][ LOGIN ]Given below is what you need to consider if you are planning to come to UK for your studies.
1.1 Countdown to departure
1.2 Preparing to enter the UK
1.3 Arranging accommodation
1.4 Money
1.5 Booking travel
1.6 Packing
1.7 Immigration/Visa requirements
1.8 Banking in the UK
1.9 Transferring Money to the UK
1.10 Onward Travel
We would like to jot down for you what you need to do in order to achieve a smooth travel to the UK for your big experience!
Given below is a checklist of essential documents that
you need to bring with you to the UK, and for what you will need to
show them.
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Immigration Control |
University Registration |
Opening a bank account |
Police Registration |
Registering with a doctor |
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Visa |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Offer and Acceptance Certificate |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Passport |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Sponsor/Sponsorship letter |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Proof of fees paid |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Academic certificates |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Proof of UK address |
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Yes |
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Marriage and birth certificates if travelling with family |
Yes |
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Proof of your address in Maldives |
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Yes |
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Passport sized photographs |
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Yes |
Make sure you have a valid passport, and also obtain visa to study in the UK, if you are travelling to the UK for a course that last for longer than six months. In order to get the visa, you will need to prove that you have enough money to cover your course fees (tuition fees), accommodation and living expenses.
It is very important that you arrange accommodation in advance, to avoid any last minute hiccups. There are three main possibilities:
Most universities have single room accommodation,
which is not suitable for families. However, some universities have a small
number of family accommodations available. Thus, if you plan to bring your
family with you, and if you cannot secure family accommodation before you
travel to the UK,
you should not bring them until you have found proper family accommodation. So,
it is advisable in that case, for you to travel alone to UK and secure a
proper family accommodation and bring your family.
1.3.1 University accommodation
Universities and many colleges have their own student
accommodation. Most of the first year student normally chooses this option.
Choosing this option is the easiest method to arrange your accommodation in
advance. Your university or college will send you information and an
application form after you have accepted a place on a course at that university
or college. Once you receive this pack, fill out the application form and send
it back, making sure to send it well in advance to meet the deadline. Once your
application is accepted they will send you a confirmation of your room booking.
A deposit may be payable by a certain deadline to secure your place.
1.3.2 Private accommodation
Most of the students other than first years tend to
choose private accommodation. However this is difficult to secure before
arriving in the UK.
Always remember to view the property in person before choosing the place to
live. You can look for private accommodation from the internet, ask friends and
relatives, and contact accommodation office of your university, contact
students ' union at your university or college, or contact a local letting
agency in your city.
1.3.3 Temporary Accommodation
At least you should have a temporary accommodation sorted out before you travel to the UK. You can contact MSA (UK) or the Warden at 9 Rosemont Avenue to arrange your stay there for few days until you find a permanent accommodation. Please visit the special page designated for Rosemont, for more details on that.
To obtain a visa you will need to prove that you have enough money to cover your tuition fee and living expenses. It is almost impossible to get extra grants or funds once you are in the UK, so you need to arrange your funding before arriving to UK.
1.4.1 How much money will I need?
You will need to budget for:
1.4.2 Can I apply for scholarships?
If you are planning to obtain a sponsorship or a scholarship, you should start that at least 12 to 15 months earlier. There are many Government scholarships, Villa scholarships and loan schemes run in the Maldives, amongst other less popular private funding schemes. There are also some international funding schemes, such as the UniversitiesUK run ORS Schemes for overseas students wishing to study for a PhD. Relatively few scholarships though, are available to study for undergraduate courses.
You can also find information about other scholarships for international students on the British council website: www.britishcouncil.org
Remember, scholarships are awarded before you come to your studies. So, if you are short of money now, defer your place until you know you will have enough money to support yourself (and your family if applicable) throughout your studies in UK.
1.4.3 Fees
Given below is a guide (based on official publications) of likely course fees.
1.4.3.1 English language courses
Fees can vary widely, but it is expected to be around £100 per week for large-class tuition and £300 per week or more for intensive small-class tuition.
Academic English courses offered by some universities may be around £100-£200 per week but some universities offer theses free of charge to students who are going to do full-time/part time degree course at that institution.
1.4.3.2 GCSEs, A-levels and other equivalents
Fees for day pupils are around £1500-£4000 per term and boarding students pay around £3000-£7000 per term
Those students who board in independent schools will not need to budget for accommodation, food or laundry costs. However, it is important to check if anything else is included in the fees, such as text books and examination fees.
1.4.3.3 Non-degree career-based, professional courses
Tuition fee for these courses vary around £3500-£5500 if it is a career-based or professional course.
1.4.3.4 Degree courses
For courses in universities outside London, the undergraduate and postgraduate course fees for the year 2007/8 are round:
Arts £9000
Science and Engineering £12000
Combined Fees £10500
Clinical £22000
MBA £18700
International Foundation Year £8900
For course in universities inside London, the above fees are around:
Arts £9500
Science and Engineering £12500
Combined Fees £11000
Clinical £22500
MBA £19200
International Foundation Year £9200
Remember that the fees are expected to rise by
approximately by 3.5% each year after 2007. So, when you budget for fees, take
this into account.
These fees are just an indication and the exact amount you have to pay will be shown on your offer letter.
Also, keep in mind that most honours degree courses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland take just three years to complete compared with four years in the USA and Australia. However, in Scotland honours degree courses take four years to complete. Masters courses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland takes one year and PhD courses take 3 years to complete whilst in Scotland it is 2 years and 4 years respectively.
1.4.4 Accommodation costs and other living expenses
Before coming to UK you have to learn about how much your accommodation costs and other living costs will be, and budget for that. If you are going to be funded by a full scholarship which covers the whole tuition fee, accommodation fee and living expenses, you do not have to worry about these things!
Given below is a guide for international students studying outside London:
| Deposit on rented accommodation | £250-£500 (one month's rent) |
| Gas bill |
£30-£40 per month |
| Electricity Bill | £35-£45 per month |
| Water bill | £25-£35 per month |
| TV Licence | £135 per year |
| Internet | £10-£20 per month |
| Land Line telephone | £20 per month (including line rental) |
| Mobile phone | £35-£50 per month (including line rental) |
| Food (for regular purchase from supermarkets) | £30-£40 per week |
| Cosmetics | £12 per month |
| Haircut | £5-£20 depending on the standard of the shop |
| Clothes | £35 or more per term |
| Winter clothes | £40-£75 |
| Leisure | £12 per week |
In London
you might need to pay a little bit more than these amounts for some items, but
most of them are the same price. The accommodation price is likely to be higher
in London by an
additional £100 per month.
These prices are for a single student, thus for those who wish to bring family at least the amounts for accommodation prices and food needs to be increased.
1.4.5 How much do I need if I bring my family?
Students who bring a spouse should bring approximately £3500 per year to cover their spouse's essential living costs. Students bringing children should bring an extra £2000 per year for essential living costs for each child aged 3 or over. However, this estimate does not include childcare costs, which is very expensive: Those who require childcare in the UK will need around £7000 per year for full-time childcare for each child under school age and £1040 per year for school holiday childcare for each older child. In addition to this, if after school childcare is also required, there might be an additional cost.
The estimated weekly rent cost for family accommodation (excluding electricity, gas and water bills) is as follows (for outside London):
|
Type of accommodation |
weekly rent starts from |
| Couple | £90 |
| 2-bedroom | £120 |
| 3-bedroom | £160 |
For London, these prices should be increased by at least 30%.
1.4.6 How much do I need for schooling for my
children?
By law, children in
the UK
must start schooling at the beginning of the term after their fifth birthday.
The specifics of whether your children will go to the Year one of Primary or
the Reception year before that depends on the particular locality you live.
Children under sixteen can go to a state school for free. Information on
Schools can usually be found through your local Council.
1.4.7 Do I need extra money if I am disabled?
In case of disabled person, it is very important that you contact your university's Disability Services and get information regarding this. Normally the services offered by universities are free, however there are some services which you normally will be required to pay for. This includes:
If you are (coming to) studying in London or the South-East the major airports serving that area are Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, and Luton. However, if you are studying elsewhere, you will find it more convenient to travel to the nearest regional airport to your destination city. There are over 28 regional airports offering direct international flight services and/or connecting services over European centres such as Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels or Frankfurt. Given below are a list of regional airports and their contact details:
Aberdeen: +44 (0) 1244 722 331
Birmingham: +44 (0) 121 767 5511
Edinburgh:+44 (0) 131 333 1000
Gatwick: +44 (0) 1293 53 53 53
Glasgow: +44 (0) 1292 47 9822
Heathrow: +44 (0) 870 0000 123
Luton: +44 (0) 1582 405100
Manchester: +44 (0) 161 489 300
Southampton: +44 (0) 23 8062 0021
Stansted: +44 (0) 1279 680 500
If you are travelling to the North, it is impossible to book a flight to the nearest regional airport. Thus consider travelling to Manchester Airport. Manchester is very well served by direct intercontinental flights as well as a high density of European connecting flights. This option will greatly reduce the length and cost of northbound onward travel.
Before you book you ticket, please remember to contact MSA (UK) so that we can assist you in receiving you if possible, and helping you as much as possible in reaching your destination.
Important things to bear in mind when packing include:
You will need to obtain a visa before you travel to the UK in order to study in the UK in a course that lasts for more than six months. Failure to do so may lead you being refused entry to UK.
For useful information about this please visit: www.ukcosa.org.uk
If you are coming to UK for a duration less than six months, you do not need to obtain a visa before travelling to UK, but is advisable that you do- because if you do not obtain a visa and you do not satisfy the immigration officer on arrival that you meet all the requirements for entry to the UK, you can be refused entry into the UK.
If you are bringing family to the UK to stay with you whilst you study, visa has to be obtained for each member of your family who is coming to UK with you.
1.7.1
When should you apply for visa?
Once you can prove that you meet all of the legal requirements for obtaining visa, please apply for visa at least 4 to 6 weeks prior to travel. You can check the main UK visa information website: www.ukvisas.gov.uk
The details of the Visa Facilitation Centre in Sri Lanka, to where currently all the students are required to attend in person, even your family if your family is coming with you to UK, are given below:
Website: www.vfs.lk
UK Visa Application
Centre
367 , R.A.De Mel Mawatha,
(Duplication Road),
Colombo 3
Helpline Number: 011 - 4513355 / 4795693
Email: info@vfs.lk
Working Hours: Monday to Thursday
Submission: 0800 to 1430 Hrs.
Collection : 1600 to 1700 Hrs.
Working Hours: Friday
Submission: 0800 to 1130 Hrs.
Collection : 1500 to 1600 Hrs.
According to the Visa Facilitation Centre in Sri Lanka, from 5th December 2006 the new student fee will be 18,700 Rupees. The visa application centre also has a service charge of 1,300 Rupees and Demand Draft charges of 400 Rupees.
1.7.2
Extending visa once in UK
If you entered the UK with a valid student visa you may be able to extend your visa, provided that you meet the regulations, by making an application to the Home Office. The current fees for this are between 250-500.
1.7.3
Immigration Advice in the UK
Once you are in the UK and if you have any immigration issue please contact the International Students Office of your university or college. They are the only staffs in the University or college who is allowed, by law, to give you advice on immigration issues.
If you have to pay tuition fees in instalments you will normally need to open a UK bank account in order to complete your registration. If your course starts in September, arrive by the start of International Freshers' Week or Welcome Week to avoid getting upset due to long queues in the banks and open your account as quickly as possible. Remember to bring all the documents needed to open a bank account as shown in the Documents Checklist given in section 1.1
For
further information about UK
banking service please check the following websites:
www.ukcosa.org.uk/image/bank.pdf
www.education.uk.org/download/study.live_uk.pdf
1.8.1
How to open a bank account in UK
In order to open a bank account, take your documents and a bank introduction letter from your university/college to the bank in which you wish to open your bank account. Keep in mind that each bank has it own requirements and offers different services. Please get further advice from the International Student Office of your university/college.
You need to bring money with you when you travel to the UK. You will need to have access to money when you arrive, because you will need to pay for your day-today expenses, or even pay your tuition fees and your accommodation expenses before you are able to open a bank account, depending on the time constraints.
There are different methods by which money can be transferred to the UK. Amongst this are, travellers cheques, Bankers drafts/cashiers cheques, telegraphic bank to bank transfer, credit/debit card from Maldives, personal cheque from your home bank account and cash.
Amongst these, travellers cheques are a safe and easy way of bringing money, since unlike cash, TC can be replaced if lost. TC can also be used as soon as you arrive in the UK. This is a great advantage as it may take sometime before you can open a bank account in the UK. You can exchange travellers cheques for cash and you can pay them into a bank account in the UK. And if you use Sterling TCs you can normally avoid commission charges. There are also several agents that do not charge interest on US Dollar TCs.
As for banker's drafts/cashiers cheques, you can buy one from your Maldives bank account and bring it with you. Remember to make only Sterling drafts since they are quick to clear and fee to pay into your UK bank account. If you bring Bankers drafts, make sure you have with you cash or another short term access to money to meet your financial necessities until the bankers drafts are cleared in your bank account.
TT or telegraphic bank to bank transfer if often the cheapest method to transfer money but you need to wait until you have opened a bank account in the UK. Thus, make sure you have cash or another method to meet your immediate financial requirements. The transfer of money by TT normally takes 3 or 4 working days.
You may also be able to withdraw money from a credit/debit card from your bank account in Maldives, such as the card given from international bank accounts offered by HSBC Maldives branch. Check how much you will be charged as this can be normally a very expensive method.
In addition to this, you can also pay a personal cheque into your bank account that you open in UK. This normally takes a lot of time, sometimes 6 weeks. There may also be a charge imposed by your UK bank on suing this method.
Finally, if you bring cash, make sure you do not bring too much cash, as this is a very big risk. We advise you not to bring more than 700 pounds with you in cash, and have them in 20 pound notes or smaller.
Remember that US Dollars or Euros are not accepted in shops or other places for goods and services. You need to have Sterling Pounds. Thus, if you bring US Dollars or Euros, you will need to exchange them to Sterling. But make sure you study the variation in the exchange rates for sometime before exchanging into Sterling.
As mentioned before, if you are going to study in London, or the South-East (e.g. Bristol, Brighton, Portsmouth, Southampton etc) you will probably arrive at a London airport i.e., Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted. If you are studying elsewhere in the UK, you will probably arrive at Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow or Edinburgh for example. You may also arrive at Heathrow or Gatwick and travel to your destination.
Remember to inform MSA (UK) in advance of your travel plans so that we can assist you as much as we can.
If you are arriving at a London airport, you can go to 9 Rosemont Avenue, and stay there as a transit venue for a few days and travel to your final destination. Please check the dedicated section for Rosemont for details on how to get there and the charges and rules of the accommodation.
Useful websites for onward travel to your final destination are:
www.nationalrail.co.uk for information on
railway journeys
www.nationalexpress.com for information on coach
journeys
www.baa.com
for
airport information for airports at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton
www.lbia.co.uk
for Leeds Bradford
Airport
www.manchesterairport.co.uk for Manchester Airport
www.bhx.co.uk
for Birmingham Airport information
www.cial.co.uk
for Cardiff Airport information
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Copyright 2006, Maldivian Student's Association - UK.