UK Adventure Notes | What You Should Know Before Leaving for the UK (Renting | Banking | Phone & Internet | National Insurance | Taxes | Seeing a Doctor)

Last time I shared how to buy flights and get a student card and youth card before going abroad. In part 2, I'll share a few important things you can start preparing before you even arrive in the UK!

Don't be like me back then, piecing things together from whatever I heard here and there. As usual, I like to share the main steps first and fill in the finer details later. Starting on these things early only helps, it can't hurt, and it makes settling down in the UK go more smoothly. After all, some things in the UK aren't handled very efficiently, so starting early is how you spare yourself trouble 😆

The most important ones are housing, banking, and phone & internet. Only after you settle in can you really start looking for work. Of course, some people choose to start job hunting while still in Taiwan (I'll share some tips on job hunting across borders later), which is also a great strategy. Use the information as you see fit!

This post is built around the series of things you need to take care of to settle in,

split into 7 main parts:

1. Visa 2. Renting 3. Banking 4. Phone & internet 5. National Insurance 6. Taxes 7. Seeing a doctor

【 (1) FIRST STEP: Visa – collecting your BRP 】

I won't go over the visa application itself here; let's start from when you've been approved and are about to enter. If you're entering on a working holiday visa, you don't need proof of employment. Friends of mine have been given a hard time by UK border officers who asked to see proof of a job. Don't panic: people entering on a working holiday visa don't need proof of employment. Do have the email confirming your working holiday visa ready, though. If this happens, just show the officer that email. No need to stress. If you're a student, border officers generally won't give you much trouble.

Collecting your BRP: go to the post office you listed, or wait for a letter from your school, to collect your BRP

Working holiday visa holders can collect it any time within three months of the required entry date. That means if you enter within ten days of your visa start date, you may have to wait out those ten days before you can collect your BRP; but if you enter more than ten days after the visa start date, you can collect it any time within the 90 days of the short-term entry clearance visa.

Remember this!!! You must collect your BRP before leaving the UK to travel in Europe, or coming back through UK border control will be a huge hassle!!! Having a record with border control will make future applications very difficult. Don't forget!

Your BRP is your ID card in the UK. Keep it safe; getting a replacement BRP is a real pain!

【 (2) SECOND STEP: Renting 】

Once you've arrived, a place to stay is obviously the most important first thing. Renting in the UK, especially in London, really isn't easy; it's practically as hard as finding a job. Renting locally involves a lot of paperwork, and most landlords want proof of salary or employment to make sure you can pay the rent. Otherwise, you have to pay 6 months' rent up front as proof, and I'm sure that's far from ideal.

Alternatives:

1. Look for sublets, or places that don't require these documents, in the 〖Taiwanese in the UK Facebook group〗

2. Stay in a hotel or Airbnb first

These are some fallback options for you. Trust me, once you've got your visa approved in Taiwan and booked your flight, housing is definitely the next thing you should start thinking about. Here are the documents most rentals require:

1. proof of identity (passport, BRP)

2. proof of current address (they'll trace your residential address, or use utility bills)

3. proof of income (3–6 months of payslips or bank statements)

【 (3.) THIRD STEP Opening a bank account 】

Since opening an account at a high-street bank requires proof of address, most students and working holiday makers go to Lloyds first for a physical bank account, because:

- It's fast; you can apply right at the branch counter

- The paperwork is simple

- BRP & PASSPORT

- Students need a bank letter from the school, which you can request directly from the school office. Once you have it, take the bank letter to Lloyds and open your account

(Note) When I was a student, Lloyds was the first bank I applied to. I opened the account with my school's bank letter, got a new card when the old one expired, and I'm still using it smoothly now that I'm working. Lloyds has never given me any problems. Recently, as UK banks crack down on money laundering, Lloyds even had someone call me for a check. It took a full 20 minutes, but it made me feel the account is safe and well protected. If you have any problem, you can call their hotline and talk to a real person. Transfers from my family in Taiwan have been fine too, and very fast: when they send money from Taiwan, I usually receive it within an hour or two the same day, and the fees are reasonable.

【High-street banks】

1. Lloyds

2. Natwest

3. Barclays

4. HSBC has a high bar for opening an account; a Thai friend of mine ran into quite a few problems applying

【Online banks】

1. Monzo / Feel free to use my referral code!

https://join.monzo.com/c/ndyyytf

2. Revolut / Feel free to use my referral code!

https://www.revolut.com/referral/?referral-code=shuwei1s6!SEP2-23-AR-H2

3. Chase (fewer people mention it) is part of JP Morgan. I personally love it because you get 1% cash back on everything in your first year. Since I got it, it's the only card I take out😆

Apply for Chase: https://www.chase.co.uk/gb/en/

〖Documents & steps〗

- Enter your phone number

- Enter your personal details

- Upload your ID / passport

- Take a selfie

- Once approved, the card is mailed to the address you gave

- When the card arrives, log in to the app, activate it, and you're good to go!

- Most people add the card to Apple Pay at the same time, so you can go out without the card!

(In the UK, your phone is all you need😎)

(Note) Things you might not know:

***Transfers between different UK banks are free

***Most payments are made by phone and cash is rarely taken, except at some Chinese restaurants, Chinese supermarkets, or markets

***Online banks are so common that almost everyone has one, and they make splitting bills with friends really easy

UK banks have recently become stricter about money laundering, and online banks like Monzo now check your identity very carefully; you might even be rejected🥲 That can be pretty inconvenient. Good luck with your applications!!!

【 (4.) FOURTH STEP Getting a phone plan 】

Before I arrived in the UK, I'd already set up a phone number in Taiwan so I wouldn't be scrambling after landing. Here's the Shopee seller I bought my UK SIM card from: 〖 shopee.tw/misschen888 〗. Not sponsored! It just worked really well for me during my first few years in the UK, and the seller is lovely: every month they'd message me on Line to check in and remind me about next month's plan. Some plans back then had deals with extra data. Highly recommend!

- Giffgaff (you can sign up from Taiwan). I later switched to EE because I changed phones

- EE

- Three: from what I've heard, the coverage and service aren't great, so I wouldn't recommend it

- Vodafone

【 (5.) FIFTH STEP National Insurance 】

Applying for a National Insurance number

What is NI?

Basically, it's a National Insurance number you must get if you want to work (used for tax)

Anyone living in the UK with the right to work can (and needs to) apply

Documents: passport & BRP

Apply as soon as you land, since processing can take up to 16 weeks

You can apply for National Insurance directly on the UK government website:

https://www.apply-national-insurance-number.service.gov.uk/apply/welcome

【(6.) SIXTH STEP Taxes】

Here are the basic taxes you should know about when living and working in the UK. Explaining taxes in full gets complicated, so I'll just cover the key points. Basically, when you work in the UK, your take-home pay has Income Tax and National Insurance already deducted; every month, part of your salary goes to tax before you ever see it. As for Council Tax, whether you have to pay it yourself depends on your tenancy agreement.

- Income tax, which I like to just call tax on what you earn (bands: 0%, 20%, 40%, 45%)

- National Insurance (12% of your income)

- Council tax (varies by city, and depends on your area and Property Band)

【(7.) SEVENTH STEP Seeing a doctor】

Seeing a doctor in the UK isn't like Taiwan, where you can just walk into a clinic. For ordinary illnesses you go to your GP (General Practitioner). Unless it's serious, you can't go straight to the hospital, and even if you do, you won't necessarily be seen. You probably paid the IHS fee when you applied for your visa; one of the healthcare services it covers is 【GP Service, your family doctor】. Most of us register with the GP closest to where we live, so it's easier to get seen if something comes up!

Here's the link for registering with a GP. You can apply there directly!

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/gps/

Those are the 7 important things you need to know about life in the UK after you land. I skipped some details and will share more over time!

If you have questions or found this helpful, leave me a comment!

Written by Luo La (羅菈)🖊️ See you next time!