Rights and status of frontier workers in the UK from 1 January 2021

Being a frontier worker depends on you having employment or self-employment in the UK. You can keep your frontier worker status if you are not working and one of the following applies:

• you’re temporarily unable to work because of an illness or accident
• you were working in the UK but are now involuntarily unemployed, and are looking for work in the UK
• you’re in vocational training while involuntarily unemployed
• you’re in vocational training while unemployed, and the training is related to the work you carried out in your previous work
• you’re temporarily unable to work as a result of pregnancy or childbirth
• you’re on maternity or paternity leave, and you will return to your previous employment, or find another job, at the end of this period

You’ll need to apply for a frontier worker permit to enter the UK as a frontier worker. We will update this page when more information is available.

Irish citizens do not need to do anything to continue working in the UK after 31 December 2020. Find out more about the rights of Irish citizens in the UK after Brexit.