Apply for a certificate confirming you will pay UK National Insurance when working temporarily abroad (CA3822)
Ask HMRC to confirm that you, or if you’re an employer, your employee pays only UK National Insurance contributions whilst working temporarily in an EU country, Gibraltar, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.
You can use this form, if you’re an employer, employee or an agent acting on behalf of an employer or employee, to apply for a certificate of coverage.
Use this form if you’re:
- going to work temporarily in an EU country, Gibraltar, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland
- a UK civil servant working in an EU country, Gibraltar, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland
- a resident in the UK, whilst working on a vessel at sea with an EU, Icelandic, Liechtenstein, Norwegian, or Swiss flag but you’re paid by someone based in the UK
You cannot apply more than 12 months in advance.
If you are not sure you should fill in this form, use the interactive guidance tool to check which application form you’ll need.
Before you start
Your employer must have confirmation from HMRC that their business is eligible to apply for a certificate.
Your employer can ask HMRC to confirm their eligibility using form CA3821. We will only need to confirm their eligibility once.
What you’ll need
To complete the form, you’ll need the following information:
- your country and place of birth
- your name, and details of any previous names
- which nationalities you hold
- the end-date of your self-employment, if you’ve previously been self-employed in the UK in the last 5 years
- the PAYE (Pay As You Earn) reference number of the employer sending you to work abroad — you can find this number on your P60 or through your personal tax account
If you do not have this information, you may be unable to complete and submit this form. Even if you are able to submit the form without the information, it may take us longer to process your application.
You may also need include the following information if you:
- have a husband, wife or partner who has an EU Settlement Scheme status
- hold a non-UK nationality you got before 1 January 2021
- hold a right to work in the UK — if you do, you’ll need to know what type of right to work you hold and if you held this right before 1 January 2021
- have a current right to reside in an EU country, Gibraltar, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, if you do, if you held this right before 1 January 2021
- have lived or worked in an EU country, Gibraltar, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland before 1 January 2021
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will be resident in an EU country, Gibraltar, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, and if you have dependants living with you who also need healthcare cover — if so, you’ll need to provide the following details for each dependant:
- name
- date of birth
- their working status (if they are over 16 years old)
If you’re applying for a certificate of coverage for a period longer than allowed, you’ll need to attach a signed statement. The signed statement should cover why you want to continue paying UK National Insurance while working abroad and how it’s in your best interest. This will only apply if you are covered by certain agreements.
Healthcare
If you will be resident in an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland and have a certificate of coverage confirming that you pay UK National Insurance when working in any of those countries, you may also be entitled to health cover funded by the UK in your country of residence.
HMRC will consider whether you qualify for UK funded healthcare, and if you do, HMRC will also issue you with a healthcare entitlement certificate (S1).
If you’re an agent
If you’re an agent working on behalf of your client, your client needs to fill in an authorising your agent (64-8) form.
You should submit the completed form with your CA3822 application form.
If you’re applying for an extension to an existing certificate
You’ll need to know the date the existing certificate of coverage expires and any changes in your circumstances since the previous application. If the total time period for the existing certificate and the extension is longer than allowed, you’ll need to attach a signed statement.
The signed statement should cover why you want to continue paying UK National Insurance while working abroad and how it’s in your best interest. This will only apply if you are covered by certain agreements.
How to apply
Apply online
You’ll need to apply using one of the following:
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a Government Gateway user ID and password — if you do not have a user ID, you can create one when you apply
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an email address
If you’re an agent applying on behalf of your client, you should use your own Government Gateway user ID and password.
You do not have to fill in the form in one go. You can save your answers and return later.
If you’re an employer, employee or agent:
Check when you can expect a reply
You can check when you can expect a reply from HMRC about the application that you have submitted.
Updates to this page
Last updated 9 May 2024 + show all updates
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Information added to confirm you need to provide your PAYE (Pay As You Earn) reference number of the employer sending you to work abroad when you complete the form.
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A tool to help you find the application form you'll need has been added to this page.
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Print and post option of the application form (CA3822) has been removed as the postal form will no longer be available from 1 December. Change to the application process for when applying for a certificate of coverage where a healthcare entitlement certificate may also be issued if the applicant qualifies. A new section has been included so that you can check when you can expect a reply from HMRC after you've applied.
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The section 'before you start' has been updated to clarify that HMRC will only need to confirm your eligibility to apply for a certificate once, using form CA3821.
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The section 'If employees work on a ship at sea' has been removed as it no longer applies.
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A 'Before you start' section has been added including a link to form CA3821. The 'What you'll need' section has been updated. The online form CA3822 has been amended, you no longer have to complete it in one go, you can now save your answers and return later.
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This has been updated following the announcement of the UK’s deal with the EU. Check which country's legislation applies if you send employees to work in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland or Liechtenstein.
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First published.