The Nine Inch Nails of England

Today I applied for my National Insurance Number (NIN) -- almost the equivalent of a Social Security Number in the US. I had to be interviewed and prove, among other things, that I live here, have a right to work here, and that I have some potential to make money. But, since my plan is to be self-employed, I also found out I had to be registered to be self-employed, too. Technically, according to my interviewer, the feds want you to have a NIN to be self-employed but you need a job to get a NIN. Classic Catch 22. The work-around is to 'attempt' to apply for both at the same time, which I did. The lady said applications submitted like this are being accepted "right now" and implied that maybe in the future they wouldn't be allowed. Either way, I am on the road to being a proud tax payer in not just the US, but the UK, too. Makes me tingle. I guess here we have the added benefit that the NIN comes with free health care.