International Students
We have included on this page additional information which is applicable to international students only. By 'international' in this context, we mean any student who is not from the UK.
The JCR have also put together their own guide with lots of tips to make your move to the UK go as smoothly as possible.
International fresher undergraduates (including EU) may arrive from Thursday 2nd October but must be here by 5:00pm on Monday 6th October. Please ensure you advise the Accommodation Office and the Academic Registrar of the exact date you intend to arrive as early as possible, but at least 5 working days in advance of your proposed arrival date.
You should contact the same address if you have any enquiries concerning accommodation or luggage. Please note that the College does not have the space to accept and store luggage sent in advance of your arrival. Regrettably, the College will be forced to return to sender—at the sender's expense—any boxes, suitcases or crates that arrive before you do.
When planning your arrival, you may find of interest the University's welcome events for international students. Further details are available from the Orientation webpage. The University also arranges pre-sessional English courses. You may also find the University's Bank Guide for European and International Students useful for opening a bank account.
If you require a visa to study in the UK and have not already begun the application process, please read through the University's Visa and Immigration Information. Visas can take a long time to come through, and so if you require one you should apply at the earliest opportunity to allow plenty of time for your application to be processed. When you arrive, you will need to provide us with a share-code so that we can check and record your student visa permission, check you arrival date and scan your passport. This will take place at the Induction Session in the Academic Office before you are enrolled.
Students who require a visa (those not from the UK or Ireland, or those who do not hold indefinite leave to remain or pre-settled or settled status) and are studying full time for more than 6 months will need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) as part of a visa application to access the NHS services free of charge.
The UKCISA website has a comprehensive explanation of how the UK health system works as this may be different from your home country. It explains your first points of contact, for example a GP (doctor) surgery or health centre, Accident and Emergency department and how and why you might be sent or referred to a hospital. For non-urgent medical help or advice you can call 111 24 hours a day and for emergency medical help call 999 24 hours a day.
Please ensure that you register with the College GP so they have your medical history on file.
If you are not exempt from hospital charges, or only partially exempt for other reasons, you are advised to take out appropriate private healthcare insurance for the length of your stay in the UK.
If you are coming to the UK for more than 6 months you will be required to pay the IHS as part of your Student visa application. Any dependants will also need to pay this. The IHS must be paid even if you have your own private medical insurance and do not intend to use the NHS. Paying the IHS means that you will have access to the UK's National Health Service on the same basis as other UK residents. Please see the guidance here about a possible reimbursement of the IHS for EU and Swiss students.
