Keith

Hi British Canuck: Thanks for this reply...excellent information! Thanks for the heads-up about where to find the form tracking info on the gateway...it turns out that it is also visible through the HMRC phone app > Communications tab > Form Tracker (and my form was received after I'd written the last set of questions to you). I'm glad I'm "in the system" now! Your dates are helpful too. Mine took 3 weeks to get there (via Registered Canada Post...1 week to get to Pearson...1 week to get to Heathrow...1 week in Customs...sigh). Looks like the HMRC response to you took about 8 months. The current expected response to mine is almost 12 months! Now that you have the 18-character reference number, is the payment process straightforward? Will you pay from a Canadian or British bank account? Thanks again for your helpful replies! Cheers, Keith

Just curious...has the writer of this question sent in their CF38 form and been advised that they are eligible to buy back years 2006 - 2023? That's the required process as I understand it...and the response from HRMC should have been confirming what years are eligible to purchase back AND how to make that payment from abroad.

That link takes you to "How to get your National Insurance Number in Writing" not how to pay Class 2 NI

Hi BritishCanuck: Where did you see notification that your CF38 had been received (and subsequently marked as "Completed")...was it on the HRMC app > Communications tab > Form Tracker? I ask as I've been notified by Canada Post/Royal Mail that my form/letter (mailed on Jan 24th) has been delivered and signed for by HMRC today (Feb 13th) and I'm hoping that the App will eventually confirm their internal receipt of it. Cheers!

A reply from HRMC would be much appreciated!

At various points within this customer forum, mention has been made of a future online voluntary NI contributions tool being developed, A Government spokesperson has been quoted as saying "We are building a new online service to allow people to see if making voluntary National Insurance contributions would increase their state pension and then make any payments. The new service is currently being developed and tested to make absolutely sure it is easy to use and provides accurate information in a straightforward way. We expect it to be ready later this financial year." Can you provide answers to the following questions please... 1. When will this tool become available for public use? 2. Will people living abroad be able to use it, or will they still be required to submit a CF83 and wait for a mailed response (currently an anticipated 47 weeks later)? 3. What can we expect from the tool? Will we be able do what was quoted above...namely "see if making voluntary National Insurance contributions would increase their state pension and then make any payments"? Thanks!

Hi BritishCanuck...given that the online tool says that they are now processing applications received in March 2023, it is surprising that your CF83 submitted in July 2023 has been "COMPLETED". Perhaps "COMPLETED" doesn't mean what we think it does? Please post back here should you ever get through by phone or when you receive a mailed response. Cheers!

Perfect! Thanks for the reply.

Hi HMRC: What should we do if the rule you outline above to create the bank transfer "18 Digit" only results in a 17 Digit number? For example, a JOHN SMITH would be QQ123456AICSMITHJ which is 17 digits. Is 18 Digits a requirement? If so, where should the 18th digit come from in this example (would it be the second letter of the first name...or maybe the initial of a middle name)? Cheers.

Hello HRMC and fellow posters currently on this epic journey to pension nirvana! I printed the CF38 form around Christmas (roughly 4 weeks ago) and set about completing it while gathering supplementary information for an additional letter. I just passed on a link to the CF38 to a fellow expat today, only to notice that the form is different to the one I’d printed just last month. Can you confirm that the current copy at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65a4e2117eb42e000dceb7ab/CF83.pdf is the one to use? What changes occurred that necessitated the change in this form? Cheers, Keith