UK and Irish documents most faked in Right to Work checks: TrustID

British and Irish identity documents make up over 80 percent of faked documents when it comes to Right to Work checks, according to a report from TrustID.

The UK-based identity verification firm looked at trends in fraudulent ID use when it comes to digital identity certification for Right to Work. The scheme was introduced in 2022 alongside Right to Rent checks and allows employers to carry out identity checks with the help of digital identity service providers.

Passports have become the most common fraudulent document within the past three years, according to the analysis. Among the top 10 faked passports are British, Irish, Portuguese, Italian and French with Irish passport cards seeing a huge increase throughout 2022 and 2023.

The results are unsurprising considering that the UK limited the number of documents that can be used for Right to Work checks in 2022. Employees can currently use only UK and Irish documents or an eVisa to prove their Right to Work or Right to Rent status.

Before Brexit, EU ID cards were one of the most common fraudulent document types. Post-Brexit, however, UK authorities stopped accepting EU documents and the most prevalent fakes became Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs), making up almost a fifth of all fraudulent documents. Since 2022, however, BRP cards are no longer accepted for Right to Work checks.

TrustID warns that employers also need to be on alert for genuine identity documents being used by imposters. The risk of getting Right to Work checks wrong is a fine of up to £60,000 (US$74,177) per illegal worker or five years in prison.

New regulation is also bringing changes to identity checks for Right to Work, Right to Rent and Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS). The UK Parliament is currently discussing the Data (Use and Access) Bill 2024, which establishes a trust framework for digital ID verification services in line with the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF). The process will be managed by the recently established Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA).

Article Topics

digital ID  |  Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF)  |  document verification  |  fraud prevention  |  identity document  |  OfDIA  |  TRUSTID  |  UK