NI Number Format - Nationality

The request was refused by Department for Work and Pensions.

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

I have been made aware that NI Numbers beginning with the letter "S" denotes a non British National and that "SH" denotes an EU National. A previous FOI response from you to another requester has denied that this is the case and stated that allocation is random. However upon checking my company's staff list of over 3000 employees and comparing their personal information with their NI number, it appears to confirm that NI numbers beginning with an "S" are indeed allocated to non-British nationals. It would be a statistical improbability for this to have been via random allocation. With this information in mind, please can you confirm the following:

- Does the letter S denote a non-British national?
- Do the letters SH denote someone from the EU?

If the above is incorrect, please can you confirm the correct method for identifying non-British nationals from their NI number?

Yours faithfully,

Anne Anon

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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no-reply@dwp.ecase.co.uk on behalf of Operations FOI Team, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Anne Anon,

I am writing in response to your request for information, received 5
December.

Your response is attached

Yours sincerely,

DWP Operations FOI Team