Keith

Dear HRRC: The writer (Mike Allan) is asking how long it takes until a voluntary payment of NI contributions takes to appear in the NI online record. Can you please reply with the typical/average wait time for this to be reflected in our NI records - such that we know when we might feel it necessary to contact the number you’ve provided (ie if the wait exceeds this average time)? Thank you!

For general information of readers of this area of the forum: I submitted my CF83 by mail from Canada and it arrived at HMRC on February 13, 2024. About a month later the status of the submission (via the HMRC app and online portal) changed from "Received" to "In Progress". Then in early-April it changed to "Completed". On April 26th I received a letter from HRMC detailing the voluntary NIC years I can buy back and the cost of each year. From start to finish, the process took about 3 months for me. Good luck to everyone!

Alan Jones: Class 2 NI is not just for self employed people overseas...it is also for those employed by others. Nonetheless, DrEgg is asking about the reason he was denied as it pertains to the "working immediately before leaving the UK" portion of the assessment...and he's right to ask for a definition of this as it's a very vague condition - with no information on the application form as to what it means.

Hey classwho....elsewhere in this forum its been mentioned that there's an 18 character limit. Despite Admin not answering your question I think you'd be wise to only use the 18 characters requested, and not go beyond.

Hi Jonathan: they have posted a number of times on this forum (different threads) that as long as they receive the *initial* documentation (CF83) ahead of the current April 2025 deadline, you're "in the system and won't be penalized". As to how payments will be requested/processed once that deadline arrives is anyone's guess, but based on what I've read I don't feel it'll be an issue for any of us (in terms of being "late" I mean). There's lots of good threads in this forum that have answers to some key questions I've had along the way...so I recommend reading through as many as possible that are applicable to your situation.

Dear HMRC Admin: Can you please answer the key question that Saigongal asked...namely how long after the "Completed" notification is provided on the Gateway or App should we expect the reply by post to take? Thanks!

Dear HMRC: please note that your example is actually 17 digits. Can you confirm that the format is for UP TO 18 Digits (which is always going to be less than 18 Digits if your surname is 5 letters or less). Thanks!

Actually Jesse...my new status is a bit unsettling as it doesn't fit with the reported times experienced by almost everyone. Even though it now says "in progress", I've no doubt it'll be the 11 month turnaround like Sharon just reported to us. Hi Sharon: did the response give you everything you need (namely what years you can pay for; the cost; and exactly how to make the payment)? Any other useful info from your letter? Do you have to do anything else (like contact them again)...or can you just go ahead and make a payment? Cheers, Keith (Toronto)

Hi Jesse. I'm glad you could find out the status of your CF83 using the app. The app (and the online Government Gateway - which reports exactly the same information about the submitted CF83) reported that my CF83 was received by HMRC on 13Feb24 and it too says "Online" as Form Type, even though it was mailed (the "Reference" section is also blank). For about 4 weeks the Status showed as "Received", but a couple of days ago it changed to "In Progress". This change surprised me as when I check the "When Should I Expect a Reply from HRMC" it says they are working on applications submitted in March 2023. I'm not getting my hopes up!

Hi Moray...the actual "Keith" here lol. I was disappointed to see that HMRC had put my name on that March 5th reply as it had nothing to do with my last comment in this thread (namely that the link they'd provided in their Feb 19th reply to Robert Gray doesn't take you to where they say it is going to). Unfortunately this forum is hit and miss with respect to the information supplied by HMRC...sometimes it is highly useful and accurate...and sometimes it is nonsense and completely unhelpful. Good luck with your attempts to get the answers to your very important questions...hopefully it gets resolved soon.