Pay the £776 IHS during your visa application
Immigration Health Surcharge — paid online during your visa, not at the airport. Once paid, NHS GP and hospital care are free in England. Most students miss the line item entirely.
Living in London
Expensive, exhausting, electrifying. How to live on a student budget in the world's most international city.
Photo: Unsplash · representative city image
London is the largest international student city on earth — UCL, Imperial, LSE, KCL, Queen Mary, plus dozens more. The city is layered by Zone (Tube fare bands) rather than by neighborhood. Zone 1 is central + expensive. Zone 2-3 is where most students actually live. The conversation in London is almost entirely about rent and how to keep it under £1,200/month. This guide covers visa registration, council-tax exemption, the IHS surcharge nobody warns you about, and the small social cues that make London feel like home.
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Living in London
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Do this
Specific, actionable things that change your life.
Get your Council Tax exemption letter immediately
Once enrolled, ask your university registry for the 'Council Tax Exemption Certificate.' Send to your borough council on day one. Without it, you'll get billed ~£1,800/year by mistake.
Open a Monzo or Revolut account before you fly
High street banks (HSBC, Lloyds) want UK address proof. Monzo/Revolut open in 10 minutes on phone with passport + selfie. Switch to a high-street student account later.
Get a 16-25 Railcard the day you arrive
£30/year, saves 1/3 off train fares. If you'll do even 3 trips outside London (Oxford, Brighton, Cambridge), it pays for itself in week one.
Walk on the right, stand on the right of escalators
Left side of an escalator is for people walking up. Blocking it earns you the most aggressive silent stares you'll experience in Europe.
Don't do this
Mistakes other students consistently make.
Don't rent in Zone 1 unless your university is in Zone 1
Zone 1 rent premium is roughly 40-60% over Zone 2-3 for the same flat. The Tube connects everything in 20-30 minutes. Live where it's affordable; commute where it's interesting.
Don't sign a UK lease without checking the deposit-protection scheme
By law, your landlord must register your deposit with TDS / DPS / mydeposits within 30 days. Ask for the certificate. If they refuse, you can sue for 3x the deposit and they know it.
Don't use Vodafone or O2 contract phones in year 1
SIM-only with Smarty or Lebara is £8-15/month with unlimited data. Contract phones lock you in for 24 months at 3x the price — punishing for a 12-month master's.
Don't expect free water at restaurants automatically
You need to ask: 'tap water, please.' Otherwise they bring bottled (£3-5). 'Tap' is the key word — 'water' often gets you bottled by default.
First week
In your first 7 days.
Ordered by urgency. Top items have hard deadlines.
- 1
BRP (Biometric Residence Permit) collection — within 10 days of arrival, at the assigned Post Office
- 2
Open a UK current account (Monzo/Revolut online; Barclays/HSBC in person if you can)
- 3
Get an Oyster card or set up contactless on your phone
- 4
Register with a GP near your address (free under NHS once IHS paid)
- 5
Get your council-tax exemption letter from university registry
- 6
Buy a 3-pin UK plug adapter (your laptop charger needs this)
- 7
Register with your university's international student office
Local customs
The unwritten rules.
Queueing is sacred
The British queue. At bus stops, in shops, even informally outside pubs. Cutting in line is a serious social violation. Always go to the back.
'Sorry' means 30 different things
Brushing past someone = sorry. Asking for directions = sorry. Disagreeing politely = sorry. Most are not actual apologies. You'll absorb the rhythm by month two.
Tipping is 10-12.5%, often added automatically
Check the bill — most restaurants add 'service charge' automatically. You don't double-tip. If service was bad, you can ask for it to be removed.
Safety
Honest, not paranoid.
Avoid empty Tube carriages late at night
Counter-intuitive but true. A crowded carriage is safer than an empty one. Walk down the platform to one with people.
Phone snatching from your hand is the #1 student crime
Moped riders snatch phones from people texting on the sidewalk. Don't walk-and-text near the curb. Use your phone against a wall, not at the edge of the pavement.
Save 999 (emergency) and 101 (non-emergency police)
999 for anything immediate. 101 for reporting non-urgent things later — bike theft, harassment, ongoing issues.
Insider savings
Where the math wins.
Lunch deals are real money
Tesco/Sainsbury's £3.50 meal deals (sandwich + drink + snack). M&S £5 deals. Pret subscription (£30/month for 5 drinks/day if you live on coffee).
Use your student ID at museums, theatres, attractions
Most UK museums are free. Theatres do £10-15 student standby tickets day-of. Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, etc. all do student rates.
TOTUM card unlocks broader student discounts
£14.99/year, gives you ASOS, Amazon Prime Student, Cineworld, etc. discounts. Pays for itself in a single ASOS order.
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