First Week in the UK: A Checklist for Pakistani Students

Your first week in the UK as a Pakistani student comes down to a short list: make sure you can see your eVisa, register with a GP, get a UK phone number, open a bank account, sort out council tax and learn the rules on part-time work. None of it costs much, and most of it you can do from your phone or the university.

This checklist is for students who have just arrived or are about to fly, and for parents who want to know what their child should be doing. We checked each rule on GOV.UK and the NHS website on 18 October 2026. Rules change, so follow the links for the final word.

Before you fly: check your eVisa

The UK has replaced most physical immigration documents with eVisas, an online record of your status and its conditions. You see it through a free UKVI account, according to GOV.UK's eVisa guidance.

Link the passport you will travel on. You can travel on your eVisa once your passport details are added to your UKVI account. If you renew your passport, update the account before you fly.
Know your travel window. For a course longer than six months, the Student visa rules let you arrive up to one month before the course starts. You must not travel before the start date on your visa.
Learn to make a share code. Your eVisa page can give you a share code to prove your status to someone else, for example a landlord or an employer. Try it once at home so you are not doing it for the first time in a queue.

Keep paper copies of your university offer or CAS, accommodation booking and passport in your hand luggage too. Our visa and pre-departure checklist covers what to pack and prepare in Pakistan.

Day one and two: phone, money and family

Get a UK SIM. A pay-as-you-go SIM is the simplest start, because monthly contracts often need a UK bank account and address. Send your family your new number and your address on the first day.

Carry some money that works straight away. Bank accounts can take a few days to a few weeks to open. Arrive with a card that works abroad or some pounds in cash for the first week's food and transport.

Open a bank account. Each bank sets its own document list, so read the bank's own page before you go in. Expect to need your passport, proof of your immigration status and a UK address. If the bank asks for a letter confirming you are a student, your university's student services can usually tell you how to get one.

You no longer register with the police

Older advice, and some relatives, may tell you to register with the police within a week of arriving. That is out of date. GOV.UK says the police registration scheme ended on 4 August 2022. You do not need to do it, even if an old letter told you to.

Register with a GP in your first week

A GP is your local doctor, and you register with one near where you live. Do it in the first week, before you are ill.

In England, registering with a GP is free and most surgeries take registrations online. The NHS says you do not need ID, proof of address or proof of immigration status to register.
Because you paid the immigration health surcharge with your visa, you can use the NHS free of charge from the date your visa starts. You still pay for some things, such as prescriptions, dental treatment and eye tests.
In an emergency, call 999 or go to A&E. If you need help urgently but it is not an emergency, use NHS 111 online or by phone in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own versions.

Rules differ slightly in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so check your nation's NHS website if you study there.

Council tax: full-time students are usually exempt

Council tax is a local charge on homes. GOV.UK says households where everyone is a full-time student do not pay it. For most courses, full-time means at least one year long and at least 21 hours of study a week.

If you live in university halls, ask the accommodation office whether you need to do anything. If you rent privately and still get a bill, apply for the exemption through your council. If you share with someone who is not a full-time student, a bill may still come, though there may be a discount.

Part-time work: know your limit

Many Pakistani students want to work to help with costs. The rules are strict, and breaking them can cost you your visa.

Under the Student visa rules, a full-time student at degree level or above at a university can work up to 20 hours a week during term time, and full time outside term time. Below degree level the limit is 10 hours.
You cannot be self-employed, work as a professional sportsperson or entertainer, or fill a permanent full-time job.
Your own limit is shown in your eVisa conditions. Check it, and check your university's term dates, because "term time" is set by your course.
To work you need a National Insurance number. Check your UKVI account first, as you may already have one. If not, you can apply once you are in the UK. It can take up to four weeks, and you can start work before it arrives if you can prove your right to work.

Plan your budget so you do not depend on work in the first months. Our cost calculator helps you check what your stipend or family support really covers.

Getting around cheaply

If you will take trains, the 16-25 Railcard costs £35 a year and takes a third off most rail fares. Full-time mature students aged 26 and over can get one too with proof from their university. On weekdays between 4:30 am and 9:59 am, a £12 minimum fare applies. Ask your students' union about local student bus tickets.

Finding other Pakistanis and settling in

Look on your students' union website for a Pakistani, South Asian or Islamic society. The freshers' fair at the start of term is the easiest place to meet them. If your university has a chaplaincy or faith centre, it can point you to prayer rooms and nearby mosques, and older students are the best guide to halal food shops close to campus.

Join through your students' union's official page. Be careful with open WhatsApp or Facebook groups that sell "visa help", rooms you have not seen, or jobs that pay cash and ignore your hour limit.

A note on scams

Never pay anyone who calls or messages to say there is a problem with your visa, your taxes or your bank account. Check your status yourself in your UKVI account, and contact your university's international student team if anything worries you. Our guide to avoiding scams lists the warning signs.

Your first-week checklist

Task	When	Where
Check your eVisa and linked passport	Before you fly	UKVI account
Tell family your UK number and address	Day 1	Pay-as-you-go SIM
Finish university enrolment	First days	Your university
Register with a GP	Week 1	NHS website or the surgery
Open a bank account	Week 1 to 2	The bank's own website or branch
Sort council tax if you rent privately	Week 1 to 2	Your local council
Check your work limit and NI number	Before you start a job	eVisa conditions, GOV.UK
Buy a railcard if you will travel	When needed	16-25 Railcard website

For more on life and costs, see our Study in the UK guide. Rules on visas, health and work change, so confirm them on GOV.UK and with your university's international student advisers, who give free advice on your own case.