Guide · 5 min read
The pre-departure checklist
From passport to first-week admin, in the order you will need it.
The weeks before departure are busy. Work through this list in order and you will arrive with fewer surprises.
Three months before
- Check your passport is valid for at least six months after your return date, and renew it if not.
- Apply for your student visa or residence permit as soon as you have your admission documents. See our visa guide.
- Confirm that your courses are approved for credit and get the approval in writing.
- Apply for scholarships and arrange how you will pay fees.
One to two months before
- Book flights and arrange airport pick-up or directions to your housing.
- Arrange health insurance and check what it covers abroad.
- Visit your doctor for any vaccinations, prescriptions and a supply of regular medication, with a letter explaining it.
- Tell your bank where you are going, and get a card without foreign transaction fees.
- Register with your government’s travel advice service where one exists, such as the UK’s foreign travel advice or the US State Department’s guidance for students abroad.
The week before
- Make digital and paper copies of your passport, visa, admission letter, insurance and prescriptions.
- Check your phone is unlocked, or plan for an eSIM or local SIM.
- Pack adaptors, any medication in your hand luggage, and clothes for the season you will arrive in and the one you will leave in.
- Save your programme’s emergency number and your country’s embassy details.
Your first week
- Attend orientation, even if it seems optional.
- Complete any local registration your visa requires.
- Learn the route to campus, the nearest pharmacy and the emergency number.
- Say yes to invitations. The friendships you make early shape the rest of your stay.