As a citizen of South Africa, Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the European Union, you can visit the UK without a visa anytime provided you do not intend to conduct long-time business in the country. Your passport only guarantees you a right to enter the UK, not the right to an NI Number. You can start your own business and seek employment, but having a valid work-permitting visa is a prerequisite for seeking an NI Number.
The process for getting a national insurance number allocated to you will remain the same irrespective of your Nationality. Basically you have two options – get assistance or DIY.
If you DIY you will have to call up JobCentre Plus, seek an appointment for an Evidence of Identity (EOI) interview, and appear for the interview at the scheduled day and time with all relevant documentation to verify your personal as well work details. JobCentre Plus will also have to verify eligibility for applying for an NI Number. While British Citizens are allotted a national insurance number when they turn of age, and everyone has to have one, citizens of other countries are not always guaranteed a national insurance number.
Before arriving in the UK
There are two ways you can start the process. One is to contact an agency and provide them with all your details, personal as well as business and they will seek an EOI interview appointment for you at a time and location most suited to you. You can have this process initiated online as well so your waiting time, after landing in the UK, is shorter. Once you appear for the interview, your eligibility and identity will be verified and you can wait for your NI number card to come in your mailbox in four to eight weeks’ time. The agency will charge you a fee for scheduling your appointment and guiding you through the stages of this process, including help in filing paperwork.
After arriving in the UK
Secondly, if you have time to spare, you can start the process after you have landed in the UK, before or after you start working. You will have to call up JobCentre Plus, seek an EOI interview, prove your identity and work/visa status in the UK and then be allotted an NI number. Do bear in mind that this will lengthen your wait for getting an NI number, since you will first have to wait for an EOI interview date and then, if you qualify, you will be sent an NI Number card in the mail. The total time in this whole process can easily take anywhere from 6 to 10 weeks.
Documents to take to the EOI Interview
Following is a list of documents that will come in handy for the EOI interview:
- Identity: Passport, National Identity card
- Employment: Work permit, payslip or job contract
- Self-employed: invoices, letters or copies of contracts signed by clients
If you have any other documents that can also help in verifying who you are and what you do in the UK, bring them along as a proof as well.
I am a British national living in South Africa. I want to go to England to work for 3 months. I have a valid British Passport. Where can I have an interview for a NI number in South Africa? Thanks. P.
Hi Peter, Thanks for the question. Not possible I am afraid it is only available in the UK. Quinn
Hi Peter, There are many spots throughout the city. This can be organised in advance for your arrival if you like using a service or alternately just wait till you get there and sort it out yourself – See Get Assistance Quinn
I’m Australian (with an Australian passport) but also hold a British passport and hope to be travelling and later working in the UK for a month or so this year. At the moment, I don’t have a set date for being in the UK but I leave Australia in June. Do I need to get a NI number even though I have a British passport? What’s the process? (as I may not be able to organise a set interview date) Thank you
Hi Ash,
The short answer is Yes – even British people need them, but usually they get them automatically on their 16th birthday (if you live there)
Please refer to the British Section – https://easyninumber.com/national-insurance-numbers-for-british-citizens/
Hope this helps, but happy to answer follow up questions!
Quinn
Hi,
I’m from the Czech Republic and I’m planning to spend two months in London next summer and get a temp job. Can I get the NI before my arrival to the Great Britain or I will have to wait several weeks for my NIN and only then I can search for a job? And is it easy to get NIN or they give it just to some of the applicants finally:
Thanks for help!
Jane
Hi Jane, You will have to wait until you arrive because you are from the EU. You can definitely start searching for a job immediately! Almost everyone will get an NI number – no problem, it just takes some time for them to process it. Cheers, Quinn
hi i:m a British passaportt holder I like to go too Canada to work do I need {NI} and haw can I get can some body tell me pleas I wont and live in Canada thanks Marko
Hi Marko, Canada does not recognise the NI number, but they have something very similar called a SIN (Social Insurance Number) you will need one of those in Canada. Cheers, Quinn
Hi there,
I have recently been employed on a fixed term contract in the UK and am in the process of applying for my NI number. My wife is joining me in a month or so’s time and is not intending to work (rather she is doing the more difficult work of raising a 3 year old).
Does she need to, or should she regardless, apply for a NI number?
Thanks for your help
Cheers
Chris
Hi Chris,
Great question. I can relate to fact that her job is harder 🙂 It is a complex answer however – http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ni/intro/number.htm
See the paragraph, “When and how to apply for a National Insurance number”
For example, she may be eligible for benefits because you are working and she is the primary carer and the NI Number is what links you as a family … I do not know if this is actually the case, but just wanted to illustrate with an example.
Unfortunately I cannot give a definitive answer because it really comes down to personal circumstances, but I hope if you read through this article you it might become clear.
Cheers,
Quinn
Hi Quinn,
Thanks for the information.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Quinn,
My partner has just obtained his defacto relationship visa (he’s Australian) and has a job waiting for him in London when we are arrive back.
I know he needs to get a National Insurance number – as he has a job, will this be done through his work or does he still need to follow the DIY route you mention above.
Many thanks in advance for your help.
Cheers,
Katy
Hi Katy,
Getting an NI number is something you have to do yourself usually. An employer may be able to help somewhat, like helping with the paperwork, but in my experience most just expect you to have it. So he can DIY or use a service to assist. If you uses a service he can very likely avoid the EOI interview based on his Nationality. (The reason avoiding the interview is possible is because for him to get the visa he has, he has already jumped through a whole heap of hoops)
Hope this helps!
Quinn
Hi,
I am an Australian National (currently living in Australia) and I also have Slovenia citizenship and a Slovenian passport.
I would like to go to the UK and work for a while (I have been offerred casual jobs and pub work).
I have been told that I don’t need a Visa if I enter the UK using my Slovenian passport but I still need a National Insurance Number – is it possible for me to apply online before I arrive in the UK? If yes, how do I do this? If no, what do I need to do when I get to the UK?
Thank you for your help.
Hi Sneza, Any Nationality can get assistance and I do think it is a good idea to avoid a lot of potential hassles. You can also get the ball rolling before you arrive – no probs.
Hi I am an Irish Citizen, working in healthcare sector. I am permanently residing in Ireland and Pay tax over here. I am planning for UK Locum works Do I need to pay tax in the UK or can I pay it in Ireland. I am happy to apply for the NI number; but as I arrive to work after hours or weekends, I cant attend an Interview process. Any suggestions
Hi, You will have to somehow arrange to do the interview to get an NI number. Important to note that paying tax and having an NI are separate. The good news is you will not have to pay tax twice!
Hi, I want to know if am qualified to be a british since i lived for 5 years as child and went back to nigeria, when i completed 16yrs my NI was sent to my aunty in london, am still in nigeria and want to know if it will be possible for me to use when i come back to england?
Yes it is – The NIN you were given will be the same one when you go back.
hi. I am British but have lived in Australia for 30 years. How can I obtain my National Insurance number as I can’t find any old documents with it on
Hi Margaret,
Does not matter how long you have been in Oz – if you were in the UK when you were in 16 you may have one. If this is the case just choose one of the three recovery methods. If not, you have two options – DIY or use a service. If you are in no hurry to work and get paid the full amount – DIY otherwise I strongly suggest using a service.
Hi
A Canadian citizen with NI can work in Uk or you need to apply for working visa?
You will need a work visa as well.
Hi,
I lived in the UK for a few months in 2009. At the time, I applied for a NI number and got it. However, I didn’t work in the UK because I had to return to my country sooner than I expected. I still have the NI card but is it still valid after all this time? I didn’t use it anywhere, the address is obviously outdated. Can I just go to a jobcentre and update my personal details or do I need to reapply?
Regards,
Sara Andreia
Hi Sara, Yes indeed! You are all set except changing the address. Probably better to do this via mail or online rather then going into jobcentre…
Hi,
My daughter is turning 16 in Sept, she was born in the UK & lived there until she was 5yr, we now live in South Africa but I want a NI number for her as she will be returning next yr, How do we apply for a NI number for her.
Many Thanks,
Kevin
She may already have one! See if you can retrieve it first. Then if not, I recommend using a service to help guide her.
I am EU citizen (Poland). I lived in UK back in 1974 -78 and went to school there at the time. As I turned 16 in 1978 I was given my NINo (I am in possession of the original card with number). However I have never used it as I have not lived nor worked in UK since that time. Is my NINo still valid ? Can I use it to work in UK ?
Hi Marek, It will be still valid but it is not the same as a work visa. Cheers, Quinn
Hi,
I am on tier-1 entrepreneur visa. Can I apply for NI number?? I have already BRP with me. but coming to settle my business in June . regards
Hmm interesting question. I think in most situations you will because if you act within the business as an employee then you will.
Hi
i have duel citizenship Canadian and British i lived and worked in England until i was 17 1/2 then moved to Canada i must of had a NIN but must of lost it, where do i go to recover it the last year i worked in England was 1976 im thinking of moving back to the UK so i will probable need this NIN, any help would be appreciated
yours Andy
There are 3 ways to retrieve it which I wrote about here – https://easyninumber.com/national-insurance-numbers-for-british-citizens/ Cheers, Quinn
Hi Quinn
Your answers have been very helpful. Thank you.
I am a South African citizen travelling on a de facto visa. As far as I understand South Africans cannot do locum work in the UK because they do not have a National Insurance number? Do you know anything about this? If I am on a de facto visa – surely I can apply for my NI which makes me eligible to locum throughout the UK?
Cheers,
Lize
Hi Lize, You can get an NI number because you can legally work there! Locum work or any other type of work is irrelevant becasue you can do it all. 🙂
Thank you for your help Quinn. 🙂
Hello,
My Name is Romould Dsouza an I am holding Portugal passport and working in India,Planning to come in UK for Work.
1) Can I Apply for NI Number from India before arriving to UK?
You can make inquiries to the service I recommend and get your ducks in a row. However you actual application cannot be submitted until you are in the country.