It's that time of the year when Nigerian students are preparing to depart for the UK to embark on postgraduate studies. In order to better prepare them for what to expect, here is some guidance on life in the UK for Nigerian students. The first part of the series deals with necessary tasks that need to be handled before leaving Nigeria.

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Johnny Just Come. Transitioning to Life in the UK for Nigerian Students.
Part One: Good Evening Nigeria, Good Morning UK

07/08/17

by

Gurumwal George Longjan



This article is intended for Nigerians who are heading to the UK for postgraduate studies. The lessons in the article are applicable to scholars from other developing countries. For so many students, this is the first time they are leaving the shores of their home country with no idea of what to expect or how to handle certain situations in a foreign land. This introductory article focuses on how to prepare for your trip, handling finances, arranging accommodation and finally your departure and arrival in the UK.

Heading to the United Kingdom for the first time can be a daunting experience, especially for those coming from African countries. This is exacerbated by a totally different society and a system that functions on laid down rules and regulations that are followed to the letter.

Let’s start from the pre-trip preparation. I’ll be assuming at this point that admission to study in a UK higher institution has been secured, Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number has been received, UK Visa has been granted, and all that’s left is the inbound trip.

At this point, personal funds for the duration of the study might or might not have been sorted. Now let me pro-offer some advice, whether a student is being sponsored by relatives or on a scholarship programme, the full amount for maintenance during the studies should be secured. I know this might be difficult due to the enormous amount of funds required for an academic undertaking in the UK, but believe me, as a student you don’t want to get financially stranded on this side of the Atlantic. Unlike in our home countries where one can run around and “raise” funds from family and friends in emergency situations, such measures are almost impossible in the UK.

In the event that the full funds are on hand, pay upfront for a year of accommodation. In a lot of cases, student accommodation (both off and on campus) comes with all bills inclusive. I’d recommend this option for those spending just a year or eighteen months for an MSc. The advantage of this is that you don’t have multiple bills (internet, electricity, water, gas etc.) to be navigating through each month. The downside is that in a lot of situations like opening a bank account, registering with the National Health Service (NHS) or applying for a driving license you’ll need a proof of address, and this is usually a posted official utility bill (not printed from online accounts) with your name and address clearly stated on it. If the bills are being handled by the landlord, his/her name would appear on those bills.

In a situation where the bills are not included with the rent, you’ll have the option of paying for some of them monthly, quarterly or annually. I’ll recommend the monthly option, because bills stack up over time. A monthly bill of £100 is easier to digest than a quarterly bill of £300 or annual bill of £1200.

In a situation where the complete maintenance funds are not readily available at the start of the programme, be prepared for any eventuality with some savings. In some months, allowances from your family may be missed due to family emergencies. Scholarship agencies can experience delays in payment approvals, which could last months. Believe me you don’t want any additional strain from finances when studying in the demanding UK academic environment.

One more thing of note, if you are staying off campus, the norm is that you have to pay for the first six months up front (plus the equivalent of one and a half months rent as security deposit), while the remaining payments are monthly. The only alternative to this arrangement is to get a UK “guarantor” who will be responsible for paying the outstanding rent if you miss any payments. In a lot of cases, the guarantor has to earn a minimum salary before they can serve as a guarantor. This threshold varies, based on agencies and the cost of the rent. Make no mistake, the guarantor is legally liable for your rent payment if missed. Hence the average UK resident will decline being a guarantor unless they personally know you and are confident that your finances are in good shape.

To paint a clearer picture, if the guarantor can’t pay your missed rent, the person will face serious consequences. At best a bad credit rating (more on this in Part Two) or negative references from rental agencies. At worst, end up in court or have court officials coming to confiscate their personal property including cars, furniture, electronics etc. So don’t feel bad if a UK resident declines to serve as your guarantor, the complexities are much.

So back to the trip. While buying travel tickets, verify what items are banned from being brought into the UK. These can easily be found on the websites of airlines or the UK Border Agency (UKBA). The most relevant ones that are not permitted are our “exotic” foodstuffs. More specifically animal based products like stockfish, dried/smoked fish, “kilishi” etc. Like I said, check the prohibition list before you travel, they are updated regularly.

On the day of departure, wear cloths that correspond with the weather in the UK. Don’t be wearing t-shirts and shorts in winter or sweaters and heavy jackets in the middle of summer. Also have £50 - £100 cash on you for any “cash at hand” transactions when you arrive. Understand that foreign bank/ATM cards can disappoint you at the worst possible moment. This can be due to network downtime, new government policies or just the fact that you forgot to inform your bank that you were going to use your card abroad.

When checking in luggage at the airport, your baggage should have some sign that can be identified from a distance. A colourful padlock, writing your name boldly with a bright marker or just some coloured string tied to the box handle. The benefit of this will be obvious later on in the article.

Before boarding the flight, have the address of where you’ll be staying and if possible, a contact number of someone in the UK in case you have any issues at the airport. Most universities now provide a service where someone from the university will come and receive you at the airport. If this option is available, I’ll recommend you take it.

Keep a pen in your pocket because you’ll need it to fill out your landing card while on the flight. Information that needs to be filled include your passport number, place of issue, flight number etc. So either keep your passport and ticket in your pocket or note down the information in your phone or on a piece of paper. It’s better to fill these details while you’re comfortably seated in the aircraft, than when shuffling on a long queue in the arrival hall.

When the flight lands in the UK, either follow the numerous signs to immigration, or just follow the crowd because almost everyone is going to the same place. Some times the terminal you land in will be far from the arrival/immigration area, hence you’ll have to take an underground train or a bus shuttle. Like I said, just follow the crowd while avoiding those that are heading to the transit section.

While en route there might be security officials that “randomly” select individuals to check their documents. If your outfit doesn’t align with the current UK weather, you’ll be a prime candidate for these sorts of checks. Don’t feel bad or start giving some bad attitude if stopped, this is not the sort of country where you can declare “do you know who I am” or where a “phone call” can solve all your problems. Those kinds of acts will only aggravate your situation. Just follow their instructions. Usually their checks are innocent and they just want to see your passport/visa and inquire on the purpose of your trip. If this is your first trip, they’ll also ask to see your admission letter and other documents relating to your admission. They might also ask for proof of where you’ll be staying. Depending on circumstances, you can spend from two to twenty minutes with them.

If you’re stopped and eventually cleared, you would notice that the crowd you were following would have vanished. In this case, just follow the signs to passport control or immigration. They are clearly written on every part of the way. Besides there would be airport officials to help provide directions and that includes the security official that just questioned you.

When you arrive at the immigration section, this might be the first time you would have seen queues that have hundreds of people lined up in an orderly fashion. Just join and don’t try to jump the queue for any reason. In the UK people take jumping a queue as a grave offence.

When you get to the front of the queue, you’ll be directed to a specific booth. Have your completed landing card, passport and school documents ready. While at the booth, you’ll be asked to scan some of your fingers in order to verify the biometrics you gave in your home country when applying for your UK Visa. You’ll also be asked your course of study, what university you’ll be attending and the duration of your programme. If everything is in order, you should be out of there in less than ten minutes.

From there you proceed to the baggage collection section. Pick a free trolley and head to the right carrousel, which will be identified by a screen above it with the city you departed from and/or your flight number. There will be hundreds of bags rotating on the carrousel, and a lot of them look alike. You’ll quickly realise that it’s quite difficult to compare the tiny luggage tag on each bag with the tag on your ticket. This is where the earlier signs on your baggage come in handy.

Once you’ve picked up your luggage, you’ll pass through the customs area. There’ll be different sections for those that have items to declare and those that don’t. In the event that you go through the “nothing to declare” section, you might be randomly stopped by a custom official for a box check.

From there you head to the exit. As soon as you come out of the terminal, you’ll see a lot of individuals asking if you need a taxi. If you had earlier booked with your University for an arrival reception service, you’ll see someone holding a sign with your name. If you don’t have any such arrangement, I’d advice you head to the airports official taxi stand where the details of all taxis are maintained in case of any eventualities. You might need to pay with cash on hand, so the earlier cash you travelled with will come in handy here.

If you’re new to the UK, and you take a taxi from the airport, you’ll need to have the address of your destination on hand. All addresses are located using their individual postcodes. So anytime you’re asking someone for the directions to a location, the first thing you’ll ask for is the postcode.

You’ll also notice that taxi drivers in the UK are quite chatty. They’ll ask all sorts of questions, which might seem too personal if you’re not used to them. Don’t worry, the taxi drivers are not MI5 undercover agent tracking your every move, at least I hope not. You’re not compelled to answer any question. Respond to the ones you feel comfortable answering.

Part Two of this series will deal with your arrival at your accommodation, how to settle down, how to make the most of your time, opening bank accounts, registering with the NHS, what to avoid and what to do if you plan on staying in the UK after your studies.

You can find Part Two here: http://www.drgrummy.com/blog-johnny-just-come-part-two.html

Here's Part Two:

Johnny Just Come. Transitioning to Life in the UK for Nigerian Students.
Part Two: First Things First

09/08/17

by

Gurumwal George Longjan


This second part of the series focuses on the preliminary set of tasks that must be accomplished within one week of arrival in the UK. These include registering with the relevant establishments, opening bank accounts, and a general overview of the first few weeks.

The drive from the airport to your pre-arranged accommodation would be the first real confirmation that you are in a different world. For one, the taxi driver is sitting on the right hand side of the vehicle and driving on the left lane, in contrast to Nigeria. The absence of dilapidated vehicles will suddenly become obvious to you. No cracked windshields, dangling bumpers or smoking exhaust pipes. All courtesy of strict motoring regulations. Secondly, it will be quite apparent that other road users are extremely disciplined. The UK arguably has the most difficult and stringent driving test in the world. The quality of drivers on UK roads is a testament to that fact. Thirdly, during your commute from the airport to your abode, you would notice top-notch infrastructure. The roads, bridges and buildings are in great shape, being maintained to the highest standards. Street and traffic lights fully functioning. All amenities working in harmony to drive a functioning and efficient society.

After all the awe of the scenery, you’ll arrive at your residence. If it’s on a university campus, you would either see signs directing you to your hall of residence, or you’ll find student volunteers/workers that would guide you to your block. You’ll also be directed to where you can pick up your room key or access card. Your on campus accommodation would be one of three options.

The first would be a room in a hall consisting of anything from two to ten rooms that have communal toilets, bathrooms and a kitchen. In other words, you’ll share those facilities with students in the other rooms. Usually only one student is allocated per room and there might be more than one communal toilet and bathroom per hall.

The second option would be a “self content” room in a similar hall. The rooms would have their individual toilets and bathrooms but the kitchen would still be communal.

The final option would be a one bedroom flat with your own personal toilet, bathroom and kitchen. This option is usually rare and reserved for individuals in relationships. The couple would have to provide evidence that they are either married or have been in a relationship for a certain period. Such evidence could be a marriage certificate or a letter from a relevant public official or religious figure.

Whatever accommodation type you select, you don’t need to have any reservations about sharing the toilets, bathrooms or kitchens with other students. The usual practice is that communal areas in on-campus accommodations are cleaned daily or in some cases weekly. Additionally, the kitchens will have sufficient fridges, freezers, cupboards and cooker hobs to cater for all the students in the hall.

As with any communal setting, you might be unfortunate enough to encounter inconsiderate hall mates. These could come in the form of filthy mates that leave the communal areas dirty. Those that use up all the allocated spaces in the fridges leaving no space to keep your items. The ones that forget their food in the fridge, which eventually gets rotten, stinking up the whole hall. Those that leave their dirty kitchenware in the sink for days, leading to an unsightly mess. The ones that frequently leave their food to burn on the stove, causing the fire alarms to activate at ungodly hours. Not to forget the ones that constantly have visits from loud and noisy friends, causing sleepless nights.

If you ever encounter such individuals, handle them with utmost care. These academic environments bring together people from all over the world with different backgrounds. People from some cultures are open and prefer individuals confronting them directly when issues arise. Others avoid any form of communication with strangers. So analyse the situation and carefully choose the best option. I personally would recommend that you take up such issues with the resident administrators. There are usually hall ambassadors allocated to each hall, which handle such conflicts. Their contacts would be given to you when you arrive. So utilise them if the need arises. Most importantly, don’t let anyone irritate you.

There’s a famous British saying, “An Englishman’s home is his castle”. As long as you have paid for that accommodation, it’s your castle. Hence don’t allow any one to inconvenience you during your stay there. You don’t want any additional stress while navigating your hectic studies. Nonetheless such adverse cases are rare. Try and make friends with your hall mates and make the best of your stay. You’ll be living together for about a year, so it’s in everyone’s best interest that you all get along.

If your residence is an off campus accommodation, you’ll most likely have a pre-arranged appointment with the landlord or estate agent to collect the house key.

The off campus accommodations are mainly of two types. Either you’re in a room in a furnished house/apartment or you’re taking up a studio/multi-room apartment. In either case, there are some basic questions you need to ask when checking in.

In the case of the room, it’ll most likely be furnished with all bills included. You’ll need to collect the Wi-Fi password. Inquire on whether the flat will be regularly cleaned and how often. Also ask for a telephone number for maintenance in the event that there’s any problem with the equipment in the house. Inquire on the response time for repairs. You don’t want to be in the middle of winter with a heater that’s not working and a response time of weeks.

In the case of the studio/multi room house, inquire on the utility providers in order to register with them and create billing accounts. Also ask for a maintenance contact number and the response time for repairs. In some instances you might be required to pay some form of house insurance to offset any damages to the house, this is in addition to the security deposit you already paid. Make sure you note down the gas, electric and water meter readings on the day you move in, so that your bills will be accurately calculated.

After you’ve settled into your accommodation, you can take a quick rest. You might be thirsty, and obviously have not done any shopping. You can drink the tap water, it’s very safe and highly regulated. In fact tap water is more regulated and undergoes more safety tests than bottled water in the UK.

After resting, you’ll need to go shopping to get some supplies for yourself. A recommendation would be to bring your own toiletries that would last you for about a month. That would give you ample time to know the terrain and where to do your shopping. For now you’ll need to get a phone SIM card and basic food items. They can be obtained at any nearby corner store. For the first few days you can shop at any nearby shop before you get your full bearing of the area.

After you’ve settled down and known the layout of the town, I’ll suggest you look for an Aldi, Lidl or Poundland to do your shopping. Shops in this category are called budget, discount or “no frill” stores. These stores don’t spend excessive amounts on marketing and decorations, consequently the savings are transferred to the customers who end up paying less for items. In the event that none of these stores are close to you, you’ll have to make do with the big four, which are Tesco, Asda, Morrison and Sainsbury’s. These are large chain stores that basically have everything you need. From stationaries to food items to clothes. If using any of the big four stores, I’ll recommend you stick with the larger sized superstores. I’ve noticed that their smaller express branches sell things at higher prices, the items have a closer expiry date and some of the promos and discounts provided at the larger branches are absent at the smaller ones.

Once you’ve completed your resting phase, there are certain important tasks you need to perform, ideally within the first week of your arrival. These include opening a bank account, registering with the National Health Service (NHS) via a General Practitioner (GP), applying for a National Insurance (NI) number and applying for a Council Tax exemption. Some non-essential tasks include registering with a dentist, applying for a provisional driving license and registering on the local voter’s register if you’re eligible.

Life in the UK is such that you can’t function without a bank account. It’s not just for saving your money, but also for other official interactions and identity verification. It is essential that you open a bank account. When selecting a bank, choose one with a branch near you for convenience. It’s common to find a bank branch on university campuses. If your campus has one, use that as your bank.

In order to open a bank account, you need an official document with photo ID. In the case of foreign students, it’s usually your international passport. You’ll also need a proof of address. In the case of an international student who most likely has no proof of address at this early stage, or is living in a bill inclusive apartment there is a solution. You can obtain a letter of introduction from the Student Centre of your university addressed to the bank, stating your name and including your address. This can be presented at the bank for account opening.

Your account number details might either be given to you directly or posted to your address. In the UK, it is not common practice to collect your bank/ATM cards at the bank branch. The card is usually posted to your address with your PIN either being posted a few days later or being retrieved from the banks online platform. That is one reason the bank needs a genuine proof of address. Furthermore you most likely won’t get a withdrawal booklet or chequebook for your student account. Additionally any letter from your bank can also be used as a proof of address for other registrations.

For your hospital registration, go to the NHS website and use your residential postcode in the “Services Near You” section to find GPs in your area. A list of GPs in your locality will be populated with a summary of their ratings and services. Select each GP to get further information about their opening times, facilities, names of doctors and their individual qualifications. Each GP has a list of catchments areas. These are areas whose residents can register with that specific GP. Check the ratings and reviews of the various GPs based on the comments of patients. Choose the best one and check if your address is within their catchment area. If it’s not, select the next best until you find a GP that’s highly rated and you’re eligible to register with them. Also check if they’re registering new patients or they’ve suspended the process. When you’ve found the right GP that meets all your criteria, call them using the contact number provided.

They’ll brief you on the registration procedure. In some cases the GPs have registration forms on their website which you can download, print, fill and then submit in person with your ID and proof of address. Alternatively you can head to the GPs office with your documents, obtain the form, fill and then submit it on site. The common template for the form requires you to fill in your basic details, medical history and mention if you’re on any prescription medication.

Once you’ve completed your registration with the GP, you’ll receive a letter in the post confirming that you’ve been accepted by the GP. You will most likely be assigned a specific doctor, but have the option to see any of the doctors at the GP. You might then receive an appointment letter for a preliminary visit to a doctor at the GP to perform a basic health evaluation. From this point you can book appointments if you’re not feeling well. You don’t pay for these visits, but you’ll have to buy any medication that has been prescribed for you. In the case of medical emergencies, you’ll need to call 999 rather than book an appointment. Depending on the urgency, you should have an ambulance with you in a few minutes.

Next you’ll need to apply for a National Insurance (NI) number. This is used to make sure you pay the right income tax and contribute the right amount to the National Insurance, which is a scheme that funds state benefits like pension. You’ll need an NI number if you want to work while studying. The number is also required if you want to register for voting (if eligible). You’ll need your passport, visa and proof of address for the application. You can apply for it by calling the relevant number on the UK government website. In some cases you’ll be required to physically come in for an interview to verify your identity. Such appointments will be booked during your phone call.

Next on the list is your Council Tax exemption. Once you’re over 18 in the UK, you start to pay Council Tax to your local Council, which is the equivalent of Local Governments in other countries. You can be exempted from the tax in certain circumstances such as being a student. Once you move into your residence, your landlord/estate agent will inform the local Council and you’ll get a letter from them with a Council Tax bill. It’s usually quite high and can be in the thousands of pounds per year. Once you get the bill, you take it to your university Student Centre where they’ll provide you with a Council Tax exemption letter. You’ll be directed to either email or post the letter to the Council. Once it’s received you’ll get another Council Tax bill stating that you’re owing £0.00. You can also use your Council Tax bill as a proof of address.

Other registrations you should consider completing include that of a dentist. You can use the same NHS website to search for dentists in your area and select the one that suites you. Unlike the GP where you aren’t charged, you’ll have to pay for routine visits to the dentist because they’ll usually clean your teeth at each visit.

You should also consider applying for a provisional driving license. This will have your photo id, basic information and address. It can serve as a proof of address in some circumstances. It is an effective form of identification in contrast to carrying your passport or visa/resident permit around (whose loss can cause extreme difficulties). The provisional license cannot be used to drive, unless you also have a driver in the vehicle that has had a full license for the past three years.

Finally you might consider registering on the voter’s register if eligible. This gives you the right to vote in elections. Also of importance is that your name on a voting register is an added advantage when your credit rating score is being determined. More on credit rating in subsequent parts.

This brings us to the end of Part Two. The next part will deal with life as a student, what to avoid, how to blend in and what to do if you plan on staying in the UK after your studies.