Guidance: Social security contributions for workers coming to the UK from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland 

If you come to work in the UK from:

• the EU or Switzerland, you’ll only pay into one country’s social security scheme at a time
• Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway, you may need to pay into more than one country’s social security scheme at a time

You will usually pay social security contributions in the country you are working in.

In the UK, social security contributions are called National Insurance.

If you’re an employer, your liability to pay social security contributions will follow the liability of the employee concerned.

If you come to work in the UK from an EU country or Switzerland

The UK has social security agreements with the EU and Switzerland.

You only need to pay social security contributions in one EU country or Switzerland if the social security institution where you live has issued you with the relevant certificate.

The certificate can be used as evidence that you do not need to pay National Insurance in the UK.

You, or your employer, should apply for a certificate if any of the following apply, you’re:

• employed in an EU country by an EU employer who normally carries out their activity in that EU country, and you’re coming to work temporarily in the UK for up to 2 years
• employed in Switzerland by an employer who normally carries out their activity in Switzerland, and you’re coming to work temporarily in the UK for up to 2 years
• self-employed in an EU country or Switzerland, and you’re coming to carry out a similar activity temporarily in the UK for up to 2 years
• working in Switzerland and the UK at the same time
• working in one or more EU countries and the UK at the same time
• a civil servant working for the government of an EU country or Switzerland
• working on board a vessel at sea, with an EU or Swiss flag, resident in the UK, and being paid by a person, undertaking or employer in your country of residence
• working on board a vessel at sea with a UK flag, you are resident in an EU country or Switzerland, and being paid by a person, undertaking or employer in your country of residence
• working as a flight or cabin crew member, where your home base is in an EU country, or Switzerland

If you come to work in the UK from Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway

Check if you’re covered by the EEA-EFTA Separation Agreement

You’re covered by the EEA-EFTA Separation Agreement if you’re a:

• national of Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway, who was resident or started working in the UK before 1 January 2021, and have been resident or working here since
• national of the UK, who was resident or started working in Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway before 1 January 2021
• family member of a:
  • UK national who has a right to reside in Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway, and you’re residing in Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway
  • national of Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway, who has status under the EU Settlement Scheme, and you’re residing in the UK
• UK national and a national of Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway, who was resident or started working in the UK before 1 January 2021
• national of Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway, if all the following apply:
  • you worked in the UK and 1 or more countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway before 1 January 2021
  • you’re continuing to work in the UK and one or more of these countries
  • you mainly work in Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway

If you’re covered by the EEA-EFTA Separation Agreement

You only need to pay social security contributions in Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway if you have the relevant certificate.

You, or your employer, should apply for a certificate if any of the following apply, you’re:

• employed in Iceland by an employer who normally carries out their activities in Iceland, and you’re coming to work temporarily in the UK for up to 2 years
• employed in Liechtenstein by an employer who normally carries out their activities in Liechtenstein, and you’re coming to work temporarily in the UK for up to 2 years
• employed in Norway by an employer who normally carries out their activities in Norway, and you’re coming to work temporarily in the UK for up to 2 years
• self-employed in Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway, and you’re coming to carry out a similar activity in the UK for up to 2 years
• working in one or more of Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway, and the UK
• a civil servant working in the UK for the government of Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway
• working onboard a vessel at sea, with a flag of Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway, resident in the UK, and being paid by a person, undertaking or employer based in the UK
• working onboard a vessel at sea with a UK flag, resident in Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway and being paid by a person, undertaking or employer in your country of residence
• working as a flight or cabin crew member, where your home base is in Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway

If you’re not covered by the EEA-EFTA Separation Agreement

The UK has social security agreements with Iceland and Norway, which are also called reciprocal agreements.

If you’re not covered by the EEA-EFTA Separation Agreement, you may still be covered by one of these social security agreements.

If you are, you can still apply for a certificate to use as evidence that you only need to pay social security contributions in Iceland or Norway.

When the social security agreement with Norway applies

You, or your employer, should apply to the Norwegian social security authority for a certificate if you’re:

• employed in Norway by an employer with a place of business in Norway, and coming to work temporarily in the UK for up to 3 years
• self-employed in Norway and the UK at the same time and living in Norway
• living in Norway, and employed by a Norwegian employer to work on the continental shelf area of the UK in connection with the exploration of its seabed or subsoil, or the exploitation of its natural resources
• living in Norway and self-employed on the continental shelf area of the UK in connection with the exploration of its seabed or subsoil, or the exploitation of its natural resources
• a civil servant employed in the UK for the Norwegian government
• working onboard a vessel at sea, with a Norwegian flag
• living in Norway and employed by a Norwegian employer as a member of the travelling personnel of organisations concerned with the transport of goods or passengers by road or air
• employed in a Norwegian embassy, consular post, or diplomatic mission in the UK
• employed in the private service of a person working in a Norwegian embassy, consular post, or diplomatic mission in the UK

You, or your employer, should send the application before you start to work in the UK.

When the social security agreement with Iceland applies

You, or your employer, should apply for a certificate if you’re not a national of the UK, EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway, and you are:

• employed in Iceland by an employer who normally carries out their activities in Iceland, and sent to work temporarily in the UK for up to 1 year (the certificate can be extended by a year, but you must get agreement from the social security institution in Iceland before the end of the first year)
• employed in Iceland and the UK at the same time, and living in Iceland
• self-employed in Iceland and the UK at the same time, and living in Iceland
• employed in Iceland and self-employed in the UK at the same time
• a civil servant employed in the UK for the government of Iceland
• employed in the private service of a civil servant working in the UK for the government of Iceland

If you are not covered by a social security agreement

If you’re not covered by a social security agreement and so not eligible for a certificate from a social security institution, you will need to pay National Insurance in the UK.

You will not need to pay National Insurance in the UK for the first 52 weeks of working in the UK, if you meet all the following conditions:

• you’re normally employed outside the UK by a non-UK employer (even if the employer has a place of business in the UK)
• you’re employed in the UK temporarily
• you’re employed mainly outside the UK
• you’re not ordinarily resident or employed in the UK

HMRC consider you’re ordinarily resident in a country if you:

• normally live there, apart from temporary or occasional absences
• have a settled and regular mode of life there

You can find more information about paying National Insurance in the UK and the meaning of ordinarily resident.

If the conditions do not apply

You will need to pay National Insurance in the UK from when you start work in the UK.

You must check with the social security institution in the country you’re working in, whether you also need to pay social security contributions in that country.

Apply for a certificate

You, or your employer, will need to apply for a certificate from the social security institution where you live. You can use this certificate as evidence that you do not need to pay National Insurance in the UK.

The relevant certificate is not a work permit. You’ll need to check the UK immigration rules.

Your circumstances	Form to complete
You’re working in 2 or more of the UK, EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland.	Form CA8421
You’re a resident of, and work in, the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland.	You should contact your country’s social security institution to apply for a certificate.
You’re flight or cabin crew with a home base in the UK.	Form CA8421
You work on a vessel at sea with a UK flag or an EU, Norwegian, Icelandic, or Swiss flag but you’re paid by someone based in the UK	Form CA3822
You’re a UK civil servant or other government worker.	Form CA3822

If your situation changes

If you have applied for a certificate from HMRC, because a change in your situation may stop the existing social security rules from applying to you, then write to HMRC at the following address:

You should include the following in your letter:

• what your circumstances were before the changes
• what has changed, for example:
  • your work, employment or self-employment has ended earlier than expected
  • you change employer
• when the changes happened or are due to happen