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Summer is the synonym of a new beginning for newly graduated people, for students who begin a gap year or for persons in the working life who want a turning point in their lives.  If you move to Great Britain or Ireland for your new beginning and try to find a job there, you need to know that you have to be registered and to get your own NIN or PPS number to work legally and achieve your goal.

We will help you to understand these important abbreviations and to know the process to get them.

The NIN in the United Kingdom

Literally “National Insurance Number” is useful for the security social system but also used for the taxes that workers need to pay in the UK. Of course, it is a personal and unique number that you keep for your whole life.

There is no difference between the cases that you already have a job or that you are seeking for your first job in the UK: your contact is always the “JobCentre”.

In both situations, you will need to provide some documents:

• Your ID or passport
• A certificate of Address in the UK
• The convening paper that you will have received few days before your appointment at their office
• The day of your appointment, you will also need to fill in (at least) a form and you may be required to reply some questions about your career and your project in the UK

If you don’t have a job yet, you may need to prove that you are seeking one with documents such as letters from recruitment agencies saying that you are registered or letters from companies which declined your application.

If you already found a company to work in, sometimes the employers help you in the process or even do it for you. If it doesn’t you would still need to go for a meeting at the JobCentre and bring with you a letter of your employer and/or your work contract.

Even if on the convening paper, that you will need to bring with, the documents that you need may be written on it, don’t forget, when you will have your first call with the JobCentre, to pay attention and to write down which documents you’ll need because it can changes time to time.

After receiving your NIN number, if you are already employee, you can ask the Inland Revenue for a refund of a part of the taxes. In fact, if you already paid taxes it must be a maximum amount, as the organisation didn’t know your situation.

The PPS number in Ireland

Such as the NIN in the UK, a PPS number is personal and kept for the whole life. We use the “Personal Public Service Number” in several cases related to health, taxes, social security, etc…

To obtain your PPS Number you can apply at the Social Welfare Office and, as a EU citizen, bring with you :

• Your ID or your passport
• A certificate of address in Ireland

Exactly like the NIN number, before having your PPS when you work already you pay a high tax, which can be refund after getting it.

If you found a job before having your PPSN, your employer often helps you to go ahead with the process. It is especially the case with the call-centres in Ireland, where many foreign European citizens work. They usually take an appointment at the Social Welfare Office for you and you just need to go there for the appointment.

The dealing with the organisation is not that heavy but you may need a lot of patience to wait for your turn!