International drivers in the UK: visa, right to work, PHV licensing

Who this is for

You were not born in the UK. You moved here on a Skilled Worker visa, Graduate visa, Spouse visa, pre-settled or settled status, refugee status, or you are an Irish citizen or a returning British citizen who needs to exchange a foreign licence. You want to drive Uber, Bolt or Amazon Flex, or ride for Deliveroo. The paperwork is more complicated than for UK-born drivers and the penalties for getting it wrong are heavier: civil penalties up to £60,000 per illegal worker have hit operators who did not check substitution. Here is what actually applies to you.

Your first moves (first 30 days)

• Run your share code on GOV.UK right-to-work. Deliveroo, Uber and Flex all require this, and the Home Office is now auto-checking platform data against its own records. Make sure your name, photo and status match exactly.
• Check your visa's self-employment conditions. Skilled Worker is tied to your sponsor: no self-employment as your main role. Graduate, Spouse, pre-settled and settled all allow self-employment. Student does not.
• Exchange your non-UK driving licence if you are from a designated country (check DVLA list). Otherwise you need to pass UK theory and practical tests within the window set by your visa start date (usually 12 months).
• Apply for a PHV licence with the correct council. In London that is TfL: Group 2 medical, enhanced DBS, SERU, topographical assessment, English test (where required). Outside London, your local licensing council. Expect £300 to £700 in total fees and 8 to 16 weeks processing.
• Save every document. Home Office, council and HMRC can all ask you to prove status years later. Substitution (letting another person drive on your account) can trigger a £60,000 civil penalty per worker.

Guides you need

• right to work and immigration on gig platforms
• PHV licensing outside London by council
• TfL SERU, topographical, Group 2 medical
• self-assessment for non-UK-born drivers
• hire and reward insurance for PHV drivers
• worker status applies regardless of where you were born
• deactivation for document mismatch: appeal routes
• opening a UK business account as a new arrival

Tools you need

• worker status self test — establishes rights independent of immigration status
• sa tax shock estimator — including first-year split-year treatment
• acas deadline calculator — if you are deactivated you still have three months to act
• trading allowance check — decides whether you need to file at all in year one

Crisis pages to bookmark

• visa expires next month — first page to read in a panic
• partner applied without me knowing — substitution fraud by family, common and dangerous
• facial recognition failed — Worker Info Exchange and IWGB have flagged higher false-match rates for non-white drivers, appeal fast

Last reviewed

19 April 2026