This may be your first time travelling to the UK and living away from home. The experience can be both exciting and overwhelming and you may not know what to expect when you finally arrive.
Here, we cover everything you need to know before you leave. You may also like to read our information on travelling to Bath and important information for when you arrive.
Once you've received your visa acceptance email or letter, and if applicable, your Entry Clearance vignette, you must check that all of the details are correct.
If you used the Home Office's ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app for your Student visa application you'll receive 'digital status' and an email from the Home Office when your visa application has been successful.
The 'digital status' means that the chip in your passport carries the information that you have been granted permission to enter or remain under the Student route.
Please remember that if at any point you replace your passport, you'll need to register the new passport against your UKVI account you made at the time of applying for your visa. The details of your new passport will not be moved to the new one automatically.
When you receive your visa acceptance email from the Home Office, you'll need to check the following details:
If you're a visa national, you'll receive a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) as well as 'digital status'.
If you did not use the app and instead made an application online and attended a biometric appointment at a Visa Application Centre (VAC), you'll receive a visa acceptance letter when your passport and documents are returned to you.
You will not have 'digital status' and instead have an Entry Clearance vignette (visa sticker) in your passport.
When you receive your visa sticker in your passport and accompanying letter, you'll need to check that the following details are correct:
If there are any mistakes on your visa email, Entry Clearance vignette or accompanying letter, these will likely also be on your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP).
When you collect your BRP at your in-person enrolment session you'll need to inform the Home Office to have these corrected, as described in your responsibilities as an international student. The Immigration Advice Service will be able to advise and assist you to address any corrections when you arrive.
The University, as your student sponsor, has its own responsibility to report mistakes on your BRP to the Home Office.
If you've been given 'digital status' then you can travel from the date stated in your visa email. It will say:
"You have been granted permission to enter and stay in the UK as a Student from..."
If your passport has been endorsed with an Entry Clearance vignette then you can travel to the UK on or after the ‘valid from date’.
It's important that you tell us if you're going to be late arriving to the UK – in particular, if you'll miss the Welcome Weekend on 25-26 September 2021 when we hope to see you for in-person enrolment.
You must arrive by the last course acceptance date stated on your CAS.
If you're travelling from a red list country and your arrival is going to be delayed beyond the last course acceptance date stated on your CAS, it may be possible to start your course before arrival by online learning.
Approval for this will be decided on a case-by-case basis and it will depend on your personal circumstances and the course you're studying. If you want to explore this please send an email addressed to both:
Before you travel you'll need to:
When you arrive in England you need to follow the rules for the highest risk country or territory that you've been in or passed through in the previous ten days before arriving in the UK. This includes transit stops.
What you need to do depends firstly on whether you are travelling from or through a red list country.
If you have not travelled from or through a red list country in the last ten days then the rules that apply to you will depend on whether you are 'fully vaccinated' or not.
Please read the UK Government’s requirements on entering the UK and check it regularly for changes so that you're prepared. There is an option to sign up for an email alert.
Fully vaccinated means that you've had a complete course of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before you arrive in England. The day you had your final dose does not count as one of the 14 days.
The vaccine must be administered under either:
Even if you are not fully vaccinated, the fully vaccinated rules apply if you are:
If you are fully vaccinated under the UK vaccination programme, you can prove your vaccination status using an NHS COVID Pass.
There are different ways to prove your vaccination status if you were vaccinated outside of the UK. Check what proof is required for the country or territory where you were vaccinated.
If you cannot prove that you qualify under the fully vaccinated rules, you must follow the rules as though you were not vaccinated.
All travellers will need to find a coronavirus (COVID-19) travel test provider so that they can take a test in the three days before arriving in England.
To stop the spread of potentially harmful variants into the UK, stricter measures are in place for people who have been in a red list country in the ten days before they arrive.
Those coming to England from red list countries will only be allowed to enter if they have residence rights. Having a Student visa or Dependant visa counts as having residence rights.
Everyone who arrives in England and has been in a red list country must quarantine in a managed quarantine hotel for ten full days from the point of their arrival. The day of arrival in England will be treated as day 0.
See more information about what to expect if you’re going into hotel quarantine, including help and support.
You'll need to:
You'll need to:
If you test positive you'll be required to stay at your accommodation and isolate. If you get a negative test result you will not have to isolate.
You'll need to:
If you test positive you'll be required to stay at your accommodation and isolate for additional time. If you get a negative test result you will not have to isolate after the initial ten days.
You can quarantine in the University's Halls of Residence and support is available.
If you would like to leave quarantine early, there is an option to book and pay for an additional Test to Release Day 5 test. If you take this test and the result is negative, you will be able to leave quarantine.
Some options for the Test to Release Scheme in clinic testing in Bath, which include:
The test you take pre-departure must meet certain requirements and you must be able to prove a negative test result before boarding and on arrival.
If these requirements are not met, you may not be able to board your transport to England. If you arrive in England without proof you tested negative, you could be fined £500.
Your test result must be in either English, French or Spanish. Translations will not be accepted.
It must include the following information:
You must provide the original test result notification. Your test result can be provided as:
You'll need to complete a passenger locator form online before you arrive in the UK. It can be submitted any time in the 48 hours before you arrive in the UK. The Government will use the form to contact you if someone you’ve travelled with develops COVID-19 symptoms.
When you submit the form you’ll receive a confirmation email with a document attached. At border control you must show either a:
Border Force officers will scan the QR code at the top of this document to check you've completed the form successfully.
It's important that you complete the passenger locator form carefully and make sure it does not contain any false information. Providing false or misleading information when completing this form is a criminal offence.
When you’re ready to make firm travel arrangements please have a look at our Travelling to Bath page.