Living in the UK

Settling in and adjusting to life in the UK

It can sometimes take a little while to settle in and adjust to your new home, but there is lots of support available to you and our international support team is always on hand to help.

Cultural differences

You may find that there are some cultural differences between your home country and the UK.

There are some aspects of culture which are clear and which you will get used to very quickly. There are others that are less obvious and which will take longer to adjust to.

Read more about UK traditions and culture.

Culture shock

Culture shock describes the impact of moving from a familiar culture to one that is unfamiliar. All sorts of factors contribute to culture shock, such as a change in climate, different food, rules of behaviour that seem strange and hard to understand, and being away from your familiar support network. Studying in another country can be a stressful experience; even if it is something you have planned and prepared for.

Our culture shock toolkit is an interactive resource which can help you prepare for adjusting to life in the UK and to anticipate some of the differences you might encounter in the UK.

See our video guide to enrolling yourself on the course via My Studies, or email us (internationaladvice@brighton.ac.uk) with your student number and we will enrol you on the course.

Opening a bank account

Opening a UK bank account is usually top of any new international student’s to do list. It can take several weeks to open a UK bank account once, so please make sure you will have access to money for when you first arrive. Cash is accepted in most UK shops, but it is not accepted on University of Brighton campuses.  For safety reasons we do not recommend you bring more than £250 in cash with you. Check with your bank to see if you can use your credit or debit card in the UK or look into pre-paid debit cards to bring with you.

You will see that most UK banks offer a Student account, which comes with an interest free overdraft and other incentives. Unfortunately these are only available to UK students, or overseas nationals who have been in the UK for at least 3 years.

The main kind of account available to international students is a ‘basic’ bank account. These accounts will allow you to pay money in, withdraw money from an ATM, and pay for things using a debit card. They do not allow you to have an overdraft or any kind of credit.

Which? has a useful guide to the main basic bank accounts in the UK. Read more about the documents you will need to open a UK bank account: Opening a bank account.

Cost of living

Your living costs in the UK will vary according to your individual circumstances. These include how much your accommodation and travel costs are, what you spend on groceries and other household items, and how much money you plan to spend on personal costs like clothing and entertainment. You may also have costs associated with your course, such a text books or materials.

Read about the typical costs for accommodation and other items.

Budgeting for student life

In most cases, as part of your Student visa application you will have needed to demonstrate that you have enough money to pay your tuition fees for the first year of your course, plus have £1,023 per month for your living costs. This is capped at 9 months so regardless of the length of your course, you only need to show 9 x £1,023 = £9,207 to meet the financial requirements for the application. (Please see our guidance on making a Student visa application for more details of this.) If you are bringing dependants with you they will also have had to meet the financial requirements for their visa applications.

However, it is important not to confuse this with the real cost of living in the UK, which is high and getting higher. In reality you will need to budget to have at least £1,023 per month for each month of your course.

We strongly recommend you make a budget to help you plan your finances. You may wish to use a budgeting app to do this. Some online bank accounts like Monzo and Revolut allow you to set up ‘pots’ or ‘vaults’ to divide your money into. This can be helpful if you will be receiving your funding all in one go, or every three months.

Hardship Funding

We have a small hardship fund for international students who experience short-term financial difficulties once they have begun their course. In all cases you will be expected to demonstrate that these difficulties are unexpected and temporary.

Read more about our hardship fund: International Student Hardship Fund.

Working during your studies

If you are studying a degree level course at the university you will be permitted to work a maximum of 20 hours per week during term time. If you are studying at below degree level you will be permitted to work a maximum of 10 hours per week during term time. See our guidance on Student Route and the right to work for more details.

Many of our international student community work, and we have a Careers Service who can advise you on applying for part time work. However, the main purpose of your visa is to undertake full-time study and any paid or unpaid work you undertake should not interfere with your studies.

It is not viable to rely on income from paid work to fund your studies and you should ensure that you have made adequate provision to fund your course in advance. This is because you are not guaranteed to find part time work which offers you up to the permitted number of hours a week as this kind of work is in high demand in the UK currently.

We have included below some of the ‘myths’ we have heard from our international students about the cost of living and working in the UK.

Myth: You only need to have the money required by UKVI to get your visa – you don’t really need to have the full amount available when you get to the UK.

Busted: Aside from the requirements of the visa application, you need to budget for at least £1,023 for every month you will be in the UK. This means in reality you will need to have access during your course to much more money than you have demonstrated in the visa application.

Myth: There is an abundance of well-paid, part-time work in the UK.

Busted: You cannot rely on being able to work to pay for your studies. Part-time work is available in Brighton, but it is in high demand due to the cost of living increase. You are not guaranteed to find work, and you cannot rely on being able to work to pay for your studies. 

Myth: I am a postgraduate student, I know I can work 20 hours per week in term time, and full-time hours in the university vacation.

Busted: Postgraduate courses do not follow the same term dates as undergraduate students do. For postgraduate students starting in September you will be limited to working 20 hours per week until you have completed your course. See our guidance on working with a Student visa for more details.

Read more about managing your money.

Read our guide on shops and shopping in the UK.

Academic support

The UK academic system may be different to the one you are used to. Adjusting to a new academic system is just like any aspect of adjusting to a new culture: there will be things that are less obvious than others, and it may take time.

The following resources will be useful in helping you anticipate and prepare studying in the UK:

There are some useful tips on the website for the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) on study skills for success. These include brief summaries of what to expect from lecture, seminars, practical work, and tutorials. It also outlines the ways in which universities in the UK focus on independent study.

Prepare for Success is an interactive online tool developed by staff at the University of Southampton. It helps you to look at the ways the UK academic system may differ from the one you are used to.

The Brighton Skills Hub gives you resources and support to help you to develop the skills you need for confident university study, so you can achieve your full potential in your education, and your career. The support offered by the Hub includes:

• academic writing support and development
• library and research skills
• employability skills
• maths and stats support.

Academic writing support and development includes personalised feedback on the structure and organisation of your written work, one to one tutorials to support with assignments. These can be particularly useful if you are new to the UK academic system, or would like to develop your academic English.

Disability and learning support

We work closely with all disabled students, including international students, to make sure they are not disadvantaged by their disability or specific learning difference.

In the UK a disability is defined as any long-term condition (that lasts or is expected to last for more than 12 months) that has a significant adverse effect on your ability to study. It can include conditions such as:

• Specific learning differences (such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia)
• Mental health conditions
• Neurodivergence (such as autism, ADHD)
• Physical disabilities (including mobility and sensory impairments)
• Long term health conditions (such as epilepsy, cancer, HIV, etc.)
• Any combination of the above.

Healthcare

The National Health Service (NHS) is funded by the UK government. It is divided into three main categories:

• General Practitioners (GPs)
• Hospital Treatment
• Emergency treatment including the ambulance service.

It also includes opticians and dentists. Some NHS services are free to everyone, some are subsidised and for some you will have to pay the full cost.

Getting involved in university social life

There are plenty of ways to get involved in university social life, and build a network of friends here.

Working during your studies

If you hold a Student route visa to study at the University of Brighton, it should be endorsed to show that you are permitted to work 20 hours per week in term time. Whether or not you are considered to be in ‘term time’ will depend on what course you are studying, and what work you have to do on your course at different points in the academic year.

To understand what this means for you, and what kind of work is permitted please see our detailed guidance on Student Route and the right to work.

Careers service 

The university careers service has information and sources of vacancies for students looking for work during or after your study.

In order to work in the UK you will need to apply for a National Insurance number. The careers service also provide useful information about national insurance and tax. 

Working after your studies 

For information on visa options for working after your studies visit our webpages and UKCISA's working in the UK after your studies.

Public holidays

International Student Support blog