UK Students
You’ll normally be sent a National Insurance number automatically, in the 3 months before your 16th birthday
If you did not receive a National Insurance number, call HMRC
International Students
You must apply online, you will need to provide the following documents:
- a passport from any country
- a biometric residence permit (BRP) or sharecode to prove immigration status
You can also use a national identity card from:
- a country in the EU
- Norway
- Liechtenstein
- Switzerland
You can still apply if you do not have any of these documents, but you may need to attend an appointment to prove your identity.
You may need to take a photo of your identity documents and upload them to your online application.
After you apply, it can take up to 4 weeks to get your National Insurance number after you have proved your identity.
You can call the application helpline if:
- you applied more than 4 weeks ago
- you’ve moved house since you applied
- your personal details have changed since you applied
If you have an application reference number, have it ready when you call. You’ll find it at the top of the confirmation email you were sent after you applied.
**PLEASE NOTE** DO NOT USE THE UNIVERSITY'S ADDRESS TO RECEIVE YOUR NATIONAL INSURANCE NUMBER. ANY LETTERS RECEIVED WILL BE RETURNED. IF YOU LIVE ON CAMPUS PLEASE USE YOUR ACCOMMODATION ADDRESS.