Can we apply for a Spouse Visa with No Current UK address.

Living with friends or family or a short term rental are all acceptable so you wouldn't need to do that. 

Looking at the government website on the BRP it shows a National Insurance Number printed on the back of the card.

Does this mean my wife will be given a National Insurance Number as part of this whole process..?

Looking at the government website on the BRP it shows a National Insureance Number printed on the back of the card.

Does this mean my wife will be given a National Insurance Numbder as part of this whole process..?

No. She can get one but she'll have to apply separately once she has proof of address in the UK.

People applying for work visas are given a NI number as part of the process.

As my wife won’t have a National Insurance Number when she first enters the UK, what is the process for her being able to register with an NHS GP..?

How does the medical side of the application work..?  I believe my wife has to pay either ₤500, or ₤1000 while making her initial application so as to have access to the NHS system once in the UK, but what documentation will my wife receive to prove she has paid this and is entitled to access..?

Will she be issued some kind of Medical Card with an NHS number if not a National Insurance Number..?

As my wife won’t have a National Insurance Number when she first enters the UK, what is the process for her being able to register with an NHS GP..?

How does the medical side of the application work..?  I believe my wife has to pay either ₤500, or ₤1000 while making her initial application so as to have access to the NHS system once in the UK, but what documentation will my wife receive to prove she has paid this and is entitled to access..?

Will she be issued some kind of Medical Card with an NHS number if not a National Insurance Number..?

After you have submitted the online application, you will be directed to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). The visa itself is proof that she has paid it as the visa won't be granted without you having paid the IHS.

Once in the UK, she will need to contact a GP surgery and ask to join.

The NHS number has nothing to do with National Insurance number.

And when you say show her Visa, you’re referring to her Biometric Residance Card..?

So will the doctor’s surgery get an (NHS) National Health Service number for her. If needed..?

And when you say show her Visa, you’re referring to her Biometric Residance Card..?

So will the doctor’s surgery get an (NHS) National Health Service number for her. If needed..?

Yes and yes.  Though I don’t think any of us could tell you our NHS number.  Name and date of birth is all I need for things.

I must admit, I couldn’t now put my hand on my NHS number, and I’m a UK citizen, although I’ve never forgotten my NI Number. 

When I go and register myself with a new doctor in the UK when my wife applies, then best I can offer them is either my NI Number or the name and address of my last UK Doctor from many years before. 

You’re being very helpful larrabee and I’m very grateful.

And Thanks too, to KFDancer for the same... 

I must admit, I couldn’t now put my hand on my NHS number, and I’m a UK citizen, although I’ve never forgotten my NI Number. 

When I go and register myself with a new doctor in the UK when my wife applies, then best I can offer them is either my NI Number or the name and address of my last UK Doctor from many years before. 

You’re being very helpful larrabee and I’m very grateful.

When you register, they will likely take a copy of your passport, name, DOB, and current address.  The NHS is still a paper system (mostly at least), so you won’t likely have historic records in the system.

When I go and register myself with a new doctor in the UK when my wife applies, then best I can offer them is either my NI Number or the name and address of my last UK Doctor from many years before. 

Your NI number has absolutely nothing to do with registering with a GP. Your NI number is for income tax and NI contributions and is given to your employer when you start a new job, not your GP.

When you register with a GP, you will need:
- your personal details (name, DOB, address, previous doctor etc.)
- your NI number if you know it (you can contact your old GP to ask for it, but you can register without it)
- proof of U.K. address (I.e. council tax bill)

When your wife registers, she will need:
- her passport
- her BRP card
- her personal details
- proof of U.K. address (I.e. council tax bill)


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I can rewind on my NHS number.  I’ve just been looking through my old paper medical records I brought from the UK and I’ve found my NHS Number.

As for my wife needing to prove her UK address I sense another Catch 22  arising here..

I refer to Reply #10 above and quote...

“If you were to rent, you would need a copy of your tenancy agreement and a letter from the landlord stating that your wife has permission to live there once the visa is granted (her name cannot be on the tenancy until after the visa is granted).”

If we rent and my wife is not on the Tenancy Agreement at the time of entry into the UK, then surely her name can’t be on any bills we receive at the UK rental home. (Initially at least).  It could take months after arriving before we start get any bills turning up in my wife’s or both our names..?

If we stay with a Friend, we would never get bills turning up with my wife’s name on it..?

OR.. Would a copy of the Tenancy Agreement from the Landlord, that was sent in with Visa application suffice..? 

OR.. A copy of the Letter from the Friend, that was sent in with Visa application suffice..? 

We would want to register with a GP right away when we arrive and not have to wait months before we can do this..?

I can rewind on my NHS number.  I’ve just been looking through my old paper medical records I brought from the UK and I’ve found my NHS Number.

As for my wife needing to prove her UK address I sense another Catch 22  arising here..

I refer to Reply #10 above and quote...

“If you were to rent, you would need a copy of your tenancy agreement and a letter from the landlord stating that your wife has permission to live there once the visa is granted (her name cannot be on the tenancy until after the visa is granted).”

If we rent and my wife is not on the Tenancy Agreement at the time of entry into the UK, then surely her name can’t be on any bills we receive at the UK rental home. (Initially at least).  It could take months after arriving before we start get any bills turning up in my wife’s or both our names..?

If we stay with a Friend, we would never get bills turning up with my wife’s name on it..?

OR.. Would a copy of the Tenancy Agreement from the Landlord, that was sent in with Visa application suffice..? 

OR.. A copy of the Letter from the Friend, that was sent in with Visa application suffice..? 

We would want to register with a GP right away when we arrive and not have to wait months before we can do this..?

Ah yes, moving to the UK is fun.  As she’s married to you, it will be a whole lot easier than when I tried on my own to start life here.

It’s fun, you can’t open a bank account without an address.  Yet you can’t sign a lease without a bank account.   

If staying with someone, she could apply for a drivers license in her name.  Or if you already have a bank account, add her name to your account.  Or she could apply for her national insurance number.

But council tax bills remain king here.  You could always ask your friends to put your names on the bill, just temporarily, to set life up here.

I think we might have the makings of a solution here..

Before we make our move out to the UK we are intending coming out for a holiday in the UK.  I have a Lloyds UK Bank Account in my name only, that I have always wanted to get into both our names. 

The bank informs us that, although the postal address on my UK account is my US Home, as there’s no Lloyds branches in the US the only way we can add my wife’s name to my account, is to come to England and walk into a branch of Lloyds and present ourselves, with all the necessary ID proof,  for them to be able to add her name to the account.  So having done this up front of our making our move, all I need do is change the postal address on the bank account, to either the Rental or my Friend’s location and then request a paper statement that should arrive in both our names.

Sorry if you get dizzy reading all that... 

This way I could call for a paper bank statement in both our names, before my wife arrives in the UK.