Why does my national insurance number appear on my biometric residence permit?

Biometric Residence Permits (‘BRP cards’) are issued by the Home Office in evidence of UK immigration status. In certain cases, your UK national insurance number will appear on your BRP card. 

If you have applied for a Skilled Worker visa, by default, the Home Office should issue you with a BRP card stating your UK national insurance number. This is because you need a UK national insurance number for your UK employment income to be correctly taxed, and as a Skilled Worker, you will be coming to the UK in order to take up full-time employment.  

For the majority of other visa categories, the Home Office do not, by default, issue BRP cards with your UK national insurance number featuring. If your visa gives you the ability to work in the UK and you intend to do so, you will need to apply to the Department for Work and Pensions separately in order to obtain a UK national insurance number.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK visa matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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