So, you’ve arrived as an international student in Manchester. Now what?
Get your biometric permit
This was not the case during my time, but apparently nowadays you’ll need to collect your biometric residence permit upon arriving. You will be told on where to collect your BRP, possibly from a nearby post office. Read more here: https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/getting-your-brp-if-you-applied-from-outside-the-uk.
Apply for a bank
The UK is a largely cashless society, even more so after the pandemic. If you are going to live here for more than travelling around, it’s very important to have a working debit card and bank account. Especially if you re planning to do any paid work at all.
You’d want to have a student bank account. There are so many bank options. You can have multiple accounts as well. In choosing a bank, I highly recommend visiting MSE website to find the latest recommendations. Santander is known to give free Railcard with a student bank account, which gives 1/3rd discount on any rail tickets – very useful for travelling around! I do recommend that you have at least one account with a physical branch nearby. Not essential, but can be quite useful. Natwest/RBS (they are in the same group) also offers free Tastecard with your student account which gives discount when eating out, so they can come in handy too.
It is quite straightforward to apply for a bank account as far as I remember, I just went with my passport, visa and letter from the University confirming my enrollment and then wait for the letters to come through which includes my debit card too.
Register with a GP and dentist
GP (General Practitioner) is the first doctor you will contact if you are ill – you don’t go to the hospital straight taway. You are entitled to free GP service in the UK, but you do need to register to a GP first. The comprehensive and official guide is here, which seems to have changed from when I registered. Here’s the official guide from University of Manchester. You can be rejected if you apply to a GP that is not in your catchment area. To find a GP, I suggest to use NHS GP finder website and then find the information on how to register. You’ll have to fill a new patient form, and they may ask for some documents, but I found it quite a straightforward process.
Dentist is another matter. There is a very high demand and low supply of dentists currently in the UK, so you are unlikely to get a dentist, unfortunately. Hence I suggest that you have a dentist check-up before coming to the UK, and hopefully, you don’t need to go to the dentist here. If you need a dentist, it won’t be the end of the world, but private dentists are expensive!
Shopping!
I’ll imagine that you need to get necessities such as pans, cutleries, cups, duvet, blanket, whatever. Arndale will be a good start, however Aldi and Lidl also have many useful items on their centre aisle, so keep an eye on them too. Amazon will also be good if you prefer to shop online.
Make sure you read my blog posts about money matters for an idea on spending money in the UK! And don’t forget to prepare for winter and get your guide on winter clothing here.