Before coming to the UK, you should organise your money to ensure you have enough at the start and for the duration of your course. You will also need to investigate the best ways to bring money into the UK.
Visit our International students funding page.
You may find it useful to open an App-based account before arriving in the UK. Whilst we do recommend students open a UK high street bank account, many find it useful to also use an App-based account for ease of money transfers, especially when they have just arrived in the UK. You can read more about this on our Banking page.
When arriving in the UK, make sure that:
- You can bring enough money with you to pay for your tuition fees, accommodation and living expenses
- You have British currency and travellers' cheques when you arrive. We recommend that you have around £150 in cash to cover transport and food costs until you can change money or visit a bank. If you are bringing family with you, you will need more
- You bring proof if you have paid your tuition fees into the University account
- You have documentary evidence that you have enough money to support yourself for immigration purposes
- Remember that you may have to pay a deposit for your accommodation before you move to your property. This is normally the equivalent 1-6 months’ rent in advance. You need to ensure that you have sufficient funds immediately available to cover this
Money and exchange controls
If you’re travelling to the UK and are carrying £10,000 or more, or the equivalent amount in another currency, you must complete a cash declaration form to UK Customs.
Visit the HM Revenue & Customs website for further information.
Your home country may also have regulations restricting the amount of money you can take out. Please check if such regulations apply to you and, if they do, contact your bank or other agency to bring the sums of money you need out of the country. Setting up a bank account can take a long time and you shouldn’t rely on a bank account for quick money transfers or for cashing a cheque on arrival. Instead, you’ll need to have easy access to money.
Money transfer
Methods of transferring money internationally vary from country to country. Your bank at home should be able to inform you of ways of transferring or bringing money to London. The three most common ways of sending money from abroad are:
- international money order
- international money transfer
- banker’s draft