The Immigration Act 2016 places a duty on the council to ensure that no person obtains a Hackney Carriage or Private Hire driver and operator licence if they do not have a legal right to work in the UK. Upon first application (and upon first renewal after 1 December 2016 for existing licence holders) applicants will be required to prove their right to work in the UK by supplying one of the official documents listed in the document below. The applicant must be present when the document is supplied; it is not possible for the document to be presented by another person. A copy of the document will be retained in order at the instruction of the Home Office.
Also, please note, if you provide a document from list B you will be required to produce proof of right to work upon all future renewal dates.
If you are applying to renew an operator licence, or applying for a new licence which is the same type of licence you already hold with another authority, or it is for the same type of licence previously held with this authority, that ceased to be valid less than a year before the date of application, you must carry out a tax check via the online HMRC portal, and provide the authority with the nine digit tax check code it provides you. Without this code it will not be possible for the authority to grant a private hire or hackney carriage driver licence.
If you are applying for a new licence, and the points mentioned in the above paragraph do not apply, you will be required to sign a declaration confirming that you are aware of your need to register for tax purposes, and you will do so. This declaration will be contained on the application form.
For more information visit the HMRC guidance website.