When you work abroad you normally pay social security in the country where you work, not UK National Insurance. The main exceptions are temporary postings covered by a certificate of coverage under the UK’s agreements with the EU and other countries, and postings to non agreement countries, where UK Class 1 continues for the first 52 weeks. From 6 April 2026 voluntary contributions for time abroad are limited to Class 3, with a new ten year test for first time applicants.

Do you keep paying UK National Insurance when you work abroad?

GOV.UK’s starting point is that you usually pay contributions where you are working. Whether UK contributions continue depends on two things: where you are going, and for how long. There are three routes:

  1. the EU, Gibraltar, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, covered by the UK’s coordination arrangements;
  2. another country with a bilateral social security agreement with the UK;
  3. a country with no agreement, where UK domestic law decides.

Income Tax works separately. GOV.UK’s employer guidance says PAYE tax must still be operated on payments to employees abroad, and someone abroad for a year or more may complete form P85 so HMRC can confirm the code. This page deals only with National Insurance.

How does a posting to the EU work?

For the EU, GOV.UK says you only pay UK National Insurance if HMRC has issued a certificate of coverage, also referred to as a PDA1 (the EU’s portable document A1). The certificate is the evidence that no contributions are due in the country where you work, and you pay into only one country’s scheme at a time. You or your employer should apply if, among other cases:

  • you are employed by a UK employer that normally operates in the UK and are sent, or agreed to go, to work temporarily in an EU country for up to two years;
  • you are self employed in the UK and will carry on a similar activity temporarily in an EU country for up to two years;
  • you work in the UK and one or more EU countries at the same time;
  • you are flight or cabin crew with a UK home base.

Beyond these cases, HMRC and the other country can agree that you stay in the UK scheme, but GOV.UK says this happens only in exceptional circumstances. Similar rules, with their own lists, apply to Gibraltar, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The employer’s liability follows the employee’s: if the employee pays UK contributions under a certificate, the employer pays UK employer contributions as if the work were done in the UK.

Which other countries have agreements?

GOV.UK’s employer guidance, updated in July 2026 to add India and remove New Zealand, lists the agreement countries outside the EU arrangements: Barbados, Bermuda, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Guernsey, India, Isle of Man, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Mauritius, the Philippines, the republics of the former Yugoslavia, South Korea, Turkey and the USA.

If you are sent temporarily to one of these countries you may be able to stay in the UK scheme. The certificate of coverage is applied for on form CA9107 by the employer, employee, self employed person or an agent. For India, the CA9107 guidance adds a gap rule: no certificate until at least six months after the last posting ended or, if that posting was under six months, until a gap longer than the previous posting.

What happens in a country with no agreement?

Regulation 146 of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001 keeps the employee in UK Class 1 for the first 52 contribution weeks abroad, starting with the week the overseas employment begins, if:

  • the employer has a place of business in Great Britain or Northern Ireland;
  • the employee is ordinarily resident there; and
  • the employee was resident there immediately before starting the overseas employment.

Both employee and employer contributions are due during those 52 weeks, and regulation 146(2)(c) applies Class 1A and Class 1B for the same period. After 52 weeks, Class 1 stops. GOV.UK tells employers to check with the host country’s social security institution whether contributions are due there too, so there can be a double charge in the first year with no agreement to prevent it.

Illustration: a non agreement posting

Illustration only. A UK company sends Tom, who has lived and worked in the UK for years, to a country with no agreement for 18 months from 1 June 2026. The company keeps deducting UK Class 1 for 52 weeks, with Class 1A on any benefits for the same period, and then stops. For the final six months Tom has no UK liability and may want to consider voluntary contributions to protect his record. If the posting had been to an agreement country, a certificate could have kept him in the UK scheme for the whole posting, within that agreement’s limits.

Can you pay voluntary contributions while abroad?

Rules changed from 6 April 2026. The HMRC policy paper on the measure, announced at Budget 2025, amends regulation 147 of the 2001 Regulations:

  • Class 2: voluntary Class 2 can no longer be paid for periods abroad from 2026 to 2027 onwards, except by self employed people treated as self employed in the UK under a social security agreement, and volunteer development workers paying the special rate.
  • Class 3: new applications for periods abroad from 2026 to 2027 need either ten continuous years of UK residence or ten qualifying years of contributions, up from three. Voluntary contributions paid for other periods abroad and National Insurance credits do not count towards the ten.

For 2026 to 2027 GOV.UK gives Class 3 as £18.40 a week, against £3.65 for Class 2. The policy paper puts the extra cost of Class 3 over voluntary Class 2 at £767 a year, and notes that Class 3 builds only State Pension entitlement, not working age benefits such as New Style Employment and Support Allowance.

There are transitional rules. Existing Class 3 payers abroad carry on without reapplying. People who applied to pay voluntary Class 2 or Class 3 for 2024 to 2025 or 2025 to 2026 on or before 5 April 2026 can still use the old three year test if they pay what they applied for, and apply for 2026 to 2027 Class 3, on or before 5 April 2027. These rules stop applying once you return to live or work in the UK.

New applications are made on form CF83. GOV.UK suggests checking your State Pension forecast first, or contacting the International Pension Centre if you are within six months of State Pension age. Regulation 146(2)(b) separately gives someone posted under the 52 week rule an entitlement, subject to further conditions, to pay Class 3 for the years they are abroad. Our guide to paying voluntary Class 3 contributions covers whether paying is worthwhile.

What should employers do before a posting?

  • Establish which of the three routes applies and how long the posting will last.
  • Apply for a certificate of coverage before the posting where one is available, and keep it on file. Without one, contributions are normally due in the host country instead.
  • Keep deducting Class 1 through payroll where the certificate or the 52 week rule applies, and stop when it ends.
  • Remember Class 1A on benefits such as accommodation for the same period. See our guide to Class 1A National Insurance.
  • Give the employee a letter showing the date they went abroad and their pay and tax to that date, as GOV.UK requires.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming UK contributions simply continue. In the EU they continue only with a certificate.
  • Running the 52 week rule past its end. Class 1 stops after 52 contribution weeks.
  • Relying on voluntary Class 2. It is no longer available for most periods abroad from 6 April 2026.
  • Missing the 5 April 2027 transitional deadline for existing voluntary payers.
  • Ignoring self employment. The self employed can also stay in the UK scheme under a certificate. See self employed National Insurance.

Current rates for each class are on our 2026 to 2027 rates and thresholds page.

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Sources

Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.