NI Number & Naturalisation (housewife)

[dnicky]

I've gone through a few of the old posts and have managed to find information leading me to believe that having NI number is not mandatory for a housewife applying for naturalisation who has never worked during her stay in the UK.

Leaving NI number blank in Section 1 and specifying occupation as housewife in section 3 of Form AN should suffice.

We (myself, my wife & kids) will be applying for naturalisation shortly and hence will appreciate comments from co-members of this board on the above matter just to re-confirm my understanding and put my mind at rest.

[John]

Leaving NI number blank in Section 1 and specifying occupation as housewife in section 3 of Form AN should suffice.

I would not just leave the NI number answer blank. Write something like "Never applied for" across where the NI number would be issued. Otherwise they may think that the applicant has simply forgotten to enter it.

The fact that she is a housewife ... now .... does not necessarily mean that she has always been a housewife in the UK, so that is not a good indicator why the NI section is blank.

But wait a minute, haven't you applied for Tax Credits? That would be a joint claim by you and your wife, and that application would have provoked the procedure to get a NI number issued to your wife?

Who is the Child Benefit claimant? You or your wife?

Even if you were not entitled before, when the ILR visas were issued that would have entitled benefits to be claimed.

[dnicky]

Many thanks John for your comments.

We have never claimed tax credits or child benefit till date, and as my wife has never worked in the UK hence never felt a need to apply for NI number for my wife.

[John]

But why have those benefits never been claimed? There is absolutely no reason not to claim.

[dnicky]

You are right. There is no reason not to claim; we just did not claim it.

If I understand it correctly claiming benefits is solely upto the individual and as such should not really have any impact on our naturalisation application. We decided not to claim any benefits until we gain citizenship.

[John]

That is right, you cannot be forced to claim. However I say, why not?

As said before, when making those claims, because your wife has not got a NI number, it is provoke the procedure to get one allocated to her, in order for the claims to proceed.

The fact that you have not claimed benefits thus far will have no impact upon the Naturalisation applications. I don't think it will give you more "brownie points" than if you had claimed (after you were entitled). In other words, the applications are no more likely to be approved because you haven't claimed thus far.

[dnicky]

Thanks John for your comments.

I fully understand that not claiming benefits will not give us any "brownie point" (as you say) than if we had claimed them, and neither is our application more likely to get approved because of that.
Although, thinking about it, it does not seem to be a bad idea for UKBA to grant bonus points for applicants not claiming benefits.

As I said earlier it was our decision not to claim benefits until atleast we gain citizenship. No specific reason as to why, but never felt the need to do so.

I also understand that my wife would have to apply for NI and get one in order for her to start claiming benefits whenever we decide to do so.

So going back to your suggestion that you provided earlier, in my wife's application form specifying "never applied for " where it asks to specify NI number (section 1), and housewife as occupation in section 3, should suffice.