My experience about getting National Insurance number in the UK.

Working part-time job in the UK: conditions

         Many international students find it really important to get some part-time work experience while being in the UK. It gives us a chance to explore what it is like to work in the British work environment as well as to improve our CV. There are a few conditions that we have to follow as international students in order to start working part-time in the UK.   The conditions depend on where you come from but generally speaking   they are quite similar for all international students. First of all, on your visa it should be indicated how many hours you’re allowed to work while you are studying in the UK.  This rule is very strict and you have to follow it so that there will be no problems regarding your employment as well as your monthly pay  in the future. In my case it is    up to 20 hours a week. Normally, I work around 11 hours a week. Secondly, ALL international students (including EU) have to get a National Insurance number. You can find all the information about NI on this website: https://www.gov.uk/ .

How  to get the NI?

         From my own experience I would advise you to get a NI as soon as you start working. If you’re a student from the EU what you need to do is call the  number indicated  on the website that I provided  above.  You will be asked a few questions and afterwards get allocated to an appointment in the local Job centre.  During the appointment you will be asked a few questions regarding your job and study and voilà! Approximately in a couple of weeks you will receive your NI by post.

If you’re not from the EU zone  like me- what you need to do is  to call the same number  as EU students that in  provided on the website and have a quick interview  consisting of a few questions about your employment, visa and personal information.  In a couple of week ( sometimes even less) you will get your NI.

 How I got  my NI: MISTAKES TO AVOID/ LESSONS TO LEARN  

           For me it was quite a long process to get an NI.  I lived in the apartment   that  postmen  could  never find. Even the Royal  Mail Online Finder failed to  find my address.  By the way,  I would strongly recommend you to check your address before applying  for the NI (check the hyperlink).  

When I called to  have an interview for my NI it turned out they did not have my flat’ s address  in the system. Likely, I was lucky enough to move out in a couple of weeks at the time and move in on campus for  my summer job. When I moved in I called them-two other problems occurred . When I called them the service on my phone was not working very well. Plus, I realised I would  go home just in a couple of weeks.  Woman on the  phone was struggling to hear me but still recorded my information. I waited for a couple of weeks but the NI never came. Perhaps, it came later (when I already left the UK) or   because of the bad service on the phone the woman recorded the wrong information- the reason does not matter now. What matters is the fact that you should always make sure the reception on the phone is good when calling to sort out important stuff. Additionally, make sure you have enough time to receive the NI ( that you are not leaving the country soon and have at least 3 weeks to wait for it).

I came back in September. I applied for  the NI straight after my arrival to Norwich. They asked me to scan  my passport and send  the copies via post with the envelope they sent me  a week after the call. I  followed the instruction. In a week I received a letter claiming I did not provide enough info on my scan (specifically the information about my entries/ exists from the UK). Therefore, make sure your scans provide the information requited in the letter. I did the scans again and wrote a letter to them with all entries/ exits. In a week I got my NI together with my friend from the EU zone. 

I hope you have learned the lessons and  won't make mistakes I have made. You are very welcome to ask me any questions about how to get the NI.

Alina Maximova

Kazakhstani students ambassador