Timeline

Mandatory for Nepal for any stay over 6 months — from the IOM Migration Health Assessment Centre (Kathmandu / Damak) or Norvic. Valid 6 months. Carry the original X-ray certificate even after the visa is granted.

Valid for the whole course plus at least 6 extra months. Check for blank pages.

Required for Nepali students studying abroad and for the official foreign-currency exchange — carry the original and copies.

Booking letter or tenancy agreement, with the full address and postcode written on paper — you will need it at the border, for your bank and for your GP.

NHS dentists are severely oversubscribed and private dental work is very expensive. Fix everything now.

Passport endorsement / NRB documentation for the currency you carry out.

The UK no longer issues BRP cards or visa stickers. Your status is digital. Know your UKVI login, make sure your current passport is linked to the account, and generate a share code before you fly — airlines check this at boarding, and a passport mismatch is the most common cause of being denied boarding.

A multi-currency card (Wise / Revolut / a bank forex card) is far cheaper than exchanging cash. Test it works before you fly.

In original labelled packaging, with a doctor's letter and the generic names listed. Carry them in your cabin bag.

Eye tests and glasses cost real money in the UK; a spare pair is almost free in Nepal.

For any medicine you carry. Also list generic drug names — Nepali brand names mean nothing to a UK pharmacist.

Giffgaff / Lyca / Smarty SIMs can be posted to your UK address before you arrive, or use an eSIM on landing. Airport SIMs are overpriced.

Blood group, allergies, past surgeries, ongoing conditions — written down and carried.

Lets someone handle bank, property or document matters in your name while you are away. Cheap at a Nepali notary, impossible to arrange remotely.

If you are leaving a job, get your relieving letter, experience letter and references in writing now.

Email your course leader before you fly. Most will send a reading list and module handbook if asked.

SEE, +2 / A-Level, Bachelor's transcripts and mark sheets, provisional and character certificates, migration certificate. Universities and future employers ask for originals; couriering them later from Nepal is slow and risky.

Include UK size (35 × 45 mm) as well as the Nepali size.

In small notes (£5/£10/£20). Enough for transport, a SIM, first groceries and a deposit while your bank account is still being opened.

Covers the gap before NHS registration, and your luggage in transit.

Google Drive folder + emailed to yourself + a USB drive in your bag.

Someone at home who can send money the same day if needed.

Get this done in Nepal — free there, a hassle in the UK.

Enable mobile banking and international access before you go. A dormant account is a nightmare to revive from abroad.

Verify they work with international logins before you lose easy access.

Make sure every important account can be recovered without a Nepali phone number as the only factor.

Citizenship, licence, land papers, certificates, medical records. You will need one of them at an unpredictable moment.

Harvard, APA or your department's own. UK plagiarism rules are far stricter than most Nepali universities — unintentional plagiarism is the single most common academic offence among international students.

Written down before you leave, not requested by phone at 2 a.m. in week four. Ask for the ones you actually eat.

One or two pages, no photo, no date of birth, no marital status — UK CVs differ from Nepali ones. Part-time job applications start in week one.

Screens die and roaming fails. Carry paper as well as a phone screenshot.

Otherwise the first foreign transaction gets blocked.

A luggage scale costs almost nothing and saves thousands in airport excess fees. Weigh, then remove 2 kg.

At the airport counter it costs several times the online price. Decide this a week out, not at the desk.

National Express coaches and trains from Heathrow/Manchester need booking; airport taxis to another city cost a fortune. Print the route and postcode.

Bank OTPs, eSewa, government portals and family calls all depend on it. Check the minimum recharge needed to avoid deactivation.

Gym, internet, streaming, insurance premiums you no longer need.

Grandparents, teachers, the friends who will not be at the airport. A one-year course has a way of becoming three.

Zotero or Mendeley, free. An hour now saves twenty later.

TIA queues for international departures are long and unpredictable, and student check-in with excess baggage takes time.

The airline verifies your status against Home Office systems before boarding. This — not the UK border — is where students actually get stopped.

Nepali immigration may ask to see your NOC, offer letter and visa. Keep them at the top of your folder.

Bring your passport and eVisa share code.

Check the conditions shown are correct — course length, sponsor, work rights. Report errors to UKVI immediately.

Free, and do it before you are ill — not after.

Monzo, Starling and Revolut open in days from your phone; high-street banks need a university bank letter. Have your proof of address ready.

Needed for any paid work, including part-time.

A third off rail fares — it pays for itself in two trips.

Where your dal, rice, spices and Wai Wai will come from all year.

Full-time students are exempt, but it is not automatic — you must send your council a student certificate from the university, or you will be billed.

The fastest route to friends, second-hand furniture, part-time job leads and Dashain dinner.

You need one to watch live TV or BBC iPlayer, even on a laptop — around £175 a year (it rises most Aprils), and students do get fined for ignoring it.

Student contents insurance is cheap; replacing a laptop in the UK is not.