A move and study checklist

Planning

A short list to run through before a move or a university application. Not every item applies to every household.

• Read the current official instructions for the entry or visa category you think you are in. Write down the date you read them.
• List the documents those instructions require, and who has to issue any letter you do not already have.
• If a school place is part of the plan, open the school's own admissions and fee pages for the year you need, and write down what is not included in the headline fee.
• If a university course is part of the plan, open the course page, the fee page, and (where it applies) the official student-immigration page. Note the application deadline.
• Ask for a written breakdown of housing costs, including deposits and bills that are paid separately.
• Travel the school or work route at the hour you would actually use it, or ask someone who already does.
• Keep passport validity and any required blank pages in view well before you travel. Do not leave that check until the week of departure.

The aim is not a perfect record. It is to notice which costs and which permissions are still a guess.