3 THINGS TO DO AFTER YOU ARRIVE:

1. Register with the Police

If you need to register with the police, the visa in your passport will say “Police registration within 7 days of arrival.” There are fines and jail time waiting for you if you don’t register properly. You must contact your local police station to register.

Registering with the police costs £34. You can pay at the police station.

Documents to provide:

• your passport & 2 passport size colour photographs
• your biometric residence permit (BRP) (you will get this when you receive a visa)
• details of your course and place of study if you’re a student

2. Obtain a National Insurance Number

A National Insurance Number is like a Social Security Number in the USA. It stays with you your whole life to reference yourself when communicating with the government. To work in the UK, you must have a number. Before you can obtain a number, you must have a work permit which is included in your work visa.

3. Get Your UK Drivers License (if you need it)

If your drivers license was issued outside of Northern Ireland, the European Union, or European Economic Area, then you can drive for 12 months from when you last entered the UK. Within those 12 months you are required to apply for your first provisional driving licence.

Obtaining your first UK drivers license will require you to pass both a theoretical and practical test.

There are things like AAA’s International Driving Permit for Americans to use when traveling abroad. George obtained this permit before we traveled to Southeast Asia. We do not believe that it helped in any way – it just provided another source of identification.