National Insurance Number and right to work

A National Insurance number (NI number) is needed in order to work and pay tax.

A person from Ukraine only needs to apply for a National Insurance number if they are planning to work.  It is NOT necessary to have the number in order to start work.  The number can be provided later, once it is issued. 

There are two routes to obtaining a National Insurance number:

  1. After registering for Universal Credit, then the Job Centre will do an identity verification, and trigger the start of the NI application. A text (or sometimes a call) will be sent to the registered mobile phone with a link to follow to complete the process.
  2. Alternatively you can follow the link below to start the process:
    https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number

More detailed information on the right to work

Ukrainian refugees arriving in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme have the right to work in the UK. For an employer the following link explains in detail how to check the right to work and how to proceed: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checks-employers- guide/ukrainian-nationals-and-right-to-work-checks-accessible-version