Get ready for Northumbria Contents

1. Get ready: preparation and planning 4 i. Accept your offer, pay your deposit and get your CAS 4 ii. Apply for your visa 5 iii. Information for students with a disability 10 iv. Choose your accommodation 11 v. Prepare to leave home 12 vi. Checklist 15 vii. Useful links and contacts 15 2. Departure: your journey to the UK 16 i. What to bring with you 16 ii. Arrival in the UK 16 iii. Leaving the airport 18 iv. Arrival at your new address 19 v. Checklist 19 vi. Useful links and contacts 19 3. Arrival: your first few days in Newcastle 20 i. Your first few days 20 ii. Enrolling on your course 22 iii. Checklist 23 iv. Useful links and contacts 23 4. Next steps: Welcome to Northumbria Programme 23

2 get ready for northumbria A guide for new international students

We are delighted that you’ve chosen an international university, based in the Northumbria University as your home for the best student city in the UK, and we’re sure next period of your life. We take a huge pride that your time with us will be productive, in the experience we deliver to our students, enjoyable and full of success! This guide is and that starts from now. You’ll be joining our way of helping you prepare as fully as possible for the journey from your old home to your new home, and we’ll try to outline all the steps you need to take to make that journey as smooth as possible. We are really looking forward to welcoming you here very soon.

northumbria.ac.uk 3 Get ready: Preparation and planning

I. Accept your offer and get information that you need to complete your your CAS Tier 4 application form. Please check this carefully to ensure there are no discrepancies Deadline for requesting a between the CAS and the information on Confirmation of Acceptance for your application form or your application Study (CAS) could be refused. Once you have met all our conditions and The CAS statement should tell you: paid your deposit, you should submit your offer acceptance and CAS request to the • the 14 digit reference number for the International Office by 2 September for CAS, containing a mixture of letters and Semester 1 entry and 10 December for numbers Semester 2 entry. If you accept your offer and • Northumbria University Sponsor Licence request a CAS after these deadlines please Number (SLN) note that we cannot guarantee to process a • the start and end dates of the course that CAS for you in time for your visa application. you intend to study Confirmation of acceptance for • the title of the course that you intend to studies (CAS) study You must have a CAS before making an • the tuition fees for first year of the course, application as a Tier 4 (General) student. A or the entire course if it will last one year or CAS is an electronic document issued to less. If your CAS has been issued for further you by Northumbria University once you study on a course that you are already have accepted your offer and paid your partway through, the “first year of study” deposit. Your CAS will be valid for use Tier 4 means the first year of this new period of application for six months from the date that study it was generated. • any tuition fees that you have already paid to Northumbria University, if a separate We will send you the unique reference receipt has not been issued number that corresponds to your CAS and you should write this reference number • any qualifications that Northumbria in the appropriate field on your Tier 4 University has used to make you an offer application form. We will also email you • an assessment of your English language the information that we have used to ability, including any formal qualifications generate your CAS – the CAS statement. considered The CAS statement itself is not required for • if you have previously been granted your Tier 4 application, but it gives you all immigration permission to study in the UK, of the information about your course and either under Tier 4 or under the student sponsor - Northumbria University, and some rules that were in place before Tier 4

4 get ready for northumbria was introduced on 31 March 2009, it will Check the visa processing times in your confirm that the new course demonstrates home country for an indication of how academic progress from your previous long it will take for your application to be study processed.

II. Apply for your visa How much does it cost to apply? How do I apply? The cost of a visa application can be found at www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa/overview. You will need to apply for Tier 4 entry All students applying for Tier 4 visas, whether clearance outside the UK, in the country renewing their visa from within the UK or where you live or where you have nationality. applying for a new visa from overseas, will You can apply online, unless you are in have to pay a Health Charge of £150 per year Cuba, North Korea or Zimbabwe where you to enable them to access any services from must apply in person at your nearest Visa the National Health Service (NHS). Application Centre. All students applying for Tier 4 visas from The information in the link below will take their home country will receive a transit visa, you through the application process, step which allows them to travel to the UK, and, by step. when they arrive, a Biometric Residence click here Permit (BRP), which they will receive at enrolment. All applicants should read the Home Office’s For all information on both of the above, Tier 4 policy guidance before applying. please refer to the links below. When should I apply? The date when you apply for entry clearance must be: • before you have travelled to the UK; and • no more than three months before the start date of your course; and • no later than six months after your CAS was issued

northumbria.ac.uk 5 What biometric data do I have Do I need to have a medical check? to give? You’ll need to have a tuberculosis (TB) test You are required to provide your biometrics – if you’re coming to the UK for more than facial photograph and fingerprints. 6 months and are resident in any of these listed countries. Do I have to go for an interview as part of my application? If your test shows that you don’t have TB, you’ll be given a certificate which is valid for Yes, probably. The Home Office intends to six months. Include this certificate with your interview most Tier 4 student applicants UK visa application. All children over 11 years before granting them immigration old must see a clinician who’ll decide if they permission to come to the UK. You will need a TB test. You must take your child to be sent an email asking you to attend an an approved clinic and complete a health interview as part of the application process. questionnaire. If the clinician decides not to You should check your email (including the test your child they’ll give you a certificate ‘junk’ folder) regularly as your application to say your child didn’t need to be tested. is likely to be refused if you are asked to Include this certificate with your child’s UK attend an interview and you do not do so visa application. without providing a reasonable explanation. Students from low-risk countries will also be Pregnant women interviewed. You can choose between two tests: Please click the link below for further • an x-ray with an extra shield to protect you information on how these interviews are and your unborn child conducted. • a sputum test (phlegm coughed up from click here your lungs) – there may be an extra fee and you could wait up to eight weeks for results If you don’t want to be tested you can use an x-ray taken within the last three months

6 get ready for northumbria at a UK approved screening clinic. Ask a • you hold a Taiwan (ROC) passport with a clinician at an approved clinic to review residence card number your x-ray. If it’s accepted the clinician will If this applies to you, you do not need to give you a certificate to send with your UK provide evidence of your qualifications or visa application. money when you apply for your visa. It does What other evidence do I have not mean that you do not have to meet the to show when I make my visa requirements - just that you do not always application? have to prove that you do. If you do fit into one of the categories above, we advise that For full information on the evidence you you prepare the evidence in case you are must show, including financial information, asked for it, which the Home Office is entitled please click the link below. to do. click here What help is available when I am Applications by ‘low risk’ students preparing my application? You are a “low risk” student if you are There is an online resource provided by the applying for Tier 4 (General) either as entry Home Office to answer queries during the clearance in your country of nationality, or for application process. leave to remain in the UK, and: click here • you are a national of Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Botswana, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Oman, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, USA or • you hold a Hong Kong SAR passport or a British National (Overseas) passport or

northumbria.ac.uk 7 Who do I contact if I have a Visa conditions and sponsor duties problem with my application? Your CAS lists the start and end dates of your Once you have submitted your application, course. As a Tier 4 (General) student, the date the process is normally straightforward and that your immigration permission ends will you should hopefully receive your transit visa depend on the length and type of course. within the timeframe normal for your home If you will be studying for part of a month, country. If, however, you encounter any this will not be rounded up to a full month. problems, or if your application is rejected or refused, you may wish to speak to one of our For example, if your course will last 11 Welfare, Immigration and Funding Advisers months and three weeks, it is not rounded who will try to help you. Please see the up to 12 months. link below to our web pages and the email address that you should send any queries to. Course End of immigration permission Welfare, Immigration and Funding 12 months or more 4 months after the Support end of the course northumbria.ac.uk/internationalsupport 6 months or more, 2 months after the Tel: 00 44 191 227 4127 but less than 12 end of the course months Email: sv.welfareandinternational@ Pre-sessional 1 month after the northumbria.ac.uk course, less than 6 end of the course months If you wish to come to the UK on a Short- term Student Visa, please follow the link Other course, less 7 days after the end below and refer to the guidelines on how than 6 months of the course to apply: Make a note of the date that your click here immigration permission ends. You must not remain in the UK after this date, unless you have already submitted an immigration application for further leave to remain in the UK.

8 get ready for northumbria What conditions will be attached to “No recourse to public funds” my immigration permission? Your immigration conditions prohibit you Study at your intended institution from accessing ‘public funds’, which means You must enrol and study at Northumbria certain welfare benefits and local authority University only. If you change your mind housing. To find out what counts as ‘public before travelling to the UK and you wish funds’, see Public funds. to study at a different institution, you must Using the National Health Service, sending make a new entry clearance application your child to a state school, being exempt using a CAS from the new institution from the Council Tax, and paying “home” fees for study do not count as accessing ‘public For more information about these conditions, funds’. and the rules about changing Tier 4 sponsor after arriving in the UK, see Protecting your If you claim ‘public funds’, the UK immigration Tier 4 student immigration status. authorities can refuse your immigration application or remove you from the UK. You Work restriction or prohibition might also be barred from returning to the As a Tier 4 (General) student studying in UK for a certain period. the UK you may be granted immigration permission which allows you to work outside Tier 4 sponsor duties to report of your studies, part-time during term-time immigration matters to the Home and full-time during the vacations. For more Office information on the work that you will be As a Tier 4 Sponsor, Northumbria University allowed to do while you are studying in must fulfil specific sponsor duties. These the UK, including work placements, see duties are outlined on pages 74 to 79 of Working during your studies. Annex 1 of the Home Office’s Tier 4 Policy Registration with the police Guidance and include notifying the Home Office if: If you are required to register with the police, • you do not enrol on your course before your immigration permission will state this. the last day of the enrolment period For more information about this condition, see Protecting your Tier 4 student • you fail to attend a class or lecture, or immigration status. submit work for a specific number of times, and we have not agreed to your absence or non-submission of work • you defer, postpone or take a break from your studies for any reason • you change to a shorter course, or you complete your studies early • you withdraw from your studies before you have finished your course The Home Office can bring your immigration permission to an end early if they are notified of one of these issues. This means it is very important that, as far as possible, you attend all your classes and lectures and submit coursework when it is due.

northumbria.ac.uk 9 III. Information for students with • specific Learning Difficulties such as a disability dyslexia, dyspraxia or Attention Deficit Disorder What do we mean by ‘disabled • long standing medical conditions such students’? as epilepsy, diabetes or heart disease Different countries have different ideas about • mental health conditions such as what ‘disabled’ means. In the UK there is a depression, anxiety and stress legal definition: • other disabilities, impairments or ‘if he or she has a physical or mental conditions not listed above which have impairment which has a substantial and long a significant and adverse impact on the term adverse effect on their ability to carry out ability to study normal day-to-day activities’ If you fit into any of the above categories and (Equality Act 2010) wish to know how Northumbria University In UK universities the term ‘disabled students’ can support you before and during your includes students with: studies, please click the link below. • physical impairments causing gross click here mobility problems (such as using a wheelchair or crutches or having difficulty walking) or fine mobility problems (such as having difficulty using arms, hands or fingers) • sensory impairments such as being Deaf, hard of hearing, blind or partially sighted • social communication impairments such as Asperger’s Syndrome or other autistic spectrum disorders

10 get ready for northumbria IV. Choose your accommodation looking to meet new friends. Additionally, Welcome to Newcastle upon Tyne – our residences are not only a home-from- the place voted the UK’s number one home for UK students, but for students from city by students! all corners of the world. Please see the link below for full information on Northumbria’s Northumbria University boasts nearly 5,000 accommodation pages: bedrooms within its various residential click here schemes from en suite, top-of-the-range accommodation to traditional student Planning your accommodation housing – so there’s a wide variety to suit all When you choose your student housing in tastes and budgets. the UK: Our residences are ideally located for • be clear what the options are students, with excellent proximity or • be clear what you want, what you need, transport links to both campuses and what you can afford and what you would the City Centre, meaning that cars are be prepared to compromise on unnecessary for the majority of our students. All city-based residential students are • secure your housing in good time and within a short walking distance of our get the deal confirmed. £30m sporting facilities, the Students’ Union If you opt for housing owned or allocated and the bustling culture and night life of by Northumbria University, you can organise Newcastle Gateshead. this before you travel to the UK via the You can find our campus map by clicking the link above. If you choose another type of link below housing, you will need to arrange some temporary housing before you travel to click here Newcastle and then arrange the longer-term Within our residences, we welcome both housing after you have arrived. new and returning students, undergraduates The following pages will be useful to you: and postgraduates and dedicate some blocks click here specifically to these groups so we can ensure a quieter environment for those who need it and superb social opportunities for those

northumbria.ac.uk 11 V. Prepare to leave home Books and stationery in £240–£356 Cost of living and budgeting the first year The International Student Calculator Clothes (in the first year) £280–£310 gives a general guide to the cost of living in Newspaper 25p–£1.00 each the UK. Magazines £1.00–£3.50 Day-to-day expenses each Day-to-day living costs vary from one Paperback books £5.00–£10.00 individual to another, but you should ensure each that you are fully able to support yourself in Cigarettes £3.50–£8.00 the UK, which may be more expensive than your own country. You should avoid trying to Inexpensive restaurant £6.50–£12.00 live too cheaply and you should not rely on meal part-time earnings as a source of income. Meal on campus £2.00–£6.50 What you should expect Coffee £1.50–£2.50 A single student is likely to need around £820 Tea £1.50–£2.00 per month for basic living expenses (e.g. rent, Soft drinks £1.50 food and travel). Married students should allow around £1,000 per month for living Spirits per measure £2.00 expenses, with a further £130 per child per Beer per pint £2.00–£3.50 month if necessary. Glass of wine £2.50–£4.00 How much you need will vary according Cinema ticket £5.50–£8.50 to where you choose to live and what your individual requirements are. Please note Theatre ticket £5.00–£50.00 that these amounts are not related to the Concert ticket £5.00–£65.00 financial requirements when making a Tier 4 Monthly bus pass £30–£70 visa application either in your home country or in the UK. For these amounts please click Metro pass £30–£70 the link below. click here

12 get ready for northumbria Health and healthcare resident in the UK. If you bring your spouse or children with you to the UK, they will also Who is entitled to free healthcare? be entitled to NHS treatment. To receive free All migrants, including students, must pay hospital treatment, your family members an annual health charge for the duration of must be in the UK as your dependants and their study in the UK. For students and their not, for example, as visitors. ‘Family’ in this dependants this is currently £150 per person, situation means your spouse, civil partner, per year. Further details will be available and your children aged up to the age of 16 when you apply for your visa in your home (or up to the age of 19 if they are in full-time country but you can find more information in education). the links below. Reciprocal Health Care Agreements The NHS (National Health Service) is the The UK has reciprocal health care UK’s state health service which provides agreements for the following people: treatment for UK residents through a wide range of health care services. Some services • nationals of countries in the European are free and some have to be paid for. Economic Area The following NHS treatment is free for • nationals of: Armenia; Azerbaijan; Georgia; everyone: Kazakhstan; Kyrgystan; Moldova; New Zealand; Russia; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; • emergency treatment (but not follow-up Ukraine; and Uzbekistan treatment) • residents of Anguilla; Australia; Barbados; • family planning services (contraception) Bosnia and Herzegovina; British Virgin • diagnosis and treatment of certain Islands; Channel Islands; Croatia; Falkland communicable diseases Islands; Gibraltar; Isle of Man; Macedonia; Montenegro; Montserrat; Serbia; St Helena; • compulsory psychiatric treatment and Turks and Caicos Islands If your course of study is for six months or Please note that this list changes, as new more you will qualify for NHS treatment arrangements are agreed, or existing from the beginning of your stay on the agreements end. same basis as anyone who is ordinarily

northumbria.ac.uk 13 If you are covered by a reciprocal health • costs of a relative visiting you in the UK if care agreement, you will be eligible for you fall ill some NHS treatment even if your course • cost of returning to your home country for lasts less than six months. Reciprocal health treatment care agreements generally cover hospital • or in the worst possible situation, returning treatment, the need for which arose during a body home for burial your stay, but do not always cover treatment of an existing condition. Before you travel, There can be a long wait for NHS treatment, you should seek advice from the health sometimes many months. An insurance authorities in your home country about what policy which gives you access to private treatment will be covered. You may still need medical care could give you much quicker to take out limited medical insurance. access to the treatment you need. If you already have medical insurance in your home If you are entitled to NHS treatment, the country, check whether you can extend it to following services will be free of charge: cover your stay in the UK, as well as looking • consulting a doctor (or General at options available from UK insurers. Practitioner, which is the more commonly- used term in the UK and is abbreviated Endsleigh Insurance has produced a special to GP), and most other GP services (e.g. health insurance policy for international visiting a clinic) students and their spouses or civil partners and children in the UK. Details of the policy • treatment in a hospital (both emergency can be found on the Endsleigh website. and non-emergency treatment) Please contact Endsleigh for further details. You may need to pay for: • medicines prescribed by your GP Meet and Greet If you are a new student coming to • some GP services (e.g. vaccinations for Northumbria University from outside the travel, getting a sickness certificate) UK and flying into Newcastle International • dental treatment Airport, why not make use of the University • optical treatment Meet & Greet service? As part of this service, our Meet & Greet team will meet you at the For details of NHS charges, see the NHS airport and provide transport to your chosen leaflet HC12 in the ‘downloads’ section of the accommodation free of charge. Click the link NHS website for more information. click here click here Medical insurance Even if you are entitled to free NHS treatment whilst in the UK, you should consider taking out insurance which covers other medical- related costs. An insurance policy may cover, for example: • lost fees if you are unable to complete your course • costs of returning home if a relative is ill

14 get ready for northumbria VI. Checklist Now you are ready for departure, make sure you have arranged or done the following: • entry clearance (transit visa) as a Tier 4 (General) Student (or a Short-term Student Visa) • accommodation in Newcastle • finances – remember to bring sterling cash with you, but keep it safe! • Meet and Greet pick up at Newcastle International Airport • travel insurance to cover lost luggage • health insurance – if you need it

VII. Useful links and contacts Useful websites Questions about your course and Pre-arrival guidance for Northumbria your offer: University students Email: internationaladmissions@ Studying in the UK and Scholarships northumbria.ac.uk britishcouncil.org and ukcisa.org.uk Faculty phone numbers Entry clearance (visas) for students Arts, Design and Social Sciences ukvisas.gov.uk +44 191 227 3451 or +44 191 227 4913 Newcastle International Airport Business and Law newcastleairport.com +44 191 227 4494 or +44 191 227 3322 Accommodation in Newcastle Engineering and Environment +44 191 227 4722 or +44 191 227 4342 northumbria.ac.uk/accommodation Health and Life Sciences Useful information +44 191 215 6178 or +44 191 227 3571 Meet and Greet Information and booking form northumbria.ac.uk/meetandgreet

northumbria.ac.uk 15 Departure: Your journey to the UK

I. What to bring with you Money Luggage – don’t bring too much! When you arrive in the UK you will need some cash and so should bring about £250 Be realistic about what you need to pack as in cash and travellers’ cheques for your excess luggage charges can be expensive. immediate needs (meals, food shopping, Pack warm, waterproof clothes in preparation local transport, etc.). Avoid carrying any more for the unpredictable UK climate. Do not be cash in case it gets lost or stolen. Most shops tempted to pack meat and fish from home, and hotels will accept credit cards, and some as it is illegal to bring these into the UK from will also accept payment in sterling travellers’ outside the EU. Ensure you attach luggage cheques. If you intend to bring more than labels with your contact details in the UK to £8000 with you in cash, cheques or a bankers each piece of luggage. draft you will need to declare this to customs when you arrive in UK. Documents relating to your course Please ensure you have all of the documents Shops and services in the UK will accept relating to your course – including your payment in UK currency only. Credit and CAS letter and decision letter – in your hand debit cards are widely accepted and you will luggage or handbag. You will be asked to be able to withdraw money from cashpoint produce these at immigration control in (‘ATM’) machines if you have a Personal London or Newcastle. Identification Number (PIN) for that card. II. Arrival in the UK Immigration control When you arrive at an airport, you pass through immigration control before collecting your luggage. There are usually two main queues: one for European Economic Area and Swiss nationals, and one for everyone else. Make sure you join the correct queue. A Border Force Officer will look at your passport and check your Visa/ Entry Clearance. When you enter the UK with a Tier 4 visa, the Border Force Officer must be satisfied that you speak English at the required level without needing an interpreter. This will not be a test or interview as such but you may be

16 get ready for northumbria Please complete a declaration form if you have more than £8,000 in cash. You will be able to keep a copy of the completed form which you should keep safely as evidence that you have made a declaration. Please note that a very large fine can be imposed if you do not make this declaration, or provide incorrect or incomplete information. If you are carrying more than the permitted duty/tax-free allowances, or any prohibited goods (e.g. drugs, offensive weapons, food or plants from outside the European Union, medicines made from endangered species, etc.) you must pass through the red channel. If you are not sure about what you can bring into the UK you should check with the British Embassy or High Commission in your home asked several questions if he thinks that your country before travelling to the UK. Before English is not up to the required standard. you contact them, you can obtain some very Before leaving Immigration Control, check basic information from the leaflet Travelling that the Border Force Officer has put a date to the UK – what you can bring, what you stamp (if you had a Visa or Entry Clearance) can’t, what you must declare in your passport; or if you are a non-visa national coming for a course of less than six Arriving via Republic of Ireland months and do not have Entry Clearance You can come to the UK via the Republic check that you have been stamped in as of Ireland. However, it is important to a ‘short-term student’. After immigration understand that the UK and Ireland are control, you will be able to collect your part of a Common Travel Area (CTA) which baggage. If any item does not come through, streamlines arrival from Ireland for most find a representative of the airline you travellers because there is no immigration travelled on and fill in a lost baggage form. control on arrival in the UK, and this can cause a problem for non-visa nationals on Customs short courses. When you have found all your baggage you There is no problem for someone who has must pass through Customs Control. Join applied in their home country for UK Tier 4 the queue for the green channel if you have or a Short-term student entry clearance (visa) nothing to declare, the red channel if you before travelling. Your UK visa will not be have goods to declare, or the blue channel if date stamped on entry to the UK, but this is you have arrived from an airport within the fine. You should keep evidence of your travel European Union (EU) where you have already in case your date of entry ever becomes cleared all your baggage through Customs important or relevant. Furthermore, if you do Control. travel and re-enter the UK later, for example for a short trip elsewhere in Europe (other than Ireland), your entry clearance will simply be date stamped on re-entry.

northumbria.ac.uk 17 If you are a non-visa national, (see link below Note also that any immigration permission to check your status) you can normally travel you are given on arrival in Ireland is for to the UK and apply on entry for immigration Ireland only, not for the UK. permission to enter as a short-term student for up to six months. Non-visa national III. Leaving the airport students on short courses often choose to do If you are travelling outside of the Meet this rather than applying for entry clearance and Greet period and will travel to your before travelling. However, if you arrive in accommodation from the airport by yourself, the UK from elsewhere in the CTA, including please click on the link below to find out how Ireland, you will not have the opportunity you can do this: to do this because there is no immigration control at your UK arrival point. If you plan to click here travel via Ireland you should therefore always apply for UK entry clearance (a visa) as a student or short-term student in your home country. If, despite the above advice, you do enter the UK from Ireland with no specific UK immigration permission, and you are a non-visa national, you will, in most cases, automatically have permission to be in the UK only for three months, not for six months. This may not be enough time to complete your short course, but you cannot extend your stay in the UK. If you need to be in the UK for more than three months, you will need to leave the UK within the three month period, then re-enter asking for immigration permission to enter as a short-term student, for a maximum visit of six months.

18 get ready for northumbria V. Checklist In your hand luggage you will need: • your entry documents into the UK – passport, bank statements, offer letter, decision letter • a small amount of sterling cash • the address of your accommodation • the phone number of your flatmate, if you are sharing • keys, if you are in private accommodation

Don’t forget: • to phone a day or more before you arrive so that people are expecting you • to label your luggage clearly with your name and accommodation address in Newcastle • that you cannot bring raw foodstuffs from home

IV. Arrival at your new address when you arrive. Take down the phone numbers of anyone you will be sharing with If you are using our Meet and Greet and let them know when you are likely to service you will be taken to your chosen arrive. accommodation and the Meet and Greet officer will ensure you gain access to the building or house before he or she leaves VI. Useful links and contacts you. If you are travelling outside of the Meet All enquiries regarding student and Greet dates, you should plan your arrival accommodation should be sent to: beforehand so that you do not encounter [email protected] any problems when you arrive. Telephone: +44 (0) 191 227 4209 If you are in University accommodation, please ensure you have informed us of your Accommodation address details can be approximate arrival time, especially if you found on the individual residences pages. intend to arrive in the evening or very early morning. Store the address in your phone or on a piece of paper so that you do not forget it and can show it to a taxi driver or member of staff if you need help. Find out the name of the house manager or the phone number of the reception in the building; make a note of these too. If you are in private accommodation make sure you have keys in a safe and easily-accessible place so that you do not have to search through your luggage

northumbria.ac.uk 19 Arrival: Your first few days in Newcastle

I. Your first few days to obtain a letter via My Northumbria which will help you open an account with your Collect your Biometric Residence chosen bank. Permit (BRP) You can find information about choosing Upon arriving in the UK, you will have to and opening a bank account in these enrol on your course as soon as you can. You documents: will receive your new BRP card at enrolment. If it is not available you will be informed of International students: opening a what, if anything, you need to do. Normally UK bank account – British Bankers you will just have to wait a few days until we Association receive it. The Money Advice Service – Basic Bank Discovering your new home Accounts Once you have settled in to your Useful information when opening a accommodation you should wrap up warm bank account and go out and explore the University If you want an account based on Sharia campus and the city of Newcastle. Ask if principles, check banks’ websites and any new students in your accommodation publicity materials. Some mainstream banks want to join you as this is a great way of offer accounts and services that meet these making friends and discovering all there is principles and there are also a few specialist to know about your new home. For more banks that operate in accordance with them. information on the many exciting things You might be able to prevent tax being about Northumbria University and the city of deducted from your interest – ask your bank Newcastle, please browse the site below. or building society for form R105 when you click here open your bank account. Opening a bank account Proving your identity One of the most important first steps is to The Money Advice Service website gives make sure your money is safe and that you you the identity requirements needed for have easy access to it whenever you need basic bank accounts. it. You can ensure this by opening a bank account. Northumbria University does not Food endorse or recommend any particular bank Whether you are in self-catering or catered but instead encourages you to look at what is halls of residence or a private apartment available and make the choice yourself. There with friends, at some point you will need to is a branch of Santander UK in the Students’ buy and prepare food for yourself. Newcastle Union Building on City Campus. Once you has many places to buy fresh produce, have enrolled on your course you will be able some more expensive than others – you just

20 get ready for northumbria Arrival: Your first few days in Newcastle

need to find your preferred place to do the Be aware of culture shock and how weekly shopping. Most British students shop it may affect you in supermarkets and Newcastle has many “Culture shock” describes the impact of to choose from, from the more expensive moving from a familiar culture to one which – Waitrose in Eldon Square – to the more is unfamiliar. It is an experience described by budget-friendly such as Morrisons or Asda. people who have travelled abroad to work, If you prefer to shop in a market then the live or study and it may affect you when you Grainger market is for you. arrive in Newcastle, especially in the first Look at the links below then go out and few days and weeks. It includes the shock explore the possibilities for creating exciting of a new environment, meeting lots of new new dishes or comforting home-style food; it people and learning the ways of a different probably won’t be what you are used to back country. It also includes the shock of being home but shopping for food is one of the separated from the important people in your most exciting things about living in another life, maybe family, friends, colleagues, and country – you will discover tastes you never teachers: people you would normally talk knew you had! to at times of uncertainty, people who give you support and guidance. If you feel that Grainger Market click here you may be affected by culture shock, have Get into Newcastle click here a look at the link below to see how you can Asda click here help yourself and how we at the University can help you too. Morrisons click here Waitrose click here click here Local transport An introduction to academic Newcastle is well served by local transport culture in the UK with a Metro system and extensive bus In the UK the teaching and assessment service. Please see the links below for further methods used in universities are probably very information. different to those used in your home country. It is therefore advisable that you familiarise Nexus click here yourself with them before you arrive. The links Arriva click here below explain what these different methods

northumbria.ac.uk 21 are, as well as outlining expectations and II. Enrolling on your course attitudes to study in the UK. At the enrolment session we will need to Northumbria’s guide to study skills confirm a few important details, so please click here ensure you bring the following with you: • passport – showing a valid visa issued for A guide for international students studying study at Northumbria. If you have a Tier 4 in the UK (General) Student Visa it should show the click here Northumbria Sponsor Licence Number which is 4NPV8B1G7. UKCISA Study methods in the UK • fee information such as letter from click here sponsor, or a bank transfer receipt if you are paying your own fees • your original qualification certificates • our Confirmation of Acceptance of Study (CAS) letter • The decision letter given to you following your visa appointment Further information on enrolment will be available at a later date.

22 get ready for northumbria III. Checklist • Once you have enrolled on your course, request a bank letter and open an account • Attend the Central Welcome Event

IV. Useful links and contacts Click the link for a guide to banking for international students: click here

The Next Step

Welcome to Northumbria Programme We hope you found this information useful. In August you will also receive an email with a link to the Welcome to Northumbria online programme, which will provide you with further details in preparation for coming to university as well as all the information you need to know once you arrive on campus.

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