Your First Month Abroad: A Checklist for International Students
Turn arrival week into a calm start with a practical plan for documents, housing, money, transport, university registration, wellbeing, and support.
Before you board the flight
Keep essential documents in your hand luggage: passport, visa or permission evidence, university offer and enrolment documents, accommodation details, insurance, emergency contacts, prescriptions, and copies of financial records you may need at entry.
Store encrypted digital copies separately and leave a trusted family member with a secure copy. Check airline baggage rules, entry declarations, medicine restrictions, and your institution’s arrival guidance shortly before departure.
Your first 48 hours
- Tell family or a trusted contact that you arrived safely.
- Reach verified accommodation using a planned route.
- Check the room inventory and photograph existing damage.
- Connect to a safe mobile and internet service.
- Learn the emergency number and save university security contacts.
- Buy essential food and household items without trying to set up everything at once.
- Sleep, hydrate, and allow time for jet lag before major appointments.
Complete local registrations
Follow the university’s enrolment, identity-check, orientation, and student-card process. Your destination may also require residence registration, visa validation, health enrolment, or another government step after arrival.
Use official university and government instructions because deadlines and procedures differ. Keep confirmation emails and copies of submitted forms in one arrival folder.
Set up money and transport safely
Compare bank accounts, transfer fees, exchange rates, card security, and the documents needed to open an account. Keep an emergency payment method separate from your everyday wallet and never share passwords or one-time codes.
Learn the local public-transport system, concession eligibility, last-service times, and safe routes between campus and home. Test the journey before your first class.
Build a sustainable study routine
- Add classes, assessment dates, office hours, and support appointments to one calendar.
- Learn how the library, learning platform, academic-integrity rules, and citation system work.
- Introduce yourself to tutors and ask questions early.
- Join one academic group and one social or cultural activity.
- Plan cooking, laundry, exercise, sleep, and weekly budgeting.
- Use counselling, disability, language, or wellbeing support before a small issue becomes a crisis.
Stay alert to scams and pressure
New students may be targeted by fake landlords, payment requests, job scams, or callers pretending to be immigration or police officials. Verify requests through official contact details and pause before transferring money or sharing identity documents.
If you feel unsafe, unwell, isolated, or financially pressured, contact the university’s international-student or wellbeing team. Asking for help is part of settling in, not a failure to cope.
Frequently asked questions
What should international students carry in hand luggage?
Carry identity, immigration, admission, accommodation, insurance, medication, emergency contact, and essential financial documents, plus secure digital copies.
How soon should I open a local bank account?
Once you understand the options and have the required identity and address documents. Keep a secure backup payment method while the account is being arranged.
What if I feel homesick during the first month?
Create a routine, stay connected with family, meet classmates, and use the university’s international-student or counselling services. Seek help early if homesickness affects sleep, eating, study, or safety.
Official sources
Information reviewed on 1 September 2026. Always recheck rules and deadlines before applying.