Claim a National Insurance Refund

Dear Admin, I have been working in the UK for almost four years (from 2019-2023) as a pilot and have paid NI during the whole period. I have never been a UK citizen or permanently lived in the UK as I commuted back an forth between the UK and Sweden, however, my official base of work was in the UK. According to the tax treaty between the UK and Sweden, any person working as a crew member on an aircraft shall pay full tax in the country of residence, which in my case was Sweden, and for that reason my tax code have been “NT”. According to the Swedish tax agency, I should also pay full NI contribution in Sweden and will not be able to deduct the NI I have paid in the UK. Since I am not supposed to pay NI in two countries, can I claim a refund of the NI I’ve paid in the UK? Thank you in advance.

Hi 

As a pilot you are liable to pay National Insurance in the country where your home base is.  In this case the UK.  You should apply for a portable document A1 from HMRC in order to exempt you from paying in Sweden.  To apply for this you will need to complete the application form CA8421

Thanks