UK Arrival Guide: eVisa, Banking, GP Registration and Your First Month

Lesson 1Where is your BRP? (There isn’t one — it’s the eVisa)

The change that confuses every new arrival (and every older cousin): there is no BRP to collect. The physical cards have been replaced by the eVisa:

• Your status is digital — held online and linked to the passport you applied with. Travel on that same passport, or update your account if it changes.
• Set up your UKVI account early — through it you view your eVisa ("View and Prove" service) and generate share codes.
• Share codes are how you prove yourself — to employers (right to work), landlords (right to rent) and banks. A code is temporary; the account is yours for the whole stay.
• Keep the details safe and current — passport renewals and personal details must stay in sync with the account.

eVisa transition verified against current UKVI guidance — checked 1 September 2026. There is transitional use of expired BRPs for limited purposes until end-2026, but new students arrive on the digital system: no card exists to collect.

Lesson 2How do you open a student bank account?

The practical sequence:

1. Compare first: several UK banks run dedicated international student accounts — compare fees, overdraft rules (usually none for internationals) and branch access near your campus, not just the freebies.
2. Documents: passport, your eVisa/share code, the university’s bank letter (issued at enrolment — sometimes requested through the student portal), and proof of your UK address (accommodation contract).
3. Apply and wait: account opening for international students can take days to a few weeks. A digital bank or a international-friendly provider is a common bridge for the gap — ask your university’s student services what local students actually use.
4. Then set up: the banking app, a contactless payment method, and a standing note of every transfer cost before family sends money home-ward or you send it back.

Bring some arrival money in a form that works day one (a small amount of cash for the first days, an international card that works abroad) — but do not run the first month on cash alone as a plan; the account is the plan.

Lesson 3How do you register with a GP and use the NHS?

Healthcare, arranged calmly in week one rather than desperately in week eight:

• You already paid: the immigration health surcharge (paid with the visa) is your NHS access — appointments with a GP are free at the point of use.
• Register with a surgery near where you live — NHS rules assign you to practices by catchment; registering takes minutes online or at the desk, and needs your share code or eVisa details.
• The GP is the front door: non-emergency health issues start there; 999 is emergencies, and the pharmacies attached to chemists advise on minor ailments without any appointment.
• Prescriptions carry a set charge (some groups exempt) — a real line item in your monthly budget, not a surprise.

NHS access for visa holders checked 1 September 2026 — IHS coverage terms re-verified on GOV.UK at travel.

Lesson 4Why does enrolment matter so much?

Enrolment is where the visa’s promises become your duties:

• Complete it properly and on time — the university confirms your enrolment to UKVI as your sponsor; late or incomplete enrolment is a visa problem, not just a paperwork one.
• Attendance and engagement matter: universities monitor them and are required to report students who disappear. Skipping "a few early lectures" is the classic self-inflicted wound.
• Collect what enrolment unlocks: student ID (local discounts, transport cards), the bank letter, IT accounts, and your timetable.
• Register with the university’s support services — international student offices exist precisely for the questions you are about to have.

One habit to build in week one: a calendar with every deadline and every session, checked daily. The students who struggle are rarely the ones who cannot do the work — they are the ones who lost track of when.

Lesson 5What does a healthy first month look like?

The checklist we hand clients, in roughly this order:

1. Week one: eVisa account, SIM card, enrolment, GP registration, bank application submitted, accommodation inventory photographed.
2. Week two: bank account live, budget tracking started against the six-category plan, transport sorted (student rail/bus cards), university societies fair attended.
3. Weeks three–four: one community properly joined (society, sports, faith group — the antidote to first-winter loneliness), part-time job search opened within the 20-hour term-time rule, first assessed work calendared.
4. Ongoing: weekly money check against the plan; early contact with tutors at the first sign of academic trouble; calls home that tell the truth, both ways.