Settlement visa received - how do I get NHS number?

Sorry if this is redundent to anyone here but I just received my settlement/spouse visa today and see there is no NHS number on it.  Do I have to apply for that separately?  Also, something work wise as well ... like an employee number or something? 

Sorry if this sounds silly but Im looking around and do not really see anything clear cut about healthcare or working once I land. 

Thanks for any info you may provide!

Neither a National Insurance number nor a National Health Service Number has anything to do with your visa.

You must apply for a NI number separately.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/BeginnersGuideToBenefits/DG_10014073

When you move to the UK, you register with a practice and they will apply for an NHS number for you.  
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/records/Pages/thenhsnumber.aspx

Thanks Geeta for the info.  So, reading the NI link, it states you have to do an interview first in order to get the NI number.  I thought as spouse of a UKC that I could work as soon as I landed.  Do you have any idea if I apply for the interview, etc prior to going to the UK in October or do I wait until I get there?  Do you know how long the whole process takes so that I am legal to work?

You no longer have to interview for the NI.  I just rang up Job Centre plus, and they sent me a letter in the post (the card itself took a bit longer). I was legal to work pretty much immediately.  Of course, finding a job took a bit longer...

I thought as spouse of a UKC that I could work as soon as I landed. 

You can start work without an NI number, but you are likely to be taxed incorrectly until you have your NI number. The number doesn't give you permission to work, it just ensures that you pay the correct tax and NI contributions to the government. If you're born in the UK, you get sent an NI number in the mail when you turn 16 (I received mine just before my 16th birthday, but I had been working in the UK (newspaper round and in a shop) since the age of 13), otherwise if you move to the UK and wish to work, you have to apply for one. If you don't plan to work in the UK, you don't need an NI number.

Do you have any idea if I apply for the interview, etc prior to going to the UK in October or do I wait until I get there?  Do you know how long the whole process takes so that I am legal to work?

You need to apply when you get here, since you have to be a resident of the UK in order to get one.

See here for how to apply: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/BeginnersGuideToBenefits/DG_10014073

You need to apply after you arrive because you need to send a copy of your visa (which needs to be stamped upon your arrival).  You can work prior to receiving your NIN...but it only takes a few weeks to receive so you're lucky if you have a job that quickly.

x post with ksand24

If you are on settlement visa, then you can work immediately.  Just inform the employer that you don't have an NI number yet, and when you begin working, Revenue & Customs will send you an NI card, then you give that number to your HR department who will adjust your tax code.

Regarding NHS Number, all you need to do is register with a GP and you should receive your NHS Card in the post within a couple weeks.

Thank you all for the info!  Thanks NYBrummie as it makes me a bit relieved that I do not have to go through an interview, etc before I can get a job.  I'm a hit the ground running kind of girl so I hope to land, settle in and have a job as quickly as possible.  I'm not the stay at home type or the no money type.  lol

Thanks again! 

You no longer have to interview for the NI.  I just rang up Job Centre plus, and they sent me a letter in the post (the card itself took a bit longer). I was legal to work pretty much immediately.  Of course, finding a job took a bit longer...

My husband has to attend for an interview next week ...

My husband has to attend for an interview next week ...

People who get FLR(M) in the UK have to attend an interview, people who get spousal visas from outside the UK don't. 

We had the spousal visa granted in the usa ... I applied for tax credits and was told when I called them he'd need a NIN.  We've now received a letter asking him to attend an interview on Monday. 

We had the spousal visa granted in the usa ... I applied for tax credits and was told when I called them he'd need a NIN.  We've now received a letter asking him to attend an interview on Monday. 

When you need a NI number for a benefits application then you'll be required to attend an interview, but if it's just for employment seeking or working then calling the job centre number they'll just send out the application & you send it back with the items they request. But when it's benefits related they need to see the visa themselves & double check that you can be part of the benefits application that is before HMRC.

This was the same thing that happened to me back in 2008, my husband & I filed a joint claim(as required by HMRC & allowed under my spouse visa) and I had to attend an interview for my NI number...it's really no big deal.