Form 8802/6166
 

Does anyone have recent experience with the application for US Residency Certification? I paid the fee online and sent off form 8802 together with the HMRC form for relief at source and claim for repayment of tax back at the end of April. I had a couple of letters from the IRS saying there were processing delays, then I received a copy of the HMRC form in the mail with a date stamp in the official stamp box. No letter of explanation and no form 6166. I did ask for the form to be sent directly to HMRC so I'm hoping this was just a copy for my info. However, when I called HMRC today they advise they have not received anything from the IRS. Calling the IRS leads me to a recorded message saying they have too many enquiries re this form and to call back another day. Is it normal for the process to take so long?

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

yes I file them every year for a number of countries/entities… they were taking 6/9+ months over CV19…

The later you file the longer they take.. I started submitting them in late December/early Jan by fax and got the wait down to around 4 months like that.

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

This is very much a carbon copy of where I stand attempting to claim back a withholding from my cashed out frozen private pension plan. Like you we started all this back in April when the fee was paid and form sent off. Received the letter with the date stamp but without the 6166 form as we had not requested for it to be sent directly to HMRC.
Yesterday we called Philadelphia for an update as we had heard nothing for well over a month and the lady said the form had been sent to HRMC.
The lady that's helped me file will be away from Florida for a few weeks and if there's been no movement then she will call HRMC on her return.
Like you, we are amazed how long this is taking!

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

Well, that's most interesting! I spoke to a very officious IRS agent today who said things like "listen to the question" and "answer the question" - made me feel like an idiot, and was in complete contrast to the chatty HMRC person I spoke to yesterday! Came back to me after a brief hold with a very pleasant demeanour, told me I shouldn't have received just the stamped form, and asked me to fax in a copy of the HMRC form together with the letter of acknowledgement from the IRS. Apparently, I should have received a letter from the IRS telling me the forms had been sent to HMRC, but it appears as though they were never sent. The HMRC form they sent back to me is my original, so I'm hoping HMRC are going to be satisfied with a copy from the IRS.

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

Are you any farther along with this? I just sent you a msg.

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

Looks like I'm in the same boat as everyone else. I do have one question; are you able to see on your HMRC Personal Tax Account page whether the form has been received and entered into the system under Track Progress?

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

I think so. I had to do a new 8802 (long story!) and my HMRC account shows this:

Postal Form Reference Number: Not Applicable
Form type: Post
Date received: 07/07/2025
Status: Received

I have nothing else pending with HMRC so I am guessing this is what it is.

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

The HMRC Application for Relief at Source form asks for the "payers reference" . Where would I find this for pensions which have just started (therefore no P60 from last year)? Thanks

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

Thanks!

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

Thanks MidAtlantic

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

So long as you have had at least one payment, if you have an online HMRC account go to the page that shows the current tax year and then click on the link that says something like view or update pension details. There you will find the Pension Providers PAYE reference. Or call them on the international number, they will be able to look it up for you.

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

I file my US taxes jointly with my US spouse who has no UK (or other overseas income). When I submit my Form 8802, is the payment to the IRS as an individual ( $85) or the higher $ 185 applicable to Requests by applicants other than individuals. I ask as the 8802 does ask for her details and SS number. Thanks

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

I have exactly the same circumstances and filed my 8802 earlier this year. If you are only seeking the residency certificate for yourself then it is the individual fee of $85. I paid the fee electronically and mailed the forms to the IRS in mid May. I heard nothing by end August and contacted to them to enquire as to status. They said they had processed the 8802 form about 10 days prior in mid August but for some reason had not forwarded the attached DT2002 form onto HMRC as required. They were quite helpful and gave me a fax number to fax in a copy of the DT 2002. I did so on September 5. A week later I received a letter from the IRS with a copy of the certification, and a second letter a few days later with another copy but also stating they had forwarded the DT2002 onto HMRC. HMRC processed and applied the NT code at the end of September. So, currently it seems that the IRS is taking about 3 months to process on their end, but HMRC is pretty fast, within a week or two.

I did call HMRC and asked if I could send the certification directly to them (since I now had it and was not confident it would be forwarded this time either).They said no, it would be rejected because it had to be received directly from the IRS. Perhaps that is because the official certification stamp was nothing more than a date stamp, which anyone could apply! I expected something more official.

If I was doing it again, I would send a check with the form instead of paying electronically. The reason being that the check being cashed provides some indication that the process is working. Make sure you use the correct DT2002 form. It must the US-UK version, the other generic version will not be accepted.

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

Many Thanks Glasgow Girl,
With the current Govt shutdown I don't imagine that they will be processing these at present but I will take your advice to pay by check rather than electronically.so i can see when it starst to progress.

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

Just an updatethat despite the Govt shutdown I received a letter dated Nov 8th indicating that my form 8802 had been approved and been mailed to the HMRC - hopefully with the DT 2002. Now I wait on HMRC :-)

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

In 2024 had a Pension back payment of 40k they taxed it 6000 I filled in the refund form and was given it back and a NT Tax code issued. I left the UK IN 2003. I did not do any of these residency forms and I was not asked for any,

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

I sent mine 12/29/25, check was cashed 1/9/26.

When did you mail your forms to IRS?

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

I mailed the initial form in early Oct but that was during the shutdown with the response from the IRS dated Nov 8th and I got the letter from HMRC in late December. Hope that helps

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

It does, thank you!

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

i see a lot of people who are saying the tax certificate providing US residency was mailed directly to HMRC along with the DT Indiividual form - i was under the impression that once you fill out form 8802 they send your certificate back to you (section 3A on 8802) and you yourself send the certificate and copleted form DT Individual to HMRC. Is that correct?

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

The way it should work is that the IRS sends the certificate direct to HMRC to the address that you supply on the form. There have been occasions when the IRS send it to the applicant but it is not clear why this is. It may just be an error or a failure by the applicant to provide the HMRC address. There have been some suggestions that HMRC will not accept it from the applicant.

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

That is my understanding as well. Back in 2007 when I went through this they definitely did send certificate(s) to the applicant, and it was paper copies that could not be photocopied. I then had to send an original certificate to HMRC confirming I was a US tax payer

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

The TL;DR of this post is that HMRC told me on the 'phone today that they'd accept an original (not copied) Form 6166 and UK-US Individual 2002 directly from me, i.e. not via the IRS. More detail below.

In case this helps someone else: I submitted an 8802 with payment to the IRS in December 2025 and included a fully completed UK-US Individual 2002 form with that mailing. I received an acknowledgment from the IRS in late February 2026 saying that they'd let me know more within 30 days. So far so good.

In mid-March 2026 I received a letter from the IRS stating that they'd approved my 8802 and included two original (i.e. not photocopied) Forms 6166 certifying that I'm a US taxpayer and my original Form 2002 with the staple removed and a mid-March date stamped on the first page of that form. That letter also stated that the IRS had mailed a 6166 to HMRC. Clearly, this wasn't what I expected as I believed that the IRS would send the initial whole package to HMRC.

I checked my HRMC account every few days and there was no record of the 6166 (or anything else) delivered to HMRC.

I called HMRC this morning and, after a 40-minute wait (not unreasonable given that it's peak tax season in the UK) a rep took my information and connected me to a technical specialist in the double taxation unit who immediately understood the problem and told me to mail one of the Forms 6166 and my US 2002 to HMRC. The specialist emphasized that it was ok to send an original 6166 but not a copy. She said that once my documents were received it wouldn't take long at all for my tax code to change.

I'm not surprised that the IRS process didn't work as that government department is under immense pressure and mistakes will happen. Hope that helps!

Re: Form 8802/6166
 

Quick update: I mailed one of my 6166 original forms and the US 2002 Form to HMRC. While it was in transit my HMRC online account showed that something had arrived, presumably a 6166 from the IRS.

Within a few hours of HMRC receiving my 6166/2002 US they updated my UK pension codes to NT and provided me with a link to request a refund of all prior UK tax withholdings - they correctly calculated the amount.. The link asked me for a UK bank account and sort code -- there was no option for a non-UK account -- and the refund request was immediately accepted, with a statement that the refund would appear in my UK bank account within 5 days.

This is impressive.