The basic position is that persons other than British citizens may not enter the UK unless specific law or rules (generally made under the Immigration Act 1971 or the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 ) allow them to do so. The Secretary of State has wide powers to grant or refuse leave to enter (see the Immigration (Leave to Enter) Order 2001, SI 2001/2590).

However, nationals of the European Community and of the European Economic Area (and their family members) have legal rights of entry and are free to work in the UK. The current rules governing their rights are in the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/1003 (see Immigration/European Citizens ).

Whether or not a person is coming to work in the UK he or she may require a visa and to pay a fee (see notes at Immigration/Entry Clearance ). New rules in force on 18th February 2011 give the Home Office power to set fees for applications related to immigration or nationality and to charge for the provision of services or processes related to immigration or nationality (The Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Order 2011, SI 2011/445 and see the Home Office Visa Fees - April 2009 webpage). There is further detail in an Official Citizens Fees leaflet which includes information regarding the citizenship ceremony fee (£80 per person).

All workers must have "permission to work" in order to work legally in the UK. This could be, for example, an old Work Permit visa or one of the new Points Based System visas such as Tier 1 (General) or Tier 2 (General) - see Immigration/Points system overview . Work permits as such were abolished at end November 2008 (see Immigration/work permits ). The expression "Work Permit" was, and still often is, used inaccurately to describe any visa that allows a non-EEA national to work in the UK.

The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (replacing Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 s.8) provides that it is a criminal offence to employ a person knowing that they are not legally entitled to work in the UK. On conviction there is a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment and/or a fine. The 2006 Act also imposes civil penalties on employers of illegal workers as from 29th February 2008. The civil penalty rules provided for in the 2006 Act apply when an employer was unaware that the worker had no right to work in the UK subject to an exemption if the employer shows a statutory excuse (see notes at Immigration/illegal workers ).

Also it is a criminal offence under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 for an unauthorised person to provide immigration advice or immigration services. A new government watchdog, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC), monitors and regulates immigration advisers (see notes at Criminal law aspects/offences under employment legislation/immigration advice ).

The Home Office has a useful UKBA web-site of information for employers. The Immigration Law Practitioners'Association (tel 020 7251 8383) has a useful web-site dealing with legal aspects of immigration matters and the Government immigration web-site includes a comprehensive Home Office web site legal section with extensive references. The site includes the full text of the Immigration Rules as frequently amended.

See also notes at Immigration/2006 Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act .