Move to US after grad school, possible to start NI contributions? + Tax qu
 

Hi,

I moved to the US in early 2009 and have only worked for one employer, paying US tax. My employer has no base in the UK.

I finished PhD grad school the week before I moved and was salaried by a stipend, which if memory serves does not qualify to pay NI contributions. As a Masters grad student I worked for a pharma who did take NI from my pay, for approx 1 year.

Having read info on the UK HMRC website, it appears that I may not qualify for voluntary NI contributions. Is that correct? This is because I have never accumulated 3 years in a row NI contributions. Should I just forget NI all together? I am married to a US citizen and plan to stay here for the foreseeable future.

One additional question, I was in the UK for 6 months during 2014 waiting for visa processing, but not working. My US salary was not in effect during that time, and when I was in the US I payed tax as a US resident as per normal. Do I need to contact HMRC about the time back in the UK, even though I have no salary to report?

Cheers,

H