Right to work
What it really means
Employers in the UK must check by law that everyone they hire is legally allowed to work here, so you will be asked for proof — for example a share code or passport check — before starting any job. What you can do depends on your visa; check the facts on GOV.UK and, for students, UKCISA.
Context, tips & common mistakes
Employers must check every new hire, British citizens included, so being asked is routine and not a comment on you; conversely, an employer offering to skip the check and pay cash should ring alarm bells, because informal work can jeopardise a visa. The share code system is the norm for most visa holders: generate the code through the official GOV.UK service (codes start with letters and expire after a set period), and give it with your date of birth. Students need to watch the hours limit — typically 20 hours a week in term time on a student visa, counted across all jobs combined, with the definition of 'term time' set by your institution. Exceeding it is a serious immigration breach even if each employer individually stayed within limits, so tell a second employer about the first. UKCISA publishes reliable student-specific guidance; for everything else the GOV.UK pages are the source employers themselves use.