Working in an EEA country
If you work in another EEA country for an EEA employer (this includes a UK employer), or as someone who is self-employed, you are usually insured under the social security laws of the country you work in. You will not usually have to pay UK NI contributions. But this is not always the case. You need to read all the sections in Other types of work of work about working in the EEA to find out when UK NI contributions will still be due.
Note: In some EEA countries there is no compulsory state insurance or benefits scheme for self-employed people.
Working in another EEA country for a UK employer
If you are recruited by a UK employer when you are abroad, you may not have to pay UK NI contributions. In some cases you may find that you will be insured under the social security scheme of the country that you work in.
Your UK employer may send you to work in another EEA country. If you are not expected to be there for more than 12 months, you may be able to carry on paying UK NI contributions. But you may be sent to take the place of someone else who works for the same employer and who has come to the end of their time working there. In this case, you cannot carry on paying UK contributions.
For you to continue paying UK NI contributions, your UK employer must meet certain conditions, including having significant work activities in the UK and maintaining a direct employment relationship with you throughout your time abroad.
Your employer has to apply for form E101 in your name. If it can be issued, this form tells the social security authority in the other EEA country that you will carry on being insured under the UK scheme.
To do so, your UK employer must get an application form from the HMRC Residency. It should be completed and returned to the address shown on the form. As well as this, new employers, and employers who have not been in touch with the HMRC before, must complete and return a form giving the company’s details. Your employer can also get this form from the HMRC Residency.
If your employer hires you out to another client, you will not have to pay UK NI contributions. In this case, you will be insured under the social security scheme of the country you are working in. You can find out more by contacting the HMRC Residency.
If all the rules are met, you and your employer will have to pay Class 1 NI contributions as if you were still in the UK. You will not have to pay into the scheme of the other EEA country.
Extensions
If your job in another EEA country lasts longer than your initial 12 months, although you did not expect it to, you may be able to carry on being insured under the UK scheme for another 12 months (or in some special cases up to a total of five years). But this is only if the insurance authorities of the other EEA country where you are working agree to this extra time. In some case you will also have to produce a signed statement saying that you wish to remain insured to the UK scheme.
Make sure your UK employer asks for this extra time. They must ask before the end of the first 12 months you are working in the other EEA country. They need to apply on form E102. They can get a copy of the form from the HMRC Residency.
