NIM33251 - Special Cases: India - Introduction
Social security agreement between the UK and India: Introduction
Legislation
Agreement on Social Security relating to Social Security Contributions between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of India
The Social Security (India) Order (SI 2026 No. 274)
The Social Security (Contributions) (Republic of India) Order of 2026 (S.I. 2026/274) and the Social Security (Contributions) (Republic of India) Order (Northern Ireland) 2026 (S.I. 2026/50) give legal effect in the UK to the India Agreement.
Signed on 10 February 2026, this agreement is expected to enter into force by Summer 2026.
If a person is already in India on the date the agreement comes into force, and they satisfy the conditions in Articles 4 and 6, they will be subject to the provisions contained within it (see NIM33252 for further information).
This agreement contains provisions relating to contribution matters only. This kind of agreement is sometimes also referred to as a Double Contributions Convention (DCC).
If a person is in scope of this agreement, there are rules that determine whether the social security legislation of the UK or India is applicable. The rules for determining the applicable legislation are in Articles 7 to 12 of this agreement. The agreement does not apply to self-employment.
Apart from Articles 8(6) and 8(7) (see NIM33258 for further information), there are no provisions in this agreement relating specifically to an employer’s liability to pay social security contributions. If an employee is subject to UK legislation under this agreement, any liability to UK employer NICs would be dependent upon the employer satisfying the relevant UK domestic provisions.