Now that you have moved to the UK, you are probably going to have to work for a living. In UK, you need a National Insurance Number (abbreviated as NINo ...), which is similar to an IRD number in NZ.
The process is fairly straight forward and did not take as long as they adviced.
Here is my experience when I applied for my NINo after I arrived in UK
Step 1. Call Jobcentre Plus at 0345 600 0643.
The line is open Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm and apparently least busy before 9am. You will need to have your visa on hand to confirm you have the right to work in UK and hence this is why you are applying for this number.
Unfortunately this number will cost you money (unless you have a line with 01/02/03 inclusive minutes), it costs approx. up to 9p/min phoning from landline or approx. 8 to 40p/min phoning from your mobile. I called just after 9am (I'm not a morning person), the whole call took me just under 6 min and I didn't have to wait at all before my call was picked up.
Step 2. Wait for an application pack to arrive.
They said it takes 6 - 10 days, and I received it in 8 days.
Step 3. Fill out the application.
I didn't turn my letter around and read the part that says you need to fill it out using a black ink ha!
Step 4. Post off your application.
They give you a freepost envelop and you also need to send photocopy of your passport and visa. By the way, the normal post box cut off time is 5.30pm.
Step 5. More waiting.
I was quoted it takes another 6 - 10 days for them to received and then 6 weeks to get your NINo. I received mine in 17 days (2.5 weeks) after posting it.
The whole thing took me just under one month - nice work!
You can only apply for this number when you are in UK, and you might as well do so before you get a job so you don't have to worry about getting a temporary number.
Additional info:
The NINo is alphanumeric in the format of AA 00 00 00 A and the temporary NINo is 00 A0 00 00
Note the above Jobcentre number have since changed from when I called it, apparently they consolidated some numbers. Always get the latest info from the Official information page
The process is fairly straight forward and did not take as long as they adviced.
Here is my experience when I applied for my NINo after I arrived in UK
Step 1. Call Jobcentre Plus at 0345 600 0643.
The line is open Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm and apparently least busy before 9am. You will need to have your visa on hand to confirm you have the right to work in UK and hence this is why you are applying for this number.
Unfortunately this number will cost you money (unless you have a line with 01/02/03 inclusive minutes), it costs approx. up to 9p/min phoning from landline or approx. 8 to 40p/min phoning from your mobile. I called just after 9am (I'm not a morning person), the whole call took me just under 6 min and I didn't have to wait at all before my call was picked up.
Step 2. Wait for an application pack to arrive.
They said it takes 6 - 10 days, and I received it in 8 days.
Step 3. Fill out the application.
I didn't turn my letter around and read the part that says you need to fill it out using a black ink ha!
Step 4. Post off your application.
They give you a freepost envelop and you also need to send photocopy of your passport and visa. By the way, the normal post box cut off time is 5.30pm.
Step 5. More waiting.
I was quoted it takes another 6 - 10 days for them to received and then 6 weeks to get your NINo. I received mine in 17 days (2.5 weeks) after posting it.
The whole thing took me just under one month - nice work!
You can only apply for this number when you are in UK, and you might as well do so before you get a job so you don't have to worry about getting a temporary number.
Additional info:
The NINo is alphanumeric in the format of AA 00 00 00 A and the temporary NINo is 00 A0 00 00
Note the above Jobcentre number have since changed from when I called it, apparently they consolidated some numbers. Always get the latest info from the Official information page
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