National Insurance Contributions When Emigrating

HMRC Centre for Non-Residents

As a non UK resident, you may be liable to continue to pay NICs whilst working outside of the UK. You can find this out by informing HMRC of your own personal situation. They will then be able to decide whether you should be paying NI contributions. If you do have to pay NICs for a period where you are working in another country in the EEA (European Economic Area), you will be sent a certificate known as an A1. This certificate ensures that you are not liable to pay any contributions in the country you have moved to. You may also receive a similar certificate for countries that form a reciprocal agreement with the UK. A list of these countries can be obtained by contacting your local HMRC office or the HMRC Centre for Non-Residents.

When You Must Pay NICs Abroad

When you move abroad, you must pay NICs for the first 52 weeks you’re there if your employer has a UK based office, you are ordinarily resident in the UK and have lived there immediately before commencing employment in your new country. In these instances, you will continue to pay Class 1 NICs as though you were resident in the UK. After the first 52 weeks, you can opt to pay voluntary Class 2 or Class 3 contributions to maintain your UK benefits.

Voluntary National Insurance Contributions When Moving Abroad

Many people choose not to continue paying NICs when moving abroad. The option does exist however for UK citizens to pay a voluntary contribution in order to maintain their right to national insurance benefits. Some of the main benefits of paying NICs include the right to a State Pension, incapacity benefit, bereavement allowance and contributory jobseekers allowance. If you’re self-employed abroad, you can continue to pay Class 2 or Class 3 contributions so that you maintain your UK contributions benefits. You should speak to HMRC for further advice on this.

How to Pay When Living Abroad

The easiest way to ensure your NICs are paid on time is to set up a direct debit. This will mean you can never overlook them and they will always arrive when they should. Another alternative is to pay annually in arrears directly to HMRC. Another option is to nominate a volunteer in the UK who can pay your NICs for you. Your agent will receive the letter requesting your payment and they can then pay directly or via direct debit. There are many ways to organise payment and they are all fairly straightforward.

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