Moving to a non-EEA country: what to do

If you have insurance in some countries it may help you to qualify for benefit in the UK and UK insurance may help you to qualify for benefit in another country. (see the page on Working in Reciprocal Agreement and Double Contribution Convention countries). When this is the case, your insurance record in one country is never transferred to the other country. For example, if your UK insurance record does not qualify you for benefits, we will contact the authorities in the country you have moved to, to get details of your insurance there. But your insurance record there will stay with the authorities of that country.

If we have to contact the authorities of another country about your insurance, it will help very much if we can tell them the National or Social Insurance number you had while in that country. It is in your interests, therefore, to keep a record of this information in case we have to ask you for it. Other details which could help us to deal with your claim quickly, but which are not always needed, are:

• the date you left
• your last address there
• names and addresses of employers
• periods of employment
• salary/wage numbers
• employers pension arrangement number
• accident insurance number
• employment references.