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> It just didn't occur to me that one of my responsibilities (?) would be to keep up with current immigration legislation, just in case the rights I was initially awarded indefinitely would suddenly be changed in a way which is disruptive to my life. It kind of scares me to think that things like this can be changed on a whim. I don't really know what to think.

Life involves keeping a lot of different paperwork up to date: driver's licenses, passports, tax filings, car registration, etc. If you're an immigrant, keeping up those documents is a part of that too. I'm a naturalized citizen in the U.S., so I know dealing with the paperwork can be a pain. But the U.K. didn't pull a fast one on you. The BRP doesn't change your right to work--it's just a document you need proving your right to work. There are also other documents you can use: https://www.kent.ac.uk/hr-managementinformation/documents/el... (page 4).

And the BRP is not new. They've been rolling them out since 2008: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm.... All the U.K. changed this year was the policy of accepting an ILR stamp on an expired passport as an acceptable proof of work authorization. You can still transfer that stamp to a new passport and use that as acceptable proof, without getting a BRP.

Note: In the U.S., and probably in the U.K., even citizens have to have some sort of work authorization documents: http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-9.pdf. Usually a passport, or drivers license + social security card.

> You can still transfer that stamp to a new passport and use that as acceptable proof, without getting a BRP.

Only if you are outside of the country:

> You’re in the UK: You can’t transfer your visa to your new passport. Instead, you’ll need to apply for a biometric residence permit (BRP)

https://www.gov.uk/transfer-visa

From my understanding you're not "working illegally", but you need this new card, that's it

Other countries, such as Ireland have a similar card (it's called the GNIB card - it's not as expensive as the UK but not cheap as well - also delivered much faster)

"just in case the rights I was initially awarded indefinitely would suddenly be changed in a way which is disruptive to my life"

This happens to citizens as well in several ways.

> From my understanding you're not "working illegally"...

Yeah, she was never working illegally.

In fact, assuming she'd started her job before April 2015 and her employer had properly verified that she had the right to work in the UK (which they could do by checking that she had ILR, even if it was in an expired passport), everything was fine. She wasn't working illegally, and her workplace had no reason to suspend her.

Mind you, she'd still need a BRP (or at least have applied for a BRP) to get a new job.

Thanks for your comment, and my sympathies to you. As someone who is not even comfortable with my own country's passport requirements (fingerprints to be taken in Netherlands, processed in France by a US company), I can only imagine what it's like to live as an immigrant in modern-day Europe (I have no illusion that the mainland fares any better in this regard).

>It just didn't occur to me that one of my responsibilities (?) would be to keep up with current immigration legislation

Unfortunately, you do have to do that. As a green card holder, I try to keep in touch with any potential changes in legislation. Incredibly boring since most often nothing new, but for example the Patriot Act added a bunch of new requirements for non-citizens.

>just in case the rights I was initially awarded indefinitely would suddenly be changed in a way which is disruptive to my life.

This can happen, and is not limited to immigration. Someone can build a business and face issues years later when the government adds new regulations. Couples adopt kids from abroad and then see the rules change and face a lot of troubles (happened to one of my friends who adopted from Russia). Laws change.

Also I'm an American citizen, since some people were asking.

If you have Italian or Spanish grandparents it would've been easier to apply for either of those passports and then you're granted to work and live in the UK forever.

In the UK, voting aside, it's easier to live with a EU passport than with a UK one. And cheaper, by the way; renewing your UK passport is prohibitive.

> you're granted to work and live in the UK forever.

What if the UK leaves the EU?

This is interesting. I'm a Canadian here on a temporary work visa in a similar situation: my expired passport has my visa. I carry my old and new passports whenever I leave the country. I'm going to be sponsoring my spouse (dependant visa) soon, so I'm reading about the BRP very carefully now...