Can a visa check work with an expired passport?

Both employment and rental housing require "digital verification," but the required documents are different. Just distinguishing the entry points is already complicated.

Changes in October, falling on digital inspection

The UK Government Digital Identity Office announced on September 3, 2026: the Version 1.1 supplementary specifications for the verification of right to work and right to rent came into effect on September 2, 2026, and related regulatory changes will be implemented on October 1, 2026. One of them is allowing eligible expired passports to be used for DVS (Digital Verification Service). This change involves Right to Work and Right to Rent, but the applicable documents are limited to British and Irish passports and Irish passport cards, and cannot be extended to all nationalities.

My judgment is: people with eVisa should not pay for this English passport DVS service, and should instead focus on account access and immigration identity verification.

Hold a UK visa or ILR, still check immigration records

This category includes people holding a Chinese passport, using eVisa to prove work visa, spouse visa, or permanent residency status. When employed, employers check work rights and restrictions through the Home Office online service; when renting in England, landlords check via the corresponding rental service. When preparing documents, first confirm that you can log in to your UKVI account, then generate the required share code and provide your date of birth. Being able to log in to the account and having records on the page are different checkpoints from the verification results showing permission to work; employers must also verify that the photo matches the person and check the working conditions listed in the system. Even if you have just obtained a new passport, you still need to complete the applicable immigration status verification; checking the authenticity of the passport alone cannot confirm these conditions.

The region for rental inspections also needs to be clarified: the Right to Rent system in this article applies to England, and cannot be directly applied as the landlord obligations throughout the whole UK.

British and Irish citizens, new six-month window

The other category includes British and Irish citizens who use the corresponding national passports, and the Irish passport card is also on the list. From October 1, 2026, DVS that comply with Version 1.1 of the Supplementary Specifications can use the above documents with an expiration date no more than six months past for digital verification. Both of the Supplementary Specifications' Section 3.1.b are based on the actual inspection date, therefore the six-month period cannot be fixed based on the date of receiving the offer, scheduling a viewing, or uploading documents. Those who plan to use old passports need to confirm that the actual verification date still falls within this window.

Holding ILR without naturalization will not result in being included in the British citizen passport group; the Chinese passport is also not listed in this DVS document list.

Within six months, also need to check the corner cutting and chip.

A detail that is easy to overlook is hidden in section 3.1.c and 3.2.b of the two supplementary specifications: documents must not have obvious cut corners; when using expired documents, their encrypted security features must also be verified. The official update explanation interprets this requirement as reading the chip. Therefore, "not expired for long" is only one of the conditions, and clear photos cannot replace chip verification. By October 1, 2026, when employers or landlords choose DVS, they must use services certified and registered under the trust framework and supplementary specifications for the corresponding purposes, in order to establish a legal basis for exemption.

The six-month rule applies to this digital inspection route. Home Office The current employer guidance Appendix A allows eligible British and Irish citizens to use expired passports for manual checks, without imposing the same six-month limit.

Confirm which route to take before submitting the documents

When receiving verification requirements, you can directly confirm whether the Home Office online check or the DVS check for UK and Irish citizens is being used. The former requires preparing your own electronic identity documents; the latter requires verifying the type of document, expiration date, and whether it has been cut, and then confirming the required checks for service support. If a UK or Irish citizen's passport has expired for more than six months, you can discuss with the employer the manual check that complies with the guidelines, and there is no need to delay the employment arrangement just because the digital entry cannot accept the document. Manual checks still require checking the original document, verifying the person concerned, and keeping records as required.

This document is for reference only. For specific issues, please consult a licensed attorney.

[Data Source] Update Notice from the UK Government's Digital Identity Office dated September 3, 2026; Section 3 to 4 of Version 1.1 of the "Supplementary Specifications for Digital Rental Verification"; Appendix A of the current "Employer Right to Work Verification Guide". The following quotation is from Section 3.1.c of the rental verification supplement specifications:

"not be visibly clipped"
The certificate shall not have obvious corner cutting.

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