Things to Organise Before Moving to the UK

So you’re moving to the UK. Massive, also, you’ve just signed yourself up for a five-month admin project disguised as the best decision you’ll ever make. I’ve done this move (badly, the first time, more on that in a minute), so here’s the checklist I wish someone had handed me: month by month, no fluff, so your last few weeks at home go to people you love instead of a spreadsheet.

Download the free checklist it’s a Google Sheet, tick things off as you go, it can take the chaos so your brain doesn’t have to.

5 Months Out: Paperwork o’clock

Sort Your Visa Situation First

Everything else on this list is scenery until this box is ticked. If you’re not a UK or Irish citizen, your visa is the whole game: start here, not last.

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You can only apply around 3 months before you travel, but “prepare” starts now. Work out which visa you actually need on GOV.UK’s visa overview, because the requirements are genuinely different route to route. As a baseline you’re looking at:

A valid passport
Proof you meet the financial requirement for your visa (usually needs to sit in your account for a set stretch of time before you apply; check the current figure on GOV.UK, it moves)
The visa fee plus the Immigration Health Surcharge (this funds your NHS access, it’s not optional)

Worth knowing if you’re on a Youth Mobility Scheme visa (this used to be called “Tier 5”; if you’re seeing that name anywhere, you’re on an old page): some nationalities now go through a ballot before they’re even invited to apply, so build that extra step into your timeline. Everything runs through GOV.UK directly now, there’s no separate third-party portal.

Coming to the UK on the Ancestry visa route instead? Here’s exactly how I applied for mine. And if you’re worried about needing a job lined up before you can move at all, here’s how I did it without one.

The Pivot: work out your visa route today, even if you can’t apply yet. Everything downstream of this (job hunting, flights, accommodation) gets easier once you know your timeline.

Check Your Passport is Valid

Your passport needs more than a year’s validity from your UK arrival date. If it doesn’t clear that bar, renew it before you touch the visa application; a visa tied to an expiring passport is a problem you don’t want to discover at the airport.

Most countries run an embassy or consulate in the UK that can renew your passport once you’re here too, so it’s not the end of the world if you land and realise.

Purchase Your Flights! (Optional)

The fun part. The main UK airports for long-haul arrivals are Heathrow and Gatwick. If you’re coming from Australia, Canada, the US or South Africa, you’ll almost certainly land at one of the two.

You don’t have to book before your visa’s approved; some people wait, some people don’t, it’s genuinely a vibes call. What’s not optional: there’s no physical card to collect anymore. The old “pick up your BRP within a month of arrival” step is gone. The UK moved to a fully digital eVisa system. Your status lives online, in a UKVI account, linked to your passport. Set that account up as soon as your visa’s approved, not after you land; it’s one less thing to think about jet-lagged.

Worth It / Not Worth It, booking early: Worth it if you’re travelling over Christmas, Easter or peak summer, when fares climb fast. Not worth it if your visa timeline is still shaky; a flexible or fully refundable fare costs more up front but saves you a rebooking headache if your dates move.

4 Months Out: The Great Unpacking

Organise Your Belongings

While 4 months may seem like a long time away it can take a while to organise your belongings especially when you need to sell a car or decided what to do with your furniture so it’s good to start having a plan on what you are doing with your belongings.

Then make a list of what you are taking with you, keeping (storage, at your parents etc), selling, donating and throwing away.

I was lucky enough to store my belongings at my parents’ house and I just ended up donating the rest as I left it so last minute to sell anything.

Check If You Require Any Qualifications or Permits to Work in the UK

Check if you have restrictions, permits or qualifications required for your job in the UK, the lead time, supporting information and process.

As I am sure you are aware each country will have its own standards for each industry. Some professions will require you to be certified in the UK or have restrictions/permits around certain jobs. For example, health professionals can check what license you require on the Health & Care Professional Council, here.

Not all international qualifications can be transferred and be able to do the same job. My friend couldn’t work as a pharmacist on her New Zealand qualification, so she’s had to work as pharmacist’s assistant.

If you are unclear of what qualifications or permits are required I suggest speaking to a UK recruiter in your field. They should be able to recommend what companies are looking for in terms of qualifications or permits.

Sometimes permits are referred to as a UK Visa which is unhelpful when you are trying to find job-specific permits so make sure you are specific when explaining.

3 Months Out: Go-Time

Apply For Your Visa

This is the mark. Get your visa application in the second you’ve got your supporting documents together, applying via GOV.UK directly for whichever route applies to you (Youth Mobility Scheme, Ancestry, family, skilled worker, etc.). Decisions typically land within a few weeks, though timing varies by country and route; check current processing times on GOV.UK before you plan around a date.

Start Job Hunting, Tentatively

The stressful bit. Job markets don’t translate 1:1 country to country. Do your homework on realistic UK salary expectations for your role before you start applying. While you’re browsing job ads, note the keywords and phrases that keep coming up and work them into your CV, because ATS systems and recruiters both respond to them.

Receipts: most UK recruiters won’t seriously engage until you’re already in the country. This happened to my mum when she moved over, and it happened to me too. Tentative applications now, real traction once you land.

Update Your CV and LinkedIn

You need an updated CV for the visa application anyway. Kill two birds: refresh it with the keywords from your job-hunting research, update your LinkedIn to match, and get a current profile photo up while you’re at it.

List Your Car, If You’ve Got One

High-value items take longer to sell. Get it listed now so it’s not still sitting on the driveway the week you fly.

2 Months Out: The Unglamorous Middle

OrSort Medical and Dental Check-Ups

Get everything done before you leave (check-ups, specialists, dentist) and get copies of your medical records plus a doctor’s letter for any medication you’re bringing, since rules vary hugely by country.

Here’s the part that trips people up: you can’t get an NHS number until you’re physically in the UK and registered with a GP, and that registration takes time. Until then you’ve only got emergency NHS access. Bring enough medication to cover your first couple of months while you get sorted.

Sort Travel Insurance

Cover yourself for the first few months while everything else is in motion: lost bags, cancelled flights, getting sick before you’re NHS-registered. Boring admin, genuinely worth it.

Book Somewhere to Land

UK accommodation ranges from farm stays to castles to five-star everything, but for your first few weeks you want something that gets you settled fast, not something Instagrammable.

Worth It / Not Worth It, hostel vs. private room: Worth it (hostel) if you want to meet people fast and don’t mind shared space while you flat-hunt; it buys you a ready-made social circle in week one. Worth it (private room / Airbnb) if you’re moving as a couple or family, or just need your own space to decompress after a long-haul flight. Either way, book something short-term and flexible; don’t lock into 6 months somewhere you haven’t seen.

Facebook groups like Kiwis in London or Aussies in London (or your country’s equivalent) are also a solid source of short-term room listings from people who are travelling. I used both when I landed and they were genuinely useful.

Sort a Bank Account and National Insurance Prep

A few relocation companies package up bank account and National Insurance setup into a “starter kit.” Check what’s currently operating before you commit, since this space changes, but it can be worth it if you’d rather pay to skip the admin.

You can set up a UK-facing bank account before you arrive with some banks (HSBC’s overseas account route, or a non-traditional option like Starling, Wise or Monzo, country availability varies), or check whether you can open one before you move at all. Otherwise it’s free to set up once you land, just a bit slower for appointments and verification.

Your National Insurance number, though, you genuinely cannot apply for until you’re in the UK: it’s tied to proving you’re here with the right to work. Good news: the process is mostly online now. Apply on GOV.UK, prove your identity (often via an app rather than an in-person appointment), and it typically takes around 4 weeks from there. You can start working before your NI number arrives, as long as you can prove your right to work another way; don’t let an employer tell you otherwise. Everything else you need to know about your NI number is here.

The Pivot: don’t panic-chase your NI number the second you land. Apply as soon as you’re settled with a UK address, keep your confirmation email as proof you’ve applied, and get on with everything else.

Sell What’s Left and Sort Your Car

The stuff you didn’t get to at the 4-month mark: friends, a car boot sale, or the usual resale sites. You’ll be surprised how little you miss most of it (mine was fine, apart from my Kitchenaid, which I still think about). What you will notice is not having to think about insurance, maintenance or storage for any of it, at least for the first few months, before the accumulating starts all over again.

Handle Your Lease or Property

Renting? Give your landlord notice now. Own it? Start organising a letting agent if you’re renting it out while you’re gone.

Switch to Email-Only Everywhere You Can

Tedious. Do it now while you’ve still got the mental bandwidth. Switch every account you can to paperless, and for anything that won’t budge, arrange a mail redirect to someone who can hold it for you.

1 Month Out: The Final Push

Hand In Your Notice (or Lock In a Sabbatical)

The nerve-racking one. Check if a sabbatical’s on the table before you resign outright; some employers will hold your job for a year or two unpaid, and it’s a genuinely useful safety net. I took nine months off before I actually resigned, and having that “it’s not fully closed” option made the whole leap feel less permanent.

Cancel or Notify Utilities and Subscriptions

Tell your utility providers (water, gas, electricity, council) you’re leaving so your final bills are accurate. Cancel or pause everything else: broadband, streaming, car insurance, breakdown cover, mobile, gym. Check for exit fees before you cancel, especially on mobile contracts; that’s where they hide.

Scan and Back Up Every Important Document

Passport, visa, driver’s licence, medical records: scan the lot and store copies in at least two places (cloud drive, email to yourself, email to a parent). Print one physical copy and keep it separate from the original. You’ll need copies of your visa and passport for your NI application, and if you ever lose the originals abroad, having scans makes replacing them dramatically less painful.

Find Your People Before You Land

Join an online community for wherever you’re headed before you arrive: Meetup, Facebook groups, whatever’s active for your city. It’s the fastest way into a social circle and a good place to crowdsource the small stuff, like which phone provider or which neighbourhood. I joined both Kiwis in London and Aussies in London the day I landed and they carried me through the first few months.

13 tips on making friends in London, mostly transferable to the rest of the UK too.

Tidy Up Your Bank Accounts

Check with your bank whether you can switch to a fee-free account for the move, and if you’re keeping a fee-paying one open, make sure there’s enough in it to cover the charges. Close anything you won’t use, and cancel any credit cards with annual fees you don’t need anymore.

Tell your bank you’re travelling: where, and for how long. Unflagged foreign transactions can get your account frozen for security, which isn’t ideal when you’re trying to access your money abroad. And if you’ll have a UK number, make sure your bank can reach you on it, especially for security codes.

Plan How You’ll Access Money

Bring at least two ways to pay, because cards break or get lost more often than you’d think. A friend of mine lost one card and had two others fail on a Europe trip, not a situation you want with zero backup. Options worth mixing:

A small amount of local currency, enough that you’re not carrying (or short of) large cash sums
A prepaid travel card; check the withdrawal and purchase fees before committing
Your existing debit card, being mindful of foreign transaction and ATM fees on both ends
A credit card with low or no foreign fees
Keep your home account open and transfer money over as needed once you’re set up locally. I use and recommend Wise for this, still haven’t found better rates

Unlock Your Phone and Sort a SIM

If your phone’s locked to your home network, get it unlocked before you fly so it’ll take a UK SIM. Confirm it’s compatible with UK SIM cards while you’re at it.

You can arrange a UK SIM before you leave (giffgaff ships internationally) or just grab one on arrival: airports, phone shops and some supermarkets all sell them. Honestly, doing it on arrival is the easier call. You can compare providers (EE, O2, Three, Vodafone, Tesco Mobile, giffgaff, iD Mobile and others) once you actually know what coverage you need.

Sort Your Airport-to-Accommodation Plan

Every UK airport has train, bus, taxi and private transfer options, and the “best” one depends entirely on which airport you’re landing at.

By train: booking ahead usually saves money via National Rail Enquiries; most UK train company websites let you book from abroad with no card fee. Selecting station collection over postal delivery avoids the postage charge (just bring the card you paid with).

Tip if you’re landing at Heathrow: most people now just tap in with a contactless bank card or phone rather than buying an Oyster card. The fares and daily caps are identical, and you skip the Oyster card’s fee entirely. If you do want a physical Oyster card, it’s now a flat, non-refundable fee rather than a deposit you get back, worth factoring in.

By bus: National Express covers most UK airports with direct coach routes; a few smaller operators run airport-specific routes for the likes of Luton and Stansted.

Taxi or private transfer: a private transfer gets you a fixed price agreed up front, versus a taxi’s metered mileage-and-time fare. Worth comparing options through a transfer comparison site before you land.

Worth It / Not Worth It, Oyster vs. contactless: Not worth it, for most people. Contactless gets you the same fares and caps with zero card fee and nothing to remember to top up or reclaim. Worth it only if you don’t have a contactless-capable card, or you specifically want a physical backup card in your wallet.

Download the checklist again if you’ve lost it in seventeen browser tabs by now; track your progress, tick it off, breathe.

Let me know in the comments how the admin’s going, and if you’ve got a horror story from your own move, send it my way. I collect those.