sent it 2 weeks ago I still have a bit to go. Plus add the 10 days on top of that.

I just remembered I have my previous expired passport with a still valid US Visa in it. I wonder if that could do. I'm totally anxious. I feel rather positive and calm about finding job (though maybe now after Brexit I shouldn't be, but trying to keep it on the bright side), but if this could prevent me accepting offers or even registering with agencies that could really really hurt me on many levels..

Hello,
Ah, that's true you'll have to wait a bit.
Well unfortunately, you may still find you need a valid passport, visa alone may not be not enough.

This is what your next employer will be looking for:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... nts_v5.pdf

noajthan wrote:Well unfortunately, you may still find you need a valid passport, visa alone may not be not enough.

This is what your next employer will be looking for:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... nts_v5.pdf

Page 14 of that guide says,

Examples of passports and national identity cards may be seen here and you may accept an expired EEA or Swiss passport to establish the right to work (although check the photograph carefully against the physical image of the holder).

So, if Tresgoya's appearance has not changed too much, the current passport is not required. I take it there is no current Spanish ID card - that too would be a suitable document for employment purposes.

Or is a cancelled, as opposed to merely expired, passport not acceptable. Perhaps an expired ID card would be better.

You could do a bit of freelance work as self-employed? Don't know what you do but that + redundancy pay could get you through to the end of August.

Richard W wrote:

noajthan wrote:Well unfortunately, you may still find you need a valid passport, visa alone may not be not enough.

This is what your next employer will be looking for:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... nts_v5.pdf

Page 14 of that guide says,

Examples of passports and national identity cards may be seen here and you may accept an expired EEA or Swiss passport to establish the right to work (although check the photograph carefully against the physical image of the holder).

So, if Tresgoya's appearance has not changed too much, the current passport is not required. I take it there is no current Spanish ID card - that too would be a suitable document for employment purposes.

Or is a cancelled, as opposed to merely expired, passport not acceptable. Perhaps an expired ID card would be better.

Thanks Richard! that would be great...I still look the same..haha. I mean i hope most of the employers will be understanding about this. It's not like I cannot present ID. Just cannot present it for another 2 months. Also my Irish ID is the old foldable one, so thought they likely won't see it is expired unless they fold it out which I doubt they will as it has my photo and name on the cover. So I might try pulling that trick and not draw attention to its expiration...

@Kiril - I should be fine for another 3 months yeah. I'm just worried that companies now will not be keen hiring EU people seeing there's such an uncertainty about our status. I couldn't really freelance in my line of work so that is not really an option.

tresgoya wrote:Thanks Richard! that would be great...I still look the same..haha. I mean i hope most of the employers will be understanding about this. It's not like I cannot present ID. Just cannot present it for another 2 months. Also my Irish ID is the old foldable one, so thought they likely won't see it is expired unless they fold it out which I doubt they will as it has my photo and name on the cover. So I might try pulling that trick and not draw attention to its expiration...

Sorry I got your nationality wrong. I see from one of your posts thay you're from one of the A8 countries. You would need the ID card from that country, unless you're saying you're also Irish.

If your old passport is not enough, you will have to persuade a potential employer to use the employer checking service. I'm not sure though that it is set up merely to confirm that your passport is in their possession.

Richard W wrote:

tresgoya wrote:Thanks Richard! that would be great...I still look the same..haha. I mean i hope most of the employers will be understanding about this. It's not like I cannot present ID. Just cannot present it for another 2 months. Also my Irish ID is the old foldable one, so thought they likely won't see it is expired unless they fold it out which I doubt they will as it has my photo and name on the cover. So I might try pulling that trick and not draw attention to its expiration...

Sorry I got your nationality wrong. I see from one of your posts thay you're from one of the A8 countries. You would need the ID card from that country, unless you're saying you're also Irish.

If your old passport is not enough, you will have to persuade a potential employer to use the employer checking service. I'm not sure though that it is set up merely to confirm that your passport is in their possession.

well I haven't been or lived in my original home country for more than 13 years so i have no such ID card. I do not have Irish citizenship either, though I lived there for many years before moving to the U.K. So whatever I have will just have to do.

I checked the link but there is no option for employer to check PR application status and I also have no case number so I guess that is a no go.

I however can present P60s & P45s and the expired docs, so I hope that will prevail with agencies. For employers you'd only need the passport once the offer is in with the contract and since I do have a notice till September hopefully by that time I shall have it back.

It has to be enough in cases like this. It's ridiculous otherwise...It's not like I just landed in the country. Been working and paying taxes for 7 years ffs

Even if you have a passport, some employers and agencies will still check your identity online using Experian, CallMl etc. Maybe you could just ask them to rely on this until you have your passport back? Also, if you have a UK driving licence (even a provisional one, while you are still taking lessons), that can be used as a proof of identity (not for travelling overseas though). You have to send in your passport to apply for the driving licence though, so not much help to you now. You usually get it back within 2-3 weeks.
Good luck with your application. I have survived 2008 but being a foreigner made finding and keeping a job really difficult: I had a string of temporary and/or minimum salary paying jobs during the period, and at times I felt I was doing work experience, as my wages did not cover the bills (and I was housesharing and spending really the bare minimum). Even when the economy started to recover (2010 onwards), most agencies would only offer 1-year contracts covering maternity leaves etc. I hope a British passport will make life easier for me in the future. Even if I don’t get perceived as British by many people, at least I will be allowed to vote in all elections!

WalSag wrote:Even if you have a passport, some employers and agencies will still check your identity online using Experian, CallMl etc. Maybe you could just ask them to rely on this until you have your passport back? Also, if you have a UK driving licence (even a provisional one, while you are still taking lessons), that can be used as a proof of identity (not for travelling overseas though). You have to send in your passport to apply for the driving licence though, so not much help to you now. You usually get it back within 2-3 weeks.
Good luck with your application. I have survived 2008 but being a foreigner made finding and keeping a job really difficult: I had a string of temporary and/or minimum salary paying jobs during the period, and at times I felt I was doing work experience, as my wages did not cover the bills (and I was housesharing and spending really the bare minimum). Even when the economy started to recover (2010 onwards), most agencies would only offer 1-year contracts covering maternity leaves etc. I hope a British passport will make life easier for me in the future. Even if I don’t get perceived as British by many people, at least I will be allowed to vote in all elections!

Thanks! HO actually sent back my passport after a month under magical circumstances. They said I had asked for it. I hadn't. But hey! They were super fast for whatever reason and now I can comfortably register with agencies and sign contracts with employers. I'm a happy camper! I hope I have similar luck with the job search

I know it's old post but I wanted to add that not only recruiting agencies don't want to sign you in without passport, but also in my case, even after I found job and passed all the interviews, tests etc. and although I presented them with my nonEU passport and valid EEA Family permit inside (before I made my application for EEA(FM)), still at the end I was not hired. The explanation was that they are afraid to hire me and they don't want to hire employees without UK passport, EU passport, RP etc. Even when I "educated" them and assured them that it is legal to hire meand they are not breaking any laws, still nothing. So this tells me that even big UK companies, have HR departments that don't read well the Home Office's website on how to check if the employee is eligible for work. They just don't care and seems that don't wanna bother with immigrants. Very frustrating.