National Insurance abroad
For information about your UK National Insurance (NI) contributions while abroad you can contact the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). HMRC can tell you if you have to pay NI contributions for periods you have worked or will work outside of the UK.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
The centre can help you:
- provide a statement of how much NI contributions you have already paid
- tell you if you have to pay UK NI contributions for any period that you have worked, or will work, outside the UK as either an employee or a self-employed person
- give you basic information about health care if you are moving or travelling outside the UK
- send you a Basic State Pension Forecast as long as you are not within four months of UK State Pension age
If your circumstances have changed while abroad
Contact HMRC quoting your National Insurance number and tell them what change has occurred and when it happened.
For example, if living abroad and you are a woman, you should tell HMRC if you get married or become divorced or widowed.
If you move house while abroad, you need to tell HMRC when you move and where you moved to. If you do not tell them when you move, HMRC will not be able to keep your records up-to-date. This means you cannot be contacted if your tax-year National Insurance contributions are not enough to count for benefit purposes.
HMRC would normally write to let you know how much you could pay in voluntary National Insurance contributions to make that year count. When you are nearing State Pension age, HMRC invite you to claim any basic State Pension you are entitled to. HMRC cannot do this if your current address is not up-to-date.
You can find out more information about your NI contributions from the HMRC's helpline or on the GOV.UK website.