Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure BNO holders are able to secure a National Insurance number.

You can apply for and start work without a National Insurance number if you can prove you can work in the UK. Employers are required to conduct mandatory Right to Work checks on all prospective employees. Having a NINo is not part of these checks, and the possession of a NINo does not prove that an individual has a right to work.

As part of the application process for a National Insurance Number, BN(O) holders would be required to attend a face to face appointment where the DWP could validate and confirm their Identity and Right to Work. Due to Covid, the face to face NINo service is currently suspended.