Your first 30 days in the UK: the international student checklist

What's worth sorting before you fly

A few things are easier to do from home, before the jet lag and induction week timetable take over. Photograph or scan your passport photo page, visa decision letter, CAS number and any offer letters. You'll be asked to type details from all four repeatedly in your first week, often on a phone with patchy Wi-Fi. Check whether your bank back home offers a fee-free or low-fee international card; Wise and Revolut both issue cards before you land, usable the moment you're through arrivals, so you're not relying on a single card for the first few days.

If you know your UK address already, from a halls confirmation or a signed tenancy, save the postcode and the accommodation office's email. You'll need both repeatedly: for your address letter, for GP registration, and for your council tax paperwork, all of which ask for the same details in slightly different formats.

Day 1 to 3: sort your visa status and get a SIM

Your visa decision letter usually gives you 10 days from your arrival date (or your visa start date, whichever is later) to collect a Biometric Residence Permit from the post office branch named on the letter. Bring your passport and the letter. The branch won't release the card unless both documents match exactly, including the spelling of your name.

If you applied after BRPs were phased out for new applicants (most existing BRPs stopped being valid for proving status from the end of 2024), you won't get a physical card at all. Your immigration status lives in a UKVI account instead, and you prove it with a share code generated from gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits↗. Save that share code somewhere you can find it quickly. Landlords, banks and employers will all ask for one in the next few weeks, and regenerating it each time gets tedious.

Get a SIM on day one if you can manage it. A pay-as-you-go SIM from Three, giffgaff or Lebara needs no UK address or credit check, and you can usually buy one at the airport or a corner shop within an hour of landing. Having a UK number makes every account you open afterwards, bank, GP, university portal, even a parcel delivery, easier to verify by text, and it's one less reason to rely on patchy airport Wi-Fi for two-factor codes.

Open a UK bank account before the end of week two

You need three things to open most accounts: your passport, proof of your immigration status (BRP or eVisa share code), and proof of address. The third one is the actual problem in week one, because you won't have a utility bill yet, and that's the document most high-street forms still list first.

Digital banks built for exactly this gap, Monzo, Starling, Revolut and Wise among them, will open an account from your phone the same day, using your passport and a UK mobile number, often before you've even got a fixed address confirmed. Verification is usually a selfie video and a passport scan inside the app. High-street banks (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest) tend to want a face-to-face branch appointment and a confirmed UK address before they'll proceed, which usually pushes account opening to week two or three once you've booked a slot.

Many students open a digital account immediately for day-to-day spending and bill payments, then add a high-street account later only if their university, landlord or a part-time employer specifically asks for one. Some payroll systems still flag digital-only banks for extra checks, which is worth knowing before your first payday. Whichever route you take, check the monthly fee, any cash-deposit limits, and free withdrawal allowance abroad before you commit. Some digital accounts cap free ATM use overseas, which matters if you travel home during reading week or the holidays. More on opening your first UK account.

Get the address letter banks actually accept

If a bank asks for proof of address and you've only just landed, you need a letter, not a bill. The accepted version is short and specific: your full name, your current UK address, the date, and a signature from someone who can vouch for it, printed on headed paper if possible, though a PDF on letterhead is usually fine too.

Most university accommodation offices will issue this on request within a day or two of you checking in. Ask at the halls reception desk by name, "a letter confirming my address for bank account purposes", rather than describing what you need vaguely. If you're in private rented accommodation, your landlord or letting agent can write the same thing, and most have done it before for previous tenants, so it's a quick ask. Keep a PDF copy once you have it. You'll likely need it again for council tax and GP registration within the same fortnight, and chasing the same letter twice from a busy accommodation office wastes a week you don't have.

Register with a GP in your first two weeks, before you need one

Registering with a GP surgery is free and doesn't depend on your immigration status. It's a separate system from the Immigration Health Surcharge you already paid as part of your visa application. Find a surgery near your address using the NHS GP registration service↗, then register either through the NHS App, the surgery's own website, or a paper GMS1 form at reception.

You'll need ID and your address letter. You do not need a permanent National Insurance number or a fixed-term tenancy agreement to register, which surprises a lot of students who assume otherwise. Surgeries can take a week or two to process new registrations, so doing this in week one, rather than when you're already feeling ill, means you're not stuck explaining symptoms to a 111 call handler with no GP on record, or paying out of pocket at a private clinic because the nearest surgery's list is closed to new patients and you've left it too late to try the next one.

If the closest surgery isn't accepting new registrations, check two or three more within walking distance before assuming you're out of options. Capacity varies street by street in university towns. Once registered, ask about repeat prescription costs if you take regular medication. England charges a flat prescription fee unless you're exempt, and a Prescription Prepayment Certificate can work out cheaper if you'll need more than a couple of items across the year. More on registering with a GP.

Start your National Insurance number application once your address is fixed

You need a National Insurance number to be paid legally for any part-time or term-time work, including university campus jobs, bar shifts and tutoring. Apply online via gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number↗ once you have a confirmed UK address. The application form asks for it directly, so applying from a hotel or a temporary address before you've moved in properly can delay processing.

The number itself usually arrives by letter several weeks after you apply, which catches a lot of students out when a part-time job offer comes through in week two. You can start working before it arrives: tell your employer you've applied and give them your application reference, and they can run you through payroll using a temporary or emergency tax code while gov.uk processes the real number. You may be taxed slightly more under an emergency code in the meantime, but it's reclaimable once your proper NI number and tax code are confirmed, so keep your payslips so you can check later. More on the National Insurance number process.

Claim your council tax exemption if you're in private housing

If you live in university halls, you don't pay council tax, full stop, no application needed, because halls are automatically exempt regardless of who lives there. If you're in a private rented house or flat shared entirely with other full-time students, you're also exempt, but the council won't exempt you automatically the way halls are.

Ask your university's student records or registry office for a Council Tax Exemption Certificate (sometimes called a student status letter), then submit it to your local council, usually through their website along with your tenancy start date. Do this as soon as your tenancy starts. Councils have been known to send a bill addressed to the property before any exemption is logged, which is an unnecessarily stressful letter to open in week three when you've done nothing wrong.

If even one person in your shared house isn't a full-time student, a graduate working full time, for example, or a partner not enrolled on a course, the exemption rules change to a discount rather than a full exemption, so check this before assuming the whole house is covered. The exemption also has edge cases around summer break and final-year students finishing early, so if your course end date is approaching, check with your council directly rather than assuming the exemption rolls over automatically. Full detail on who qualifies and how to apply is at gov.uk/council-tax/who-has-to-pay↗. More on student council tax exemption.

Set up local transport before your first big shop

Most UK cities have a student transport card worth applying for in week one rather than paying full adult fares while you sort it out. In London, a student Oyster photocard gives a discount on Tube and bus travel and pays for itself within a few weeks of regular commuting. Outside London, check your local bus operator's student app. Many offer weekly or termly passes cheaper than pay-as-you-go fares, and your student ID card is usually enough to apply once it's been issued during induction.

If you're planning to travel around the UK during reading weeks or holidays, a 16-25 Railcard (or 26-30, depending on your age) cuts a third off most rail fares and pays for itself after two or three return trips. It's worth buying digitally in week one rather than queueing at a station ticket office once term starts.

Find your people before the timetable fills up

Freshers' week societies fairs are the easiest way to meet people beyond your flatmates or course group, and the stalls thin out fast once lectures properly start. Sign up for two or three that genuinely interest you rather than ten you'll never attend; most societies run a free taster session before asking for membership fees, so there's little risk in trying one out.

Faith societies, cultural and national student associations, and postgraduate-specific social groups exist at almost every university and are worth searching for by name if you'd rather meet people from a similar background before branching out. Students' union welfare and advice desks are also free and confidential if you need someone to talk to who isn't a coursemate, and most can point you towards university counselling services if things feel harder than expected in the first few weeks. More on accessing mental health support.

Move from a SIM to a monthly contract once you're settled

A pay-as-you-go SIM solves day one, but most networks offer better value once you can commit to a monthly plan with a UK bank account and address behind you. Sim-only deals from networks like giffgaff, Smarty, Voxi or the major operators' own budget tiers tend to undercut a 24-month handset contract by a wide margin, especially if you already have a phone. Wait until your bank account and address letter are sorted, usually by week two, since most contract sign-ups run a credit check and want a UK billing address to register against.

If a network does a soft credit check and rejects you, it isn't necessarily about your finances. New arrivals often have no UK credit history at all, which can read the same as a poor one to an automated check. A SIM-only deal that bills against a debit card rather than direct debit sometimes routes around this, and your credit file builds the longer you have UK bank activity and any history of paying bills on time. More on building UK credit as a new arrival.

Watch for the scams that specifically target new arrivals

A few scams turn up disproportionately often in a student's first month, mostly because they rely on you not yet knowing what's normal here. Rental scams ask for a deposit or first month's rent by bank transfer before you've viewed the property in person or met anyone face to face; never send money for a UK property you haven't seen, and be wary if a "landlord" claims to be abroad and unable to show it to you.

Fake DVLA, HMRC or "visa fee" texts and calls asking for immediate payment by gift card or unusual transfer methods are common enough that genuine government bodies rarely, if ever, contact you that way for money. If in doubt, go directly to the gov.uk page for whichever service is named rather than clicking a link in the message. Door-to-door callers claiming to be from your energy supplier or the council asking to see bank details on the spot are also worth treating with suspicion; legitimate providers don't need your card details read aloud on your doorstep.

Common first-month mistakes worth avoiding

A handful of patterns show up again and again in the first 30 days, and most are avoidable once you know to look out for them.

• Carrying large amounts of cash. Card payments and contactless are the norm almost everywhere in the UK, including small shops and market stalls; there's little reason to carry more than you'd need for a single day out.
• Signing a tenancy without checking deposit protection. A legitimate landlord protects your deposit in a government-approved scheme and gives you the scheme details within 30 days of receiving it. No scheme reference is a warning sign worth questioning before you hand over money.
• Ignoring post addressed to "the occupier." Council tax bills and electoral registration letters often arrive this way. Open them. They're usually relevant to you even if your name isn't on the envelope.
• Waiting until you're ill to find a GP. Registration is the slow part, not the appointment. Doing it while you're well means the system already has your details when you actually need it.
• Assuming halls Wi-Fi and eduroam are the same thing. They're often separate logins. Set up eduroam specifically if you'll use other university buildings, libraries or campuses beyond your halls.

Budgeting your first month realistically

Your first month costs more than any month after it, because you're paying setup costs alongside normal living expenses: a SIM, possibly a bank card delivery fee, bedding and kitchen basics if your halls room is unfurnished beyond the essentials, and society membership fees during freshers' week. Set aside roughly a third more than you expect to spend on essentials in week one alone, and track it from day one in whichever banking app you've opened. Most digital banks categorise spending automatically, which makes it easy to spot where the month actually went once the novelty of a new city wears off.

A day-by-day order that actually works

1. Day 1–3: collect your BRP or confirm eVisa access, buy a SIM, move into your address.
2. Day 2–4: get your address letter from accommodation or your landlord.
3. Day 3–7: open a digital bank account; register with a GP surgery near your address.
4. Week 2: apply for your National Insurance number; open a high-street account if you need one; apply for a student transport card.
5. Week 2–3: submit your Council Tax Exemption Certificate to your council if you're in private housing.
6. Week 3–4: chase up anything still pending, including the NI number letter, the high-street bank appointment, and GP confirmation, and set up student discount accounts if you haven't already.

Nothing here has to happen in exactly this order, but each step tends to need the one before it. You can't get the address letter without an address, can't open most bank accounts without ID and an address, and can't apply for council tax exemption without your university's certificate. Doing the dependencies first saves you a second trip to the same office two weeks later, when you'd rather be settling into lectures than re-explaining your situation at a reception desk.

FAQ

Do I need a UK bank account before I arrive?

No. Digital banks like Monzo, Starling and Wise let you apply from your phone after you land, using your passport and a UK mobile number. Some students do start the Wise or Revolut process before arrival, but full account opening usually completes once you have a UK address to confirm.

Can I start working before my National Insurance number arrives?

Yes. Apply as soon as you have a UK address, then give your employer your application reference. They can pay you through a temporary tax code while gov.uk processes the real number, and any overpaid tax is reclaimable once it's confirmed.

Do international students pay council tax in the UK?

Not if every resident in the property is a full-time student, and not at all if you live in halls. The exemption isn't automatic in private rentals; you need a Council Tax Exemption Certificate from your university, submitted to your council. See gov.uk/council-tax/who-has-to-pay↗.

What happens if I miss the window to collect my BRP?

Contact the post office branch named on your decision letter directly. Most will hold it for a period before returning it to UKVI, at which point you'd need to contact the Home Office to arrange redelivery. Don't leave it past the date on the letter if you can help it.

How long does GP registration actually take?

Submitting the registration takes minutes online or on paper. Surgeries typically confirm and activate the registration within one to two weeks, so register in week one rather than waiting until you need an appointment.

Do I need to register with a GP if I'm only here for one academic year?

Yes. GP registration isn't based on length of stay, and it's free regardless of how long your course runs. Even a short course is long enough to be glad you registered if you get ill.