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.
Arrival in Oxford
When planning your arrival, please take a look at University's travel guidance. There are also orientation events, details of which can be found on the Orientation webpage. The University also arranges pre-sessional English courses (Oxford Single Sign-On login required). You may also find the University's Bank Guide for European and International Students useful for opening a bank account.
Student Visas
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.
We will need to see and scan scan both your passport and your electronic visa in the Academic Office before you can be enrolled. Further details will be sent about this nearer the time.
Bank Accounts
Oxford has a number of banks that you can choose to open a bank account with, including but not limited to Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Metro, Nat West, and Santander.
For most banks you will need the following documents to open a student account :
- An in-date passport - all banks require a valid passport as part of the documentation needed to open a bank account.
- Student Enrolment certificate - must have your full student address (e.g. college address or private accommodation address) and postcode, be dated within the last 3 months, as well as being signed and stamped by the College.
- Nat West will NOT accept the enrolment certificate and will instead need need a letter addressed to the bank written on headed paper with the email and telephone number of a college contact.
- Barclays will only accept an enrolment certificate if students cannot open an account online.
- A bank statement from your home bank, from the past 3 months - this may be helpful if you have one available.
- UK mobile number - banks will usually need a UK mobile number to open an account online or via their app. You can buy a pay-as-you-go sim card with cash at any mobile phone store.
Please click here for a detailed guide to opening a student bank account with Oxford's six main banks.
You may also find the University's Bank Guide for European and International Students useful.
Health & Welfare
The UK Council for International Student Affairs 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.
Immigration Health Surcharge
Students who require a visa (i.e. 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. 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.
