Just got my visa. How do I start? (National Insurance #?)

I do not have to travel far, no. It turns out it actually is that job center just down the street from me. Lucky, eh?

I do not have to travel far, no. It turns out it actually is that job center just down the street from me. Lucky, eh?

Very luck! I'm jealous! 

I do not have to travel far, no. It turns out it actually is that job center just down the street from me. Lucky, eh?

Nice! 

I just wanted to chime in as another person who has had an appointment to get a National Insurance Number recently.  Like PlainPearl and TravelingFrog, I found the experience to be pretty smooth.

I went to the JobCentre in Camden, about a 50-minute trip from home in SE Hertfordshire.

I took the following:
--U.S. passport
--BRP card
--proof of address (letter from UKBA that came with my FLR(M) approval)
--my husband's NHS National Insurance number (Thanks to TravelingFrog's tip about it)

The person who conducted my interview looked at all of the above.  He asked if I had my marriage certificate; I hadn't brought it, since the woman I spoke to over the phone said it wasn't necessary.  The interviewer would have looked at it had I had it, but without it I was okay.

I was asked if I was looking for work, and I said that I will be.  My word was all the evidence needed in this case, but it sounds like that varies.

Good luck with your appointment, Tommy25.

Edit: Corrected an error

I'm not really sure what to do about the proof of address thing, because I don't have my mail sent to my place. My husband and I have all our mail sent to his mother's house, because it has a much smaller chance of being stolen. We live in an apartment building and don't have our own mailbox, so anybody could take things dropped off outside the building.

Do you think it'll be a big deal if I don't have proof of the address I'm living at right now? We don't have any utility bills or anything with my name on it attached to this address.

I'm not really sure what to do about the proof of address thing, because I don't have my mail sent to my place. My husband and I have all our mail sent to his mother's house, because it has a much smaller chance of being stolen. We live in an apartment building and don't have our own mailbox, so anybody could take things dropped off outside the building.

Do you think it'll be a big deal if I don't have proof of the address I'm living at right now? We don't have any utility bills or anything with my name on it attached to this address.

The address I gave them is the address where they are sending my NIN.  So, I suppose, you could give them your mailing address (mother-in-law's address).  You'll have proof of that address with your letters from UKBA.

Sorry to hear about the bad mail situation at home. 

I took the following:

...

--my husband's NHS number (Thanks to TravelingFrog's tip about it)

Thanks, but I actually got the tip from someone else who had applied for the NI# and was asked for their husband's number. 

That's assuming you meant NI# not NHS number.....

Thanks, but I actually got the tip from someone else who had applied for the NI# and was asked for their husband's number. 

That's assuming you meant NI# not NHS number.....

I did mean NI#-- thanks!  I'll go back and correct the post.

And thanks for sharing the tip that someone else shared with you.  As far as I'm concerned, I got the tip from you.

The address I gave them is the address where they are sending my NIN.  So, I suppose, you could give them your mailing address (mother-in-law's address).  You'll have proof of that address with your letters from UKBA.

Sorry to hear about the bad mail situation at home. 

Okay. That's what I figured I'd do, since I ONLY have proof of my address there.

Just by way of update, Tommy25, I wanted to let you know that my NI# came in the post today -- just one week after I applied.  So, if things are being processed quickly yours may well come not long after your upcoming appointment.

Thanks for the heads up.

I'm getting a bit nervous about my interview in two days...the reason why is because I'm not sure I have good enough proof of address.

My husband and I live in a flat, but used to live at his mom's house. My marriage license has his mom's address on it. All my mail gets sent to his mom's house for security reasons (we have no mail box at our place), and his mom's house is only a five minute walk down the street. All correspondence from the UK home office has been sent to his mom's house.

All our utilities, rent, and bills are in my husband's name. I mean, I couldn't even look for work while waiting for my spouse visa, so we didn't see the need to include me in any financial documentation or anything.

I opened a bank account nearly two weeks ago and I still haven't gotten my card. I was hoping I could use the letter that would come with the card as proof of my current address, but alas, it still hasn't come. What I DO have, and this is really the only thing I have a chance of using, is a document from the bank from when I opened the account.

What it has is my bank account number, confirmation that I opened that account, and it has my address on it. The bank needed proof of address to open the account in the first place, but they took my passport as proof of address, for some weird reason.  It doesn't even have my address on it, but that's what they required. They wouldn't even accept anything else and sent me home to get my passport before proceeding with opening the account.

So, that's all I've got. Just that paper from the bank saying I opened an account, with my current address on it. What do you think the chances are that the Job Center will accept this? I'm trying to think of what else could be used...but like I said, all mail and such has been sent to my mother-in-law's. I can't say that I still live there, because when I set up the appointment with the Job Center, they asked for my current address and I gave them my honest, current address.

Any ideas/feedback would be greatly appreciated.

You could phone up and cancel the interview and then reschedule once you have more mail from the bank. You could try calling the number you called to make the appointment and ask them what they'd suggest.

Also, I would suggest having your utility bills sent to you and your husband jointly if you are planning on applying for ILR down the road.

Thanks for the advice. I called the Job Center number I used to make the appointment and the man told me that if I have anything in writing from the bank with my address on it, that will be fine.

Now I can stop worrying about that, and just worry about the interview in general haha. I'm such a worrier. I guess I just don't really know what to expect, and that's what makes me nervous. How long/in depth does the interview go for, in everyone's experience? Is it just a five minute check, or is it a rigorous, half hour grill session?

Now I can stop worrying about that, and just worry about the interview in general haha. I'm such a worrier. I guess I just don't really know what to expect, and that's what makes me nervous. How long/in depth does the interview go for, in everyone's experience? Is it just a five minute check, or is it a rigorous, half hour grill session?

I didn't know what to expect for my appointment and I was a little intimidated by everyone waiting for their appointment (there were loads of people!) but I was seen about 10 minutes late (not too bad) and I was sat at the lady's desk for about half an hour (about 10 minutes of that was her making copies of my documents).

She asked a lot of questions, but it felt like she was filling out an application for me that I could have done myself.    It would be simpler to have filled it out myself and I wouldn't have to spell my name a gaziolion times (and still correct her when she wrote it wrong!  ), but that's what the appointment is for.   

Be sure you bring the documents they ask for (and OH's National Insurance Number) but know they might not ask for it all.  I wasn't asked to prove I was looking for work (she just asked IF I was), but others have.  I would think an email print out confirming receipt of an online/email application would do. 

I don't think there's much to worry about.  I did see a few people having problems with their interviews/appointments, but they seemed to be language barriers..... it was probably a whole building full of foreigners applying for their NIN since it was a special National Insurance Number JobCentre Plus in London. 

You'll be fine.    It seems like more hassle than it really is.