Renfrewshire Council

Taxi and Private Hire Licences and the Immigration Act

In line with the Immigration Act 2016, immigration checks devised by the Home Office are carried out by the Council for all drivers and new applicants. These checks apply to all drivers, irrespective of their nationality, ethnic or national origin or length of time living in the UK (or length of experience in the taxi or private hire trades) when they apply after that date. 

You must comply with the law, to ensure your application can be accepted or proceed. 

For those with limited permission to be in the UK, these checks will be required at each subsequent application until the driver can demonstrate an indefinite entitlement to remain (and therefore no restriction on his ability to work). For those drivers with time-limited right to remain, any licence can only be issued up to the end of the period of permission to be in the UK and work.

Your right to work in the UK will be checked as part of your licence application and this could include the licensing authority checking your immigration status with the Home Office. You must therefore provide a document or document combination that is stipulated as being suitable for this check. Lists of acceptable documents are set out below, which apply depending if you have a permanent (List A) or temporary (List B) right to work in the UK. The documents you present must be the originals and must meet all the requirements shown at the links below. You, as the applicant, must attend the Council's Customer Service Centre in person to produce these original documents, so that the check can take place. The documents will then be checked in your presence. The documents will be copied and the copy retained by the Council. The original document will then be returned to you.

Your application may not be considered valid until all the necessary information and original documents have been produced and the relevant fee has been paid.

If there are restrictions on the length of time you may work in the UK, your licence will not be issued for any longer than this period. In such circumstances, the check will be repeated each time you apply to renew or extend your licence. If, during this period, you are disqualified from holding a licence because you have not complied with the UK's immigration laws, your licence will cease to have effect and you must return it to the licensing authority. Failure to do so is a criminal offence.

The Council will still require to consult the police prior to considering any application for a licence.

The Council's existing policies, including those in relation to criminal record checks, still apply.

List A

No restrictions on right to work in the UK. Once the Council has undertaken the necessary check once and retained the copy, the Council may not have to repeat the check when you subsequently apply to renew or extend your licence. 

  1. A passport showing the holder, or a person named in the passport as the child of the holder, is a British citizen or a citizen of the UK and Colonies having the right of abode in the UK. 
  2. A passport or national identity card showing the holder, or a person named in the passport as the child of the holder, is a national of a European Economic Area country or Switzerland.
  3. A Registration Certificate or Document Certifying Permanent Residence issued by the Home Office to a national of a European Economic Area country or Switzerland.
  4. A Permanent Residence Card issued by the Home Office to the family member of a national a European Economic Area country or Switzerland.
  5. A current Biometric Immigration Document (Biometric Residence Permit) issued by the Home Office to the holder indicating that the person named is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK, or has no time limit on their stay in the UK.
  6. A current passport endorsed to show that the holder is exempt from immigration control, is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK, has the right of abode in the UK, or has no time limit on their stay in the UK.
  7. A current Immigration Status Document issued by the Home Office to the holder with an endorsement indicating that the named person is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK or has no time limit on their stay in the UK, together with an official document giving the person's permanent National Insurance number and their name issued by a Government agency or a previous employer. 
  8. A full birth or adoption certificate issued in the UK which includes the name(s) of at least one of the holder's parents or adoptive parents (including an official extract of an entry in the register of births in Scotland in long form), together with an official document giving the person's permanent National Insurance number and their name issued by a Government agency or a previous employer.
  9. A birth or adoption certificate issued in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Ireland, together with an official document giving the person's permanent National Insurance number and their name issued by a Government agency or a previous employer.
  10. A certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen, together withan official document giving the person's permanent National Insurance number and their name issued by a Government agency or a previous employer.

List B

Restrictions on right to work in the UK. The Council may issue the licence (subject to statutory limitations) up to the expiry date of the permission to work in the UK. The Council will need to check immigration status each time you apply to renew or extend your licence. 

  1. A current passport endorsed to show that the holder is allowed to stay in the UK and is currently allowed to do the type of work in question. 
  2. A current Biometric Immigration Document (Biometric Residence Permit) issued by the Home Office to the holder which indicates that the named person can currently stay in the UK and is allowed to do the work in question.
  3. A current Residence Card (including an Accession Residence Card or a Derivative Residence Card) issued by the Home Office to a non-European Economic Area national who is a family member of a national of a European Economic Area country or Switzerland or who has a derivative right of residence.
  4. A Certificate of Application issued by the Home Office under regulation 17(3) or 18A (2) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006, to a family member of a national of a European Economic Area country or Switzerland stating that the holder is permitted to take employment which is less than 6 months old together with Verification from the Home Office Evidence and Enquiry Unit. The licence may be granted for six months from the date of the Certificate of Application.
  5. A current Immigration Status Document containing a photograph issued by the Home Office to the holder with a valid endorsement indicating that the name person may stay in the UK, and is allowed to do the type of work in question, together with an official document giving the person's permanent National Insurance number and their name issued by a Government agency or a previous employer.
  6. A Verification issued by the Home Office Evidence and Enquiry Unit to you, which indicates that the named person may stay in the UK and work because they have an in time application, appeal or administrative review and which is outstanding. The licence may be issued for six months from the date of the licence decision.