Captain Paranoia's Bitch ([info]britgeekgrrl) wrote in [info]brits_americans,
2012-03-01 11:48:00
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Longtime Expat Contemplating A Return

Two part post. One long, one short.

Part the First

I've been living in the USA since I was 12. I'm contemplating a return to the UK in 2013. I have retained my British citizenship.

As far as I know, I don't have an NI number. Contraiwise, my I've-only-got-Google research suggests that if my Mum got benefits for me (which she did) she would have had to have set me up with an NI number in order to receive it.

Is that scenario possible? Or was something (gasp!) wrong on the Internet?

(I'd ask my mum, but she's dead. Dad - still in America, also - is no use.)

Mind you, if Mum did register me for an NI number when I was a wee 'un, then begins the exciting process of finding out what it is!

I would just cheerfully shrug and apply for a new NI once in the UK, but I have horrifying visions of the system throwing up my name with a number already attached and hilariously awful consequences ensuing. Besides, not having to wait for the bureaucracy to do its thing would save me some time. I'd really hate to get a job offer only to hear that I can't get paid until I provide an NI number and, oh, did we mention the bureaucracy will take up OMGhowlong to do so...

Thoughts? Suggestions?

At this point, I'm honestly hoping that Google led me astray!

(edited for accuracy because I'm a bit stupid sometimes)

Part The Second

Has anyone else around here done something similar - returned to Britain after leaving as a child? I'm curious to hear others' experiences / advice / horror stories, etc.

Thanks!

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  • 32 comments

[info]ladyelysium

March 1 2012, 20:23:10 UTC 2 months ago

Your NI number isn't like a SSN one at all. You don't get issued one until you're 16yrs old in the UK and ready to work! So don't stress over it and apply for it once you're in the UK again.

[info]britgeekgrrl

March 1 2012, 20:34:07 UTC 2 months ago

*nod* As I mentioned, I'm entirely open to the probability that the internet led me astray. :)

'Course, the next fun bit lies in getting an NI number when I get to the UK. But that's at least a year away so I'm not going to lie awake at night about it!

Thanks!

[info]caramel_betty

March 1 2012, 20:34:39 UTC 2 months ago

It may involve a trip to a Job Centre Plus (or similar), though.

At my last job, we had a summer vacation student placement. She was a British citizen, but had lived somewhere in France/Switzerland since she was about 10. She had to phone up the helpline, then get given an appointment a few weeks later. Unhelpfully, it appeared only certain Job Centre Plus places could do it - work's office was about 100 meters away from one, whereas she ended up having to go to one the other side of London. (She specifically asked if she could go to the local one, but no.)


You used to be able to get temporary National Insurance numbers. (They got phased out.) This was particularly intended for non-nationals, who had to get a job, then an NI number - but still wanted paying beforehand. Now, you just get the proper NI number first, with or without a job. Not having one sorted out may delay an employer being able to give you your wages.

[info]britgeekgrrl

March 1 2012, 20:44:18 UTC 2 months ago

Now, you just get the proper NI number first, with or without a job. Not having one sorted out may delay an employer being able to give you your wages.

This is exactly what I needed to hear - especially as I've got some US expats over there telling me "Oh, just get a temp number, I did!".

Thank you!

[info]cass_rising

March 1 2012, 22:48:43 UTC 2 months ago

All I had to do was make a call to the JobCentre - they sent me paperwork in the mail. It might be faster to do it in person, but you can always call them to ask first and potentially save yourself a trip.

[info]bopeepsheep

March 1 2012, 23:19:35 UTC 2 months ago

Not necessarily true. If the OP's mother received certain benefits (e.g. DLA) directly for her, rather than "because you have children you get benefits", she might have had an NI number assigned. My son has one, and has done since he was 6.

[info]britgeekgrrl

March 1 2012, 23:52:13 UTC 2 months ago

*CLANG*

And there's the spanner in the works!

:-D

I don't know the exact circumstances of the benefits and, unfortunately, my mum has long since passed on, so I never will know!

But it seems that HRMC form CA 5403 *should* be able to track down an NI assigned to my name, if one exists. I hope!

[info]bopeepsheep

March 1 2012, 23:56:15 UTC 2 months ago

*nod* If you ever had one, they'll find it. That's the theory, anyway. :)

[info]bollykecks

March 1 2012, 20:56:26 UTC 2 months ago

I'm an American in London and I just called Job Centre Plus, they sent me a form to fill out and I was sent my NI number card a week later. Easy! :)

[info]britgeekgrrl

March 1 2012, 21:00:12 UTC 2 months ago

A week??

I'm amazed!

I have a dreadful vision of it taking months...

[info]of_polyhymnia

March 1 2012, 21:12:46 UTC 2 months ago

I'm also an American who got an NI number very quickly and easily. I think I did it on the phone? It's a surprisingly efficient example of bureaucracy.

[info]celebestel

March 2 2012, 08:20:57 UTC 2 months ago

It was super easy for me too. They did a three-minute interview over the phone, I think, and I sent in the paperwork. It came really fast.

[info]december_clouds

March 5 2012, 08:19:51 UTC 2 months ago

Also easy for me too, it took like 2 weeks.

Granted, this was in 2007.

I also had to go to a Job Centre Plus. I lived in place X but I had to take a bus and hour away to place Y to get it. That was only scary for me because I hadn't been to place Y by myself before!

[info]nineveh_uk

March 1 2012, 22:31:51 UTC 2 months ago

The HMRC website tells you how to find out if you've got a NI number that you've lost: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ni/intro/number.htm

You can start work and get paid without an NI number, but you maybe wrongly taxed, which is why it is a good idea to get one as soon as possible if you are intending to work/have started work.

[info]britgeekgrrl

March 1 2012, 22:50:25 UTC 2 months ago

*nod* I've got some form thingy to fill out and send to the UK. By this point, I strongly suspect there is no NI in place for me and that's cool. It just lets me know what the first thing I'll need to do if/when I get to the UK...

[info]tuesdayclub

March 1 2012, 23:14:49 UTC 2 months ago

I applied for two years ago. It was super easy. I called the Job Centre, they sent me a form to fill out and I mailed it back then they mailed me my number. It took a few weeks but that was probably due to delays on my part. I probably could have had it all done in a couple weeks.

I started a new job before I had my number. It just meant I was taxed at the emergency rate until I provided the HR department with my correct NI number.

[info]sumrndmgrl

March 1 2012, 23:41:33 UTC 2 months ago

Stupid question but how did you maintain Brit citizenship while in the US for so long? Most people I know either end up getting US or dual.

[info]astrogeek

March 1 2012, 23:45:41 UTC 2 months ago

She didn't say that she hadn't taken US citizenship, just that she retained British citizenship. Since it's more or less impossible under British law to truly renounce British citizenship, retaining that while also taking US citizenship is pretty easy.

[info]sumrndmgrl

March 1 2012, 23:49:49 UTC 2 months ago

Ah, okay. I was under the impression dual with Brit-US was one of the harder ones to get. Thanks!

[info]britgeekgrrl

March 1 2012, 23:59:50 UTC 2 months ago Edited:  March 2 2012, 00:01:58 UTC

Actually, I am a dual national, but I don't bruit it about very much.

And, from what I've seen and read (nothing official!), dual US/UK citizenship is a non-issue unless the dual national decides to take a job requiring govt security clearance (such as in the State Department, or a Ministry) or if they join the military. At that point, a person would have to give up their citizenship of the other country.

ETA: fwiw, I had a green card for about 20 years before I finally became a citizen without any problems.

[info]sumrndmgrl

March 2 2012, 00:23:44 UTC 2 months ago

Yeah, I know of people that had work visas, residency or whatever for quite some time before formal citizenship. I have a bunch of ~international friends so sometimes I can't keep up with which countries allow what haha :) Some allow dual+ citizenship but claim to only one nationality, if that's the way to word it. Good luck with the move!

[info]britgeekgrrl

2 months ago

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[info]annaonthemoon

2 months ago

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[info]belle_marmotte

March 3 2012, 17:04:18 UTC 2 months ago

Be sure to check out your continuing tax obligations as a US citizen when you re enter the UK, as you will still have to file and pay your US taxes, even as a dual citizen. It's the main reason I never want to get full US citizenship, because I do not want to be chased forever by the iRS if I do repatriate.

I wrote you a longer post about this with a useful link, but the mods have screened it and it hasn't appeared yet, despite me contacting them.

[info]britgeekgrrl

2 months ago

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[info]tisiphone

2 months ago

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[info]britgeekgrrl

2 months ago

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[info]astrogeek

March 2 2012, 00:22:11 UTC 2 months ago

The UK has never had a problem with dual citizenship, especially since there is nothing in British law regarding true renouncement. Up until about 10 years ago the US required renouncement of any foreign citizenship in order to obtain US citizenship, but that is no longer the case. However, even then, you could just go to a UK embassy, state your renouncement in front of the ambassador, turn in your UK passport and leave with a sheet of paper saying that you had done so. You could then use that bit of paper to get your US citizenship and then apply for a new UK passport again afterwards, since the renouncement would have been completely meaningless as far as the UK law was concerned. As long as the US didn't discover you'd done this, then you were effectively a dual citizen.

[info]britgeekgrrl

March 2 2012, 00:32:42 UTC 2 months ago

*nod*

I read about that on the Brit consulate site. Thought it was very interesting. I guess the whole 'you can change your mind' apparatus is in place for anyone who is - under some awful circumstance - compelled to renounce their citizenship against their will.

The US still gets a bit shirty about it, though. During my last bout of job hunting (less than a year ago) I was told (unofficially, mind you) that I'd have to go through the giving-up-the-Brit-passport routine if I wanted to take a job with the State Dept. But said position also required a security clearance and I believe that's why.

If I want to go shovel papers for the local city municipality, my dual citizenship is not a problem.

Also, I've never tried to register to vote in the UK, and that's probably saved me a few headaches!

[info]astrogeek

2 months ago

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[info]caramel_betty

2 months ago

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[info]_nicolai_

March 2 2012, 11:11:04 UTC 2 months ago

In my experience, if you show up at the bit of the DSS that issues NI numbers saying "I want an NI number" they go "no you don't, you have one, just find out what it is". Then you go "No I don't have one because I haven't lived here for a long time, nor worked here, nor did my mother get any child benefit for me" (if these things are true, if not, you probably do have an NI number allocated) and then they go "all right then, fill in this form". After a while they write back to you saying "here's your NI number".

People forget their NI number all the time or don't know they have one, the main point is to activate the "unknown NI number or NI number not allocated" process, instead of being told to go away and look at your last payslip/tax letter/etc. This process will either find your NI number or get you one allocated.

They are somewhat bureaucratic and reluctant to just give you an NI number because (a) most people have one and (b) getting an NI number for someone not entitled to one is central to large scale benefit fraud, so the people who can issue them are limited. So you need to insist a bit.
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