Accredited official statistics

National Insurance numbers allocated to adult overseas nationals to June 2025

Published 21 August 2025

This publication contains statistics on National Insurance Numbers (NINos) allocated to adult non-UK overseas nationals to June 2025. 

These Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) statistics show a count, by individual nationality, of the number of  National Insurance numbers registered to adult non-UK nationals, irrespective of the length of stay in the UK. The statistics are not a count of quarterly or annual migration or the number of adult nationals currently residing in the UK. The statistics only show the nationality of the individual at the point of registration.  

The narrative in this publication focuses on the number of registrations for 12 month ending totals, at quarterly intervals, rather than the numbers of registrations each quarter. The benefit of this is that it allows us to focus on trends over longer periods of time, plus, quarterly numbers can often be influenced by seasonal effects and various changes to policy. Both quarterly and annual numbers are available via Stat-Xplore.

When observing statistical trends in this release, it is helpful to understand the context of world events during the period covered by the statistics. Changing make-up of constituent nation states within the EU, with nations joining the EU, and the UK’s EU exit, as well as global conflicts such as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, impacts of the pandemic and subsequent changes to the travel rules because of government migration policies and COVID-19 have all had an impact on the trends seen in the time series. For more information on world events that may have influenced statistical trends, see background information and methodology note

Figures within this release have been rounded in line with our rounding policy. Figures in the text, charts and tables within this bulletin may not sum due to rounding. Figures in the graphs are plotted using unrounded numbers.

1. Main stories 

 

  • For the year ending (YE) June 2025 there were 630,000 National Insurance number registrations from non-UK adult overseas nationals. This compares to 940,000 registrations for the YE June 2024. 

  • The majority of registrations for the YE June 2025 were from non-EU nationals with 560,000 compared to 59,000 registrations from EU nationals and 9,600 registrations from unknown nationalities.  

  • Numbers of Non-EU registrations fell from 860,000 at YE June 2024 to 560,000 at YE June 2025, while EU registrations fell from 70,000 at YE June 2024 to 59,000 at YE June 2025  

  • For the YE June 2025, the nationality with the highest number of registrations from non-EU nationals was India with 140,000, followed by Pakistan with 62,000 registrations  

  • For the YE June 2025 the nationality with the highest number of registrations from EU nationals was Ireland with 11,000, followed by Romania with 7,800 registrations. 

2. What you need to know 

The two main methods of applying for a NINo are: 

Apply for a Nino (AfN) is a digital National Insurance Number application service where users can apply for a National Insurance Number on-line, the service is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more information on how these processes work see background information and methodology note.

EU groupings used within migration statistics 

The following EU groupings are used in the statistics: 

  • EU14 (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 and Bulgaria) 

  • EU Other (Croatia, Cyprus, and Malta) 

For reporting purposes, other European nationalities not in the EU are labelled ‘other Europe’ and are classified as non-EU. This includes countries such as Ukraine. For a full list of world areas and their sub-groups and nationalities, see background information and methodology note.

3. How many people are registering  

Year End (YE) National Insurance Number registration totals for EU and non-EU nationals: to YE June 2025 

Source: Stat-Xplore 

Note: Figures in the graph show 12 month ending totals, plotted at quarterly intervals. The values on the right of each plotted line show the total number of NINo registrations for the latest YE

For more information on time point descriptions, please see background information and methodology note.

From the beginning of this statistical series, the annual number of non-UK overseas NINo registrations fluctuated, but gradually increased to 920,000 registrations for YE June 2015.  Following this peak, numbers fluctuated, falling to 620,000 in YE September 2018 then rising to 760,000 in YE March 2020, before falling to a record low for YE March 2021 with 230,000 registrations.  

Total registrations then continued to rise until YE June 2023, where it reached 1.1 million and remained at 1.1 million until YE December 2023. Since then, YE total registrations for each quarter have continued to fall and now stand at 630,000 in YE June 2025. 

The majority of registrations for YE June 2025 were from non-EU nationals at 560,000 (89%) compared to 59,000 (9%) from EU nationals. The remaining 9,600 (2%) were from unknown nationalities. These are similar proportions to the previous YE June 2024 when majority of registration were from non-EU nationals at 860,000 (91%) compared with 70,000 (7%) from EU nationals, and 15,000 (2%) from unknown nationalities. 

Since YE June 2005, NINo registrations from EU nationalities were always in the majority, apart from a short period between YE March 2010 and YE December 2010, when non-EU nationalities had slightly more registrations than EU. However, since YE September 2020, there have consistently been more NINo registrations from non-EU nationals, than EU nationals.

4. Where in the world people are registering from 

Percentage of NINo registrations by EU/non-EU nationality group: Year End (YE) June 2021 to YE June 2025 

Source: Stat-Xplore  

Note: Percentages are calculated using unrounded data and then rounded to the nearest whole number. Therefore, percentages in charts may not add up to 100 and percentages quoted in text may not reflect the sum of percentages shown in the charts.

For YE June 2025, 89% of NINos registered from overseas nationals were from non-EU nationals, compared with 91% for YE June 2024 and 71% for YE June 2021. The proportion of non-EU NINo registrations for the last 12 months decreased slightly for the first time since YE June 2021, falling by 2% between YE June 2024 to YE June 2025. 

Although there has been a small rise of 2% from YE June 2024 to YE June 2025, the proportion of NINo registrations from EU nationals (not including EU other) has fallen overall from 29% in YE June 2021 to 10% for YE June 2025.  

The fall of EU NINo registrations since YE June 2021 is evident in most EU groups with EU14 falling from 15% at YE June 2021 to 7% at YE June 2025, EU2 falling from 11% at YE June 2021 to 2% at YE June 2025 and EU8 falling from 3% at YE June 2021 to 1% at YE June 2025.

5. EU NINo Registrations 

Year End (YE) NINo registration totals by EU nationality group: to YE June 2025 

Source: Stat-Xplore  

Note: Figures in the graph show 12 month ending totals, plotted at quarterly intervals.

For more information on time point descriptions, please see background information and methodology note

Registrations from EU14 nationalities gradually increased from 2002 until they peaked at 260,000 in YE June 2015, before declining to 160,000 at YE December 2018, following the EU Exit referendum in June 2016. Numbers then began to increase slightly until YE December 2019, then declined rapidly until YE March 2021 (35,000). Registrations from EU14 nationalities increased to 100,000 at YE March 2022 but have since continuously fallen to 42,000 at YE June 2025. The EU14 group has had the largest number of registrations of all the EU groups since YE March 2019. 

Registrations from EU8 nationalities drove the sharp rise in EU NINo registrations in 2004, when countries from the EU8 joined the EU. EU8 nationalities registrations peaked for the YE September 2007 at 340,000 registrations, after which numbers declined until YE March 2010 to 150,000. After a period of volatility, EU8 registrations again generally declined since the EU Exit referendum in 2016 to 8,500 registrations at YE March 2021. Registrations then increased gradually to YE March 2022 to reach 23,000 but have since decreased gradually to 5,200 registrations at YE June 2025.

Registrations from EU2 nationals were relatively low until the removal of restrictions on work for EU2 nationals drove the sharp increase in EU registrations in 2014. Some of these 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. EU2 nationals registrations peaked in the YE December 2016, with 230,000 registrations, then declined gradually until YE March 2020 (160,000). Following this, registrations declined steeply until YE March 2021 when they had fallen to 28,000. Registrations  then increased to 59,000 by YE December 2021 but have since declined, gradually falling to 10,000 at YE June 2025. 

NINo registrations from EU ‘other’ have remained consistently low throughout the time series and there were only 1,300 registrations for YE June 2025. 

Percentage of EU Registrations by EU nationality group: Year End (YE) June 2021 to YE June 2025

Source: Stat-Xplore  

Note: Percentages are calculated using unrounded data and then rounded to the nearest whole number. Therefore, percentages in charts may not add up to 100 and percentages quoted in text may not reflect the sum of percentages shown in the charts. 

The majority of registrations from EU nationals over the last 5 years have been from those in the EU14 subgroup. The percentage as a proportion of registrations has increased for the EU14 group, 71% at YE June 2025 when compared to 51% at YE June 2021. EU-other has remained relatively stable while EU8 and EU2 have remained stable and fallen, respectively, when compared to YE June 2021. 

Registrations from nationalities in the EU2 group have the second highest proportion of registrations of all the EU groups with 18% at YE June 2025. The percentage at YE June 2021 was 37%. 

Registrations from EU8 account for 9% of EU registrations for YE June 2025. The percentage at YE June 2021 was 11%. 

Registrations from EU ‘other’ remain very low and account for only 2% of EU registrations for YE June 2025.

Top five EU nationalities by total NINo registrations for Year End (YE) June 2024 and YE June 2025 

Source: Stat-Xplore  

Each nationality in the top five EU nationalities for YE June 2025 shows a reduced number of NINo registrations when compared to figures from YE June 2024.

For YE June 2025, Ireland is the EU nationality with the highest number of registrations (11,000), and has reduced since YE June 2024, where it was the nationality with the second highest number of registrations. Ireland is part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) which allows British and Irish citizens to move freely and reside in either jurisdiction. (see background information and methodology note for further details). 

Registrations from those with a Romanian nationality are the second highest number of registrations (7,800) for YE June 2025, decreasing from 12,000 registrations for the YE June 2024, when they were the nationality with the most registrations.  

For YE June 2025, those with a French nationality had the third highest number of registrations (5,500). In YE June 2024, French nationals had the fourth highest number of registrations at 6,000. 

For YE June 2025, NINo registrations from Italian nationals were the fourth highest at 5,400, followed by Spanish nationals in fifth position with 4,600. 

Five-year time series showing Year End (YE) totals of NINo registrations for the top 5 EU nationalities at YE June 2025

Source: Stat-Xplore  

Note: Figures in the graph show 12 month ending totals, plotted at annual intervals.  

Figures for the top five EU nationalities at YE June 2025 shows Irish nationals have the highest number of registrations at 11,000. Registrations increased from 1,800 at YE June 2021 to 16,000 at YE June 2022, this number has since fallen to 11,000 at YE June 2025.

Romania has the second highest number of registrations at 7,800. Registrations for Romania were 20,000 in YE June 2021 and rose to 39,000 at YE June 2022. This has since fallen steeply 7,800 registrations at YE June 2025. 

French registrations are the third highest at YE June 2025 at 5,500, an increase from 3,300 at YE June 2021. Registrations reached up to 11,000 in YE June 2022, then fell to 6,000 at YE June 2024, and 5,500 at YE June 2025. 

Italian nationals have the fourth highest numbers of EU registrations at YE June 2025 at 5,400 falling from 11,000 at YE June 2021. Numbers increased at YE June 2022 to 18,000, decreasing to 10,000 at YE June 2023, before falling to 6,100 at YE June 2024, and 5,400 at YE June 2025.  

Spanish registrations are the fifth highest at YE June 2025 at 4,600, a fall from 7,700 for YE June 2021. Registrations increased to 16,000 at YE June 2022, then decreased to 10,000 at YE June 2023, falling further to 5,700 at YE June 2024 and 4,600 at YE June 2025. 

6. Non-EU registrations 

Year End (YE) NINo registration totals by non-EU nationality group: to YE June 2025

Source: Stat-Xplore  

Note: Figures in the graph show 12 month ending totals, plotted at quarterly intervals 

For more information on time point descriptions, please see background information and methodology note

Since the time series began, NINo registrations from Asian nationals have always been the highest of all registrations from the non-EU groups, peaking at YE December 2010 with 220,000, but then declining to 75,000 at YE June 2014. Registrations then remained stable until YE December 2018 before gradually increasing to 190,000 at YE March 2020. Registrations then fell to 100,000 at YE March 2021, then increased steeply to 600,000 by YE December 2023, but have since decreased to 370,000 at YE June 2025. 

Registrations from African nationals remained relatively stable before peaking in YE March 2006 with 74,000 registrations, after which the number of registrations continued to decline until YE June 2014, when they decreased to 27,000. Registrations from Africa were then stable, until they started to increase from YE December 2018 to reach 56,000 at YE March 2020 before falling to 31,000 at YE March 2021. Numbers of registrations have since risen steeply to 270,000 at YE December 2023 but have since fallen to 100,000 at YE June 2025.

Registrations from the Americas have mostly been low and been relatively stable. Registrations gradual increased to 36,000 at YE March 2009, then decreased to 20,000 at YE June 2014. The number of registrations then remained relatively stable before gradually increasing to 35,000 at YE September 2019, before decreasing sharply to 14,000 at YE March 2021. Since then, number of registrations peaked at a high of 44,000 at YE December 2022 but have since decreased to 34,000 at YE June 2025. 

Similarly, registrations from Oceania have always remained low but peaked at YE December 2007 at 35,000. Since then, the registration numbers remained stable before gradually decreasing to 2,900 at YE June 2021 and since then, the number of registrations has increased to 16,000 at YE June 2025. 

Registrations from nationalities who are not part of the EU (Other Europe), remained relatively low and stable until YE March 2018 when, for the first time, they had more registrations than Oceania at 17,000 compared with 16,000 for Oceania. Registrations then increased to 31,000 at YE March 2020, before falling to 12,000 in YE March 2021. Following this, registrations increased steeply to 150,000 at YE March 2023. This can be attributed to an increase in registrations from Ukrainian nationals following breakout of conflict with Russia. Since then, the number of ‘Other Europe’ registrations has fallen to 35,000 at YE June 2025. 

It should be noted that the noticeable increase in registrations from non-EU nationals after September 2018 until the beginning of 2020, is mostly due to registration for a NINo of adult dependants as part of certain visa approvals. See background information and methodology note for more information. 

Percentage of non-EU registrations by non-EU nationality group: to Year End (YE) June 2025

Source: Stat-Xplore  

Note:  Percentages are calculated using unrounded data and then rounded to the nearest whole number, therefore may not add up to 100. 

Registrations by Asian nationals remain the non-EU group with the largest proportion of NINo registrations at YE June 2025 (67%). The proportion has fluctuated slightly each year since YE June 2021 when it was 62%. 

African nationals have the next highest proportion at 18% at YE June 2025. The proportion increased since YE June 2021 when it was 20% to 24% at YE June 2024, before decreasing to 18% at YE June 2025. 

At YE June 2021 the proportion of registrations for ‘other Europe’ was 8% which increased to 14% at YE June 2022, coinciding with the conflict in Ukraine. At YE June 2025, the proportion of registrations for ‘other Europe’ has fallen to 6%, similar YE June 2024.  

The proportion of registrations from the Americas are the fourth highest of the non-EU groups, with only 6% at YE June 2025. There was a steady fall in proportion since YE June 2021 when the percentage of registrations fell from 9% to 4% at YE June 2024, but this has since risen slightly to 6% in YE June 2025. 

The proportion of registrations for Oceania was 3% at YE June 2025, compared with 2% at YE June 2021.

Top 5 non-EU nationalities by total NINo registrations for Year End (YE) June 2024 and YE June 2025 

 

Source: Stat-Xplore

The highest number of NINo registrations at YE June 2025 was from India at 140,000 decreasing from 220,000 registrations at YE June 2024 where they were also the first highest. 

The second highest NINo registrations from non-EU nationalities at YE June 2025 were from Pakistan nationals with 62,000 registrations, a decrease from 92,000 at YE June 2024 where they were third highest. 

Nigerian registrations had the third highest nationality for non-EU registrations, at 38,000 at YE June 2025, decreasing from 93,000 at YE June 2024, where they were the second highest. 

The non-EU nationality with the fourth highest number of NINo registrations was China with 30,000 registrations at June 2025, a decrease from 32,000 at YE June 2024, when they were the fifth highest.  

Nepal had the fifth highest number of non-EU registrations at YE June 2025 at 23,000, compared to YE June 2024 where it was the ninth highest at 20,000. 

Bangladesh had the eighth highest number of non-EU registrations at YE June 2025 at 15,000, compared to YE June 2024 where it was the fourth highest at 34,000. 

It is worth noting that the chart above does not include those that have registered for a NINo with a British Nationals Overseas (BNO) Nationality. At present there is no category in the operational data system for BNO Nationality therefore they are recorded as having an unknown Nationality in the data.  See background information and methodology note for more information.

Time series showing Year End (YE) totals of NINo registrations for the top 5 non-EU nationalities at YE June 2025: 

Source: Stat-Xplore

Note: Figures in the graph show 12 month ending totals, plotted at annual intervals. 

Figures for the top 5 non-EU nationalities at YE June 2025 show India has the highest number of registrations at 140,000. The number of registrations increased from 61,000 at YE June 2021 which then steeply increased to 280,000 at YE June 2023 followed by a decrease to 220,000 at YE June 2024.  

Pakistan had the second highest numbers of registration with 62,000 at YE June 2025. The number of registrations increased from 13,000 at YE June 2021 to 92,000 at YE June 2024, but have since decreased to 62,000 at YE June 2025. 

Nigeria had the third highest number of registrations at YE June 2025 at 38,000. Numbers of registrations rose from 15,000 at YE June 2021 to 63,000 at YE June 2022, then rose steeply to 130,000 at YE June 2023, before falling to 38,000 at YE June 2025.  

China had the fourth highest number of registrations at 30,000 at YE June 2025.  Registrations increased from 5,200 at YE June 2021 to 35,000 at YE June 2023, but has since fallen to 30,000 at YE June 2025.  

Nepal had the fifth highest number of non-EU registrations at YE June 2025 with 23,000. The numbers of registrations rose from 2,200 at YE June 2021 to 8,800 at YE June 2022. Registrations then increased to 20,000 at YE June 2024.

7. Where in the UK people are registering 

Year End (YE) total of NINo registrations by region and non-EU/EU groups for YE June 2025

Region Non-EU EU
London 170,000 20,000
South East 56,000 5,400
West Midlands 53,000 3,100
North West 53,000 3,500
East of England 36,000 3,600
Yorkshire and The Humber 32,000 2,100
Scotland 34,000 3,100
East Midlands 28,000 2,300
South West 24,000 2,200
North East 14,000 670
Wales 12,000 710
Northern Ireland 6,600 2,900
Overseas Registration 34,000 8,200
Unknown or Missing Region 9,300 1,400

Source: Stat-Xplore 

Note: Overseas indicates registrations which were obtained via Home Office Visa scheme prior to arrival in UK. Geography information is based on address given at time of NINo registration.  

At YE June 2025, the number of registrations from non-EU nationals were greater than registrations from EU nationals (170,000 compared with 20,000) and this was reflected across all regions.  

44% of all registrations with a known UK address at the time of registration for YE June 2025 resided in London or the South East regions at the time of NINo registration. 

The region with the highest number of NINo registrations was London with 170,000 non-EU registrations and 20,000 EU registrations.  

The South East region had the second highest number of registrations with 56,000 non-EU and 5,400 EU registrations. 

Top 10 Local Authorities by total of NINo registrations for Year End (YE) June 2025

Local Authorities Registrations
Birmingham 21,000
Newham 19,000
Manchester 15,000
Tower Hamlets 11,000
Redbridge 10,000
Ealing 10,000
Glasgow City 10,000
Coventry 9,700
City of Edinburgh 9,500
Leeds 9,200

Source: Stat-Xplore

Note:  Geography information is based on address given at time of NINo registration.  

The local authority with the highest number of registrations at YE June 2025 was Birmingham with 21,000 registrations. Newham had the second highest registrations with 19,000, Manchester was third with 15,000.   

8. About these statistics 

Re-designation of Accredited Official Statistics status

These statistics are accredited official statistics and were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) in November 2020. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should therefore be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. For more information see background information and methodology note

OSR introduced the term ‘Accredited Official Statistics’ to describe National Statistics in September 2023. This was done following OSR’s review of the National Statistics designation and subsequent designation refresh project, which found the term ‘National Statistics’ was not well understood by users of statistics. 

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards by emailing the cbm.stats@dwp.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

EU exit 

The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 ended free movement between the EU and the UK on 31 December 2020 and the Future Relationship treaty came into force, launching the new Points Based Immigration System. Read the background information and methodology note for further information on the EU Exit. 

What you can use these figures for 

The statistics provide:

  • a 100% count of non-UK overseas nationals registered for a NINo 

  • Stat-Xplore allows users to tabulate NINo registrations for each quarter and Year-End Nino registrations (for each quarter) 

  • the focus of this bulletin is on NINo registrations for YE 

  • the nationality of non-UK overseas nationals at the time of registering 

  • the geographical location of the non-UK overseas nationals at the time of registering 

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 non-UK overseas nationals who have started work or are currently in work 

  • the number of non-UK overseas 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 Stat-Xplore, 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. 

Read the background information and methodology 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 Office for National Statistics (ONS) long-term estimates of immigration. 

Transformation of migration statistics  

The ONS have transformed the way they measure Long-Term International Migration (LTIM). Since 2021, data from the Home Office and Department for Work and Pensions have been used to produce Admin-Based Migration Estimates (ABMEs). For more information on how these are developed, see Provisional long-term international migration estimates: technical user guide - ONS

Change to methodology for assigning geographies 

Since the February 2023 release, the statistical method for assigning geographies has been improved. For more information on how geographies are assigned see background information and methodology note

Rounding policy 

Numbers in this bulletin have been rounded as detailed in the background information and methodology note. Percentage changes are calculated prior to rounding and then are rounded to the nearest whole number. As all figures within this bulletin have been rounded, therefore they may not sum to totals. 

Due to rounding and the inclusion of unknown nationalities in the total, the total figure could differ from the sum of EU and non-EU.

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 EU14 (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 background information and methodology note

Release schedule 

The statistics are published quarterly in February, May, August, and November and are sourced from administrative data originally collected via Migrant Workers Scan (MWS) which is sourced from the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) National Insurance and PAYE system (NPS).   

Next release: 27 November 2025

Where to find out more 

Read previous releases of these statistics. 

Read further information for this series, including detail on data sources, uses, quality and limitations of the series. 

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

Read about the NINo application process.

9. User engagement 

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:  cbm.stats@dwp.gov.uk 

Contacts 

Press enquiries should be directed to the DWP Press Office

Lead Analyst: MD Akmal Hossain Sadi 

Statistics Producer: Kate Walker

ISBN: 978-1-78659-868-4