To-do list upon arrival

Got my partner visa approved last week and am back in Northern Ireland! I just wanted to ask the experts what I definitely need to get done in the early days of arriving with my new residence status. Here's my list - what am I missing?

• Pick up BRP - done
• Establish address (have fiance add me to bills)
• Get National Insurance Number - this one is tricky bc I'm not employed yet...any reason to rush on getting it?
• Get set up with bank account - in progress
• Get established with doctor - I understand that not having a NINO means doctors can turn me away if they so choose? At least that's what the guy in the Northern Ireland NINO office said....
• Start working on getting UK driving licence

Anything else I need to remember to start working on?

Thanks!!

Got my partner visa approved last week and am back in Northern Ireland! I just wanted to ask the experts what I definitely need to get done in the early days of arriving with my new residence status. Here's my list - what am I missing?

• Pick up BRP - done
• Establish address (have fiance add me to bills)
• Get National Insurance Number - this one is tricky bc I'm not employed yet...any reason to rush on getting it?
• Get set up with bank account - in progress
• Get established with doctor - I understand that not having a NINO means doctors can turn me away if they so choose? At least that's what the guy in the Northern Ireland NINO office said....
• Start working on getting UK driving licence

Anything else I need to remember to start working on?

Thanks!!

You don’t have to have a job to get a NI number, go ahead and get it now as once it’s done, it’s done.

Go ahead and enroll with the doctor too, NI number is not the same as NHS number,( which is what the surgery will give you) and has nothing to do with registering with a GP.

You don’t have to have a job to get a NI number, go ahead and get it now as once it’s done, it’s done.

I called the Northern Ireland NI office, and the person I spoke with said when I come in for the interview, I needed to either show that I had a job (with payslips) or show that I was actively seeking employment (with email confirmations of job applications). Is this a recent change?

Go ahead and enroll with the doctor too, NI number is not the same as NHS number,( which is what the surgery will give you) and has nothing to do with registering with a GP.

This guy I spoke with said it's not legally required to have a NI number for the doctor's office, but that they can choose to turn me away if I can't provide one. It's their prerogative. I saw elsewhere in the forum that people where having issues getting established with a GP without having their NI number. I'll call our local doctor and see what they say--hopefully they don't cause a fuss.

NI numbers are for income tax purposes and have NOTHING to do with registering with a doctor.

UK citizens born in the UK register with a doctor and get their NHS number at birth... but they are not issued with an NI number until they are 16 years old and have reach legal full-time employment age.

Some people on visas will never work in the UK and may never have an NI number, but they can register with a doctor from day one.

I have never heard of needing to supply an NI number when registering with a doctor (I’m British born and raised, have been registered with a doctor since I was born, received my NI number at 16 and have registered with about 10 different GPS over the years).


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I called the Northern Ireland NI office, and the person I spoke with said when I come in for the interview, I needed to either show that I had a job (with payslips) or show that I was actively seeking employment (with email confirmations of job applications). Is this a recent change?

This guy I spoke with said it's not legally required to have a NI number for the doctor's office, but that they can choose to turn me away if I can't provide one. It's their prerogative. I saw elsewhere in the forum that people where having issues getting established with a GP without having their NI number. I'll call our local doctor and see what they say--hopefully they don't cause a fuss.

There are other reasons to need a NI number other than working  It says nothing about having to have a job or be looking on the .gov site.

https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number

You do not need a NI number to enroll with a GP.

Ok, I'll call back and try again on the NI number.

Anything else I'm missing on my list?

I called the Northern Ireland NI office, and the person I spoke with said when I come in for the interview, I needed to either show that I had a job (with payslips) or show that I was actively seeking employment (with email confirmations of job applications). Is this a recent change?

When my son returned last September and applied for a NI number he was not asked to prove he was seeking employment although he did say he had registered on job sites, and at the end of the interview he was handed a letter he could  show to possible employers that he was allowed to work. I was with him at the interview where he did have to provide a signed letter from me saying that he was living with us, and I also had to provide a utility bill to prove that I was living at that address. His NINO arrived by post a couple of weeks later.

He registered with a GP within the first week or so after arriving and they did not require a NINO. I also don't think he needed a NINO when applying for a provisional driving licence as he also did that soon after arriving. (He wanted a UK ID showing where he lived).

I came over on Marriage Settlement visa (fiance visa).

After getting FLR, I had to make an appointment at a Job Centre Plus and they did ask me if I was looking for work, both on the phone and in person at the appointment, but they didn't ask me for proof.

If you're here on a spousal visa you should be able to get paperwork by post to fill out on your own.

Or did this change recently?

If you have to go in you will need your husband's NINo, by the way. 😊

If you have to go in you will need your husband's NINo, by the way. 😊

Ugh, that seems SOOOO 1950's!

Ugh, that seems SOOOO 1950's!

Well, I should have have said spouse's NINo but was thinking about it in terms of myself.

Luckily, he was there and could give them the number or else I would have had to travel back to Nottingham at a later date to do it if I couldn't have gotten ahold of him.