Official Statistics

National Insurance numbers allocated to adult overseas nationals to March 2020

Published 21 May 2020

The latest release of these statistics can be found in the collection of National Insurance number allocations statistics.

This summary contains statistics on National Insurance numbers (NINos) allocated to adult overseas nationals, covering the period from January 2002 to March 2020.

A National Insurance number (or NINo) is generally required by any adult overseas national looking to work or claim benefits and tax credits in the UK.

These Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) statistics show a count, by individual nationality, of the number of NINos registered to adult non-UK nationals each quarter, irrespective of the length of stay in the UK. The statistics are not a count of the number of adult non-UK nationals currently residing in the UK.

1. Main stories

760,000 NINos were registered in the year to March 2020: a 17% increase on the year to March 2019. Although more than half of registrations continued to be from European Union (EU) nationals, the increase in registrations in the year to March 2020 was mostly the result of the increase of registrations by nationals from Non-EU countries.

EU registrations increased by 11,000 in the year to March 2020: a 3% increase on the previous year. This change was mostly the result of the increase of registrations by nationals from Spain and Italy, despite a decrease in registrations of nationals from Romania and Poland. In January 2020 the UK officially exited the European Union, although until the end of the transition period the rights of EU nationals remain unchanged.

Non-EU registrations increased by 100,000 in the year to March 2020: a 45% increase on the previous year and the largest year on year increase in number of registrations observed since the beginning of the time series, which began in 2002. This change was mostly the result of the increase of registrations by nationals from India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ghana, and Turkey.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to acknowledge that demand for NINo services may have been impacted and that NINo operations have been disrupted since mid-March. The impact is however minimal in the yearly data ending in March.

2. What you need to know

This summary contains statistics on NINos allocated to adult overseas nationals, covering the period from January 2002 to March 2020.

These statistics are designated as Official Statistics.

What can you use these figures for?

The statistics provide:

• a 100% count of foreign nationals registered for a NINo in a quarter
• the nationality of foreign nationals at the time of registering
• where the foreign nationals registered

What you cannot use these figures for

The statistics cannot be used as a count of:

• quarterly or annual migration to the UK
• the number of foreign nationals who have started work or are currently in work
• the number of foreign nationals who are currently in the UK

The statistics show the number of people registered for a NINo in order to work or to claim benefits and tax credits and are one of a number of supplementary measures produced by government of in-migration to the UK.

Although quarterly registration figures are provided in the accompanying data tables, care should be taken when interpreting quarterly changes as they might reflect changes in operational activity. Annual year-on-year changes are more reliable to reflect longer-term trends.

The statistics are published as part of the scheduled timetable for the release of cross-Government migration statistics. The Migration Statistics Quarterly Report (MSQR) is a summary of the quarterly releases of official international migration statistics by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Read the background information note for further information, including detail on uses and limitations of the series.

Comparisons with other sources of migration

NINo statistics are not a direct measure of long term migration and therefore are not directly comparable with ONS long-term estimates of immigration.

On 7 March 2016, the ONS published an information note explaining the reasons why long-term international immigration figures from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) could differ from the number of NINo registrations.

This was followed by an analytical paper presenting analysis that has been undertaken across government to help understand why the two series are showing different trends, with focus on EU migration.

EU groupings used within migration statistics

The following EU groupings are used in the statistics:

• EU15 (these are the original EU members: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden)
• EU8 (these joined the EU in 2004: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia)
• EU2 (these joined the EU in 2007: Romania & Bulgaria)
• EU Other (Croatia, Cyprus and Malta)

For reporting purposes, countries have been grouped into ‘World Areas’ based primarily on geographical location.

Changes to the process of NINo recording in 2014

A change to the process of recording NINOs during the quarter April-June 2014, means that the volume of NINo registrations recorded were lower in that quarter and then higher in the subsequent quarter July to September 2014 than would otherwise be the case. Therefore, NINo registrations over this period should be interpreted with caution.

Rounding policy

The rounding policy has been reviewed for the May 2020 publication, as the publication now includes lower level figures. Data in the release has been rounded as per the table below.

From	To	Rounded to nearest
0	1,000	10
1,001	10,000	100
10,001	100,000	1,000
100,001	1,000,000	10,000
1,000,001	10,000,000	100,000
10,000,001	100,000,000	1,000,000

All changes are calculated prior to rounding. Percentage changes are calculated prior to rounding and then are rounded to the nearest whole number. As all figures within this statistical summary have been rounded, they may not add up.

Covid-19

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is likely that demand for NINo services from non-UK nationals has been impacted, with potential migrants staying in their countries or existing migrants in the UK returning to their countries of origin, as well as migrants staying in the UK possibly being unable to commence a new job. On the other hand, there may be additional demand for NINos from benefit applicants. These effects may already be reflected partly in this release.

From the 18 March 2020, the processing of employment inspired NINo applications were disrupted as a result of the pandemic and the need to redeploy resources to address the unprecedented demand for financial assistance. VISA applications and Biometric Residency Permits have also been disrupted.

As this publication covers the period to 31 March 2020, because of the lag to process applications, operational changes have a minimal impact on the latest yearly data. These effects will be more noticeable in the next release as it will cover an extended period affected by the pandemic.

EU Exit

On January 31 2020, the UK officially exited the EU but a period of transition commenced. Although there have been no changes to the rights of EU nationals during the transition period there has been a continuation of the downward trend in EU registrations since the EU referendum in June 2016.

3. How many people are registering?

Figure 1: The number of NINo registrations to March 2020

Source: NINo statistics data tables.

760,000 NINos were registered in the year to March 2020: a 17% increase on the year to March 2019. Although more than half of registrations continued to be from EU nationals, the increase in registrations in the year to March 2020 was mostly the result of the increase of registrations by nationals from Non-EU countries.

This increase mostly reflects the inclusion of adult dependants of Non-EU nationals as a part of certain visa approvals. This process was introduced in September 2018.

4. Where in the world are people registering from?

Figure 2: Percentage of NINo registrations by Non-EU and EU subgroups over the 5 years to March 2020.

Source: NINo statistics data tables.

Figure 3: NINo registrations in the year to March 2020, change from previous year and annual percentage change

World Area	Registrations to Mar 2019	Registrations to Mar 2020	Change from previous year	Annual Percentage Change
EU	420,000	430,000	+11,000	+3%
Non-EU	230,000	330,000	+100,000	+45%
Total*	650,000	760,000	+110,000	+17%

Note: * The total also includes registrations of individuals whose nationality is Unknown, as such it will be greater than the sum of EU and Non-EU.

Both registrations from EU and Non-EU nationals increased year on year. The increase for Non-EU nationals was far greater, with a 45% increase, compared to a 3% increase in registrations from EU nationals in the same period. This has driven a relative change in the balance of EU and Non-EU national registrations. While registrations from EU nationals remain the majority of registrations, EU registrations now account for 57% of registrations in the year to March 2020, compared with 65% of registrations in the year March 2019.

4.1. Long term trends and changes in EU Registrations

Figure 4: Number of NINo registrations by EU subgroups to March 2020

Source: NINo statistics data tables.

Registrations from EU15 countries gradually increased from June 2003 until they peaked in the year ending June 2015 (with 260,000 registrations that accounted for 38% of EU registrations), and have declined since the referendum in June 2016 until they began to increase from year ending December 2018 until year ending March 2020.

Registrations to EU8 citizens drove the sharp rise in EU NINo registrations in 2004, when countries from the EU8 joined the EU. EU8 registrations peaked in the year ending September 2007 (with 340,000 registrations that accounted for 71% of EU registrations), after which declined until the year ending March 2010. After a period of volatility EU8 registrations have again declined since the EU referendum. EU8 registrations to year ending March 2020 (71,000) are the lowest they have been since EU8 countries joined the EU in 2004.

Registrations to EU2 nationals were relatively low until the removal of restrictions on work for EU2 citizens drove the sharp rise in EU registrations in 2014. Some of this reflected individuals who were residing in the UK prior to 2014 and would only have been able to register for a NINo after that date (arrival to registration analysis on EU2 nationals for more about this.) EU2 registrations peaked in the year to December 2016 (with 230,000 registrations that accounted for 37% of EU registrations) and have declined since. Registrations to EU2 nationals for the year ending March 2020 (160,000) are the lowest they have been since 2014, when restrictions to EU2 nationals were lifted.

Figure 5: NINo registrations by EU sub-group in the year to March 2020, change from previous year and annual percentage change

EU sub-group	Registrations to Mar 2019	Registrations to Mar 2020	Change from previous year	Annual Percentage Change
EU15	170,000	190,000	+25,000	+15%
EU8	81,000	71,000	-9,300	-11%
EU2	170,000	160,000	-4,500	-3%
EU Other	5,500	5,400	-60	-1%
Total EU	420,000	430,000	+11,000	+3%

In the year to March 2020, there were 430,000 NINo registrations by EU nationals, of which:

• 190,000 registrations were from EU15 nationals, an increase of 15% since the year ending March 2019. EU15 registrations now account for 45% of EU registrations compared to 40% in the year ending March 2019.

• 71,000 registrations were from EU8 nationals, a decrease of 11% since the year ending March 2019. EU8 registrations now account for just 17% of EU registrations compared to 19% in the year ending March 2019.

• 160,000 registrations were from EU2 nationals, a decrease of 3% since the year ending March 2019. EU2 registrations now account for 38% of EU registrations compared to 40% in the year ending March 2019.

• The largest number of registrations were from nationals from Romania (120,000), followed by nationals from Italy (49,000), Poland (38,000), Bulgaria (37,000) and from Spain (37,000) (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Top 5 EU individual nationalities by number of registrations in the year to March 2020 and annual percentage change

EU Country	Registrations	Annual Percentage Change
Romania	120,000	-6%
Italy	49,000	+10%
Poland	38,000	-13%
Bulgaria	37,000	+9%
Spain	37,000	+16%

In the year to March 2020, total EU registrations increased by 3% from the previous year. The increase was only driven by the increase in EU15 registrations, as the registrations from EU8, EU2 and Other EU nationals all decreased. The recent increases in EU15 registrations should be seen in context with increased operational capacity and the processing of outstanding applications rather than by an increase in new NINo applications.

Figures 7a and 7b show that the countries which had the largest increase in registrations are mostly within the EU15 sub-group, whereas the countries which had the largest decrease in registrations are within the EU2, EU8 and EU Other Subgroups.

The increase in EU15 registrations was mostly the result of the increase of registrations by nationals from Italy, Spain, Portugal and France, whereas the decrease in EU2 was mostly the result of the decrease of registrations by nationals from Romania. The decrease in EU8 was mostly the result of the decrease of registrations by nationals from Poland, Lithuania and Slovakia.

Figure 7a: EU individual nationalities with the largest increase in registrations in the year to March 2020, change from previous year and annual percentage change

EU Country	Registrations to Mar 2019	Registrations to Mar 2020	Change from previous year	Annual Percentage Change
Spain	32,000	37,000	+5,000	+16%
Italy	45,000	49,000	+4,600	+10%
Portugal	20,000	24,000	+4,300	+22%
Bulgaria	34,000	37,000	+3,100	+9%
France	20,000	23,000	+3,000	+15%

Figure 7b: EU individual nationalities with the largest decrease in registrations in the year to March 2020, change from previous year and annual percentage change

EU Country	Registrations to Mar 2019	Registrations to Mar 2020	Change from previous year	Annual Percentage Change
Romania	130,000	120,000	-7,600	-6%
Poland	44,000	38,000	-5,600	-13%
Lithuania	12,000	9,500	-2,500	-21%
Croatia	3,200	2,600	-620	-19%
Slovakia	4,300	3,800	-550	-13%

4.2. Long term trends and changes in Non-EU Registrations

Figure 8: Number of NINo registrations by Non-EU subgroups to March 2020

In Figure 8 Non-EU subgroups with neighbouring geographies have been combined together for ease of view.

Registrations from all world areas have been relatively stable, apart from those from Asia, which generally increased until they peaked in the year ending December 2010 (with 220,00 registrations that accounted for 64% of Non-EU registrations), and declined until the year ending June 2014.

Amongst the other groups, the highest contributor of registrations since 2003 are nationals from Africa, followed by those from the Americas, Other Europe and Oceania. Registrations from Other Europe increased above those from Oceania since the end of December 2017. Other Europe registrations to year ending March 2020 (31,000) are the highest they have ever been since the beginning of this time series.

The noticeable increase in registrations to Non-EU nationals after September 2018 is mostly due to registration for a NINo of adult dependants as part of certain visa approvals.

Figure 9a: NINo registrations by Non-EU world areas in the year to March 2020, change from previous year and annual percentage change

Non-EU world area	Registrations to Mar 2019	Registrations to Mar 2020	Change from previous year	Annual Percentage Change
Other Europe	20,000	31,000	+11,000	+58%
Asia	130,000	190,000	+63,000	+50%
Africa	38,000	56,000	+18,000	+47%
Americas	28,000	35,000	+7,100	+25%
Oceania	14,000	15,000	+1,100	+8%
Total Non-EU	230,000	330,000	+100,000	+45%

Figure 9b: NINo registrations by Non-EU sub-group in the year to March 2020, change from previous year and annual percentage change

Non-EU sub-group	Registrations to Mar 2019	Registrations to Mar 2020	Change from previous year	Annual Percentage Change
Other Europe	20,000	31,000	+11,000	+58%
Middle East and Central Asia	18,000	23,000	+5,800	+33%
East Asia	19,000	24,000	+4,900	+26%
South Asia	76,000	120,000	+47,000	+62%
South East Asia	14,000	20,000	+5,300	+37%
Sub-Saharan Africa	30,000	44,000	+15,000	+50%
North Africa	8,200	11,000	+3,200	+39%
North America	16,000	19,000	+2,400	+15%
Central and South America	12,000	16,000	+4,700	+40%
Oceania	14,000	15,000	+1,100	+8%
Total Non-EU	230,000	330,000	+100,000	+45%

In the year to March 2020, there were 330,000 NINo registrations by Non-EU nationals. Of which:

• 190,000 registrations of Asian nationals, an increase of 50% since the year ending March 2019. Asia now accounts for 58% of Non-EU registrations compared to 56% in the year ending March 2019.

• 17% were from Africa, 11% from Americas, 10% from Other Europe and 5% from Oceania.

• North Africa registrations to year ending March 2020 (11,000) are the highest they have ever been since the beginning of this time series.

• The largest number of registrations was from nationals from India (88,000), followed by nationals from Pakistan (22,000), from Nigeria (15,000), from China (14,000) and nationals from the United States (14,000)(Figure 10).

Figure 10: Top 5 Non-EU individual nationalities, by registrations in the year to March 2020 and annual percentage change

Non-EU Country	Registrations	Annual Percentage Change
India	88,000	+65%
Pakistan	22,000	+55%
Nigeria	15,000	+49%
China	14,000	+25%
United States	14,000	+16%

In the year to March 2020, registrations by Non-EU nationals increased by 45% from the previous year. This change represents an additional 100,000 registrations in the year ending March 2020, this is the largest increase in number of registrations observed since the beginning of this time series. The increase was the result of increases in registrations from all world areas, but particularly from nationals from Asia, followed by those from Africa and Other Europe. The increase in registrations from Asia (+63,000), Africa (+18,000), Other Europe (+11,000) are the largest year on year increases observed in those world areas observed since the beginning of this time series.

Figure 11a shows the countries which had the largest increase in registrations are primarily within the Asia, Africa and Other Europe world areas. Figure 11b shows that countries with a decrease in registrations saw a small decrease only.

The increase in registrations from Asia reflects the increase in registrations from India and Pakistan. The increase in registrations from Africa reflects the increase in registrations from Nigeria and Ghana. The increase in registrations from Other Europe reflects the increase in registrations from Turkey.

Figure 11a: Non-EU individual nationalities with the largest increase in registrations in the year to March 2020, change from previous year and annual percentage change

Non-EU Country	Registrations to Mar 2019	Registrations to Mar 2020	Change from previous year	Annual Percentage Change
India	53,000	88,000	+35,000	+65%
Pakistan	14,000	22,000	+7,600	+55%
Nigeria	10,000	15,000	+4,800	+49%
Ghana	4,000	7,400	+3,400	+84%
Turkey	5,300	8,700	+3,400	+64%

Figure 11b: Non-EU individual nationalities with the largest decrease in registrations in the year to March 2020, change from previous year and annual percentage change

Non-EU Country	Registrations to Mar 2019	Registrations to Mar 2020	Change from previous year	Annual Percentage Change
Congo	340	250	-100	-28%
Libya	780	720	-50	-7%
Mauritania	100	70	-20	-24%
Bermuda	50	30	-20	-44%
Guatemala	50	40	-10	-22%

5. Where in the UK are people registering?

Almost half of all registrations are in London or the South East.

Figure 12: EU and Non-EU NINo registrations in the year to March 2020, by region

Region	Non-EU	EU
London	120,000	160,000
South East	36,000	53,000
East of England	23,000	38,000
West Midlands	25,000	31,000
North West	27,000	28,000
Scotland	21,000	26,000
East Midlands	18,000	27,000
South West	14,000	24,000
Yorkshire and The Humber	17,000	20,000
Wales	6,900	7,200
North East	8,400	4,800
Northern Ireland	2,200	6,600

Figure 13a: EU NINo registrations in the year to March 2020, by local authority at time of registration

Source: NINo statistics data tables.

Figure 13b: Non-EU NINo registrations in the year to March 2020, by local authority at time of registration

Source: NINo statistics data tables.

In figures 13a and 13b the darker areas of the maps show local authorities with higher levels of registrations.

Please note that the interactive version of the local authority map showing NINo registrations from different world areas by GB local authority, has not been updated for this publication due to a change in work environments as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Figure 14: Top 10 local authorities by number of NINo registrations in the year to March 2020

Local Authorities	Registrations
Newham	21,000
Tower Hamlets	18,000
Birmingham	17,000
Brent	17,000
Glasgow City	13,000
Manchester	13,000
Westminster	13,000
Ealing	13,000
City of Edinburgh	12,000
Haringey	12,000

6. About these statistics

Status: Official Statistics

National Insurance number (NINo) allocations to adult overseas nationals are Official Statistics. Official Statistics are produced in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and the Code of Practice for Statistics. They meet high standards of:

• trustworthiness
• quality
• public value

World Areas

For reporting purposes, countries have been grouped into ‘world areas’ based primarily on geographical location. Countries are grouped according to current world area status for the entire back series.

World Area	Sub Group
European Union (EU)	European Union EU15 (original EU members), European Union EU8 (joined EU in 2004), European Union EU2 (joined EU in 2007), European Union Other
Non-European Union (Other Europe)	Other Europe
Asia	Middle East and Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, South East Asia
Africa	Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa
Americas	North America, Central and South America
Oceania	Oceania

A detailed nationality breakdown for each world area is available in the supplementary data tables accompanying this release.

Where to find out more

Read previous releases of these statistics.

Read further information note includes detail on data sources, uses, quality and limitations of the series.

Full statistics on NINo allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK are available from Stat-Xplore.

Please note that the interactive map showing NINo registrations from different world areas by GB local authority, has not been updated for this publication due to a change in work environments as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

View an interactive NINo dashboard showing NINo registrations by nationality for each GB region.

Read about the NINo application process.

The Migration Statistics Quarterly Report provides a comprehensive summary of the various sources of migration statistics including headline NINo statistics.

Enquires and feedback

DWP would like to hear your views on our statistical publications. If you use any of our statistics publications, we would be interested in hearing what you use them for and how well they meet your requirements: Send your comments by email to: stats-consultation@dwp.gov.uk.

Press enquiries should be directed to the DWP Press Office, telephone: 0203 267 5144.

Enquiries about these statistics should be directed by email to:

Producers of this release: dominique.radcliffe@dwp.gov.uk and mehdi.walji1@dwp.gov.uk

Responsible statistician: yolanda.ruizrodriguez@dwp.gov.uk

ISBN: 978-1-78659-230-9