SHOPPING LIST: WHAT TO PACK FOR UK

Travel Documents:

 Passport , Flight Ticket and some cash ( max 1000 pounds)

 Passport size photos ( min20)
 Certificates, CV & References
 University Documents
 Bank Account Details
 Accommodation Contract
 Govt Issued ID cards with your signature on it

Cooking Essentials:

 1 Pressure cooker(medium or 2 ltrs )

 Spare accessories for the cooker (safety valves, gasket, whistle, etc very imp)
 1 non-stick frying pan (medium size)
 Potato peeler
 Serving spoons and table spoons (at least two)
 Deep frying pan(medium size)
 2 plate, Glass, bowls
 Pair of scissors and knife
 1 dish wash soap or cleaning fluid for initial days

Electronics:

 UK Adaptor
 Mobile phone
 Headphones, TWS
 Laptop / Tablet
 Camera
 Extension cable
 Batteries or Power bank
 Alarm Clock
 Trimmers
 Watch
 Flash drive or Memory card
 USB Cable and Network Cable
 Table lamp if not provided in accommodation
Toiletries and Accessories:

 Soap and soap case

 Toothbrush and toothpaste
 Shaving kit
 Hair comb/brush
 Shampoo and conditioners
 Perfumes and Deodorants
 Lip balm
 Earbuds
 Nail cutter
 Belts
 Purse
 Cloths Hanger
 Sun glass
 Cold Cream (essential in winter)
 Tissues , Sanitary products (for initial days)
 Make-up and make-up remove
 Air freshener ( for bathroom )
 Scrubs
 Bathing Mug ( hard to find in UK )
 Other Skin care, body care and face care products as required

Medicines and Health Care:

 Prescription medication along with its original prescriptions for large quantities
 Vitamin C, Vitamin D tablets and other Multi Vitamins for 1 or 2 months as the there is
not that much sunlight in UK and the colder weather will give you vitamin deficiencies.
( pack for initial days only as its avl in UK for nominal rates )
 Prescription glasses and Copy of prescription
 Contact lenses plus cleaning fluid etc
 Spare pair of glasses
 Brace/retainer and accessories
 Basic First aid kit and band aids
 Tablets for fever, Stomach ache and vomiting, Headache and migraine, Cough and
cold ( a strip each just for emergencies )
IMPORTANT Mask, Gloves, Sanitizers, Disinfectants

Miscellaneous:

 Laundry powder and washing soap (for initial days)

 Backpack
 Books and other stationary
 Black Pens
 Clothing:

 5/6 pairs of jeans

 Jacket/ Jumper/ trousers/ leggings / chinos
 10/12 T-shirts
 1 pair formal suit and Tie (mandatory as expensive in UK)
 2 or 3 pairs of trousers&shirts (formal)
 Kurta, Saree (for cultural events )
 Sweaters and Hoodies
 Pajamas
 At least 15 pairs of undergarments(laundry cycle is once in 15 days)
 At least 5 pairs of socks
 1 or 2 Sports/lightweight shoes
 1 or 2 pair slipper / flip flops to wear in shower & communal areas
 Formal Shoes(leather shoes)
 5 pairs of casual shirts and pants(half sleeve shirts, six pocket pant)
 2 large towels, Bathroom towel, Towel set ( Hydro towel recommended as its lighter)
 2-bed sheets and pillow cover
 An umbrella or Rain coat
 leather Jacket(or fluffy one to keep you warm, can buy in the UK later on)
 Winter clothing like scarf, sweater, gloves, muffler etc (preferable to buy in UK)
 In summer it gets pretty hot and preferable clothing during this time is shorts.

Food:

IMPORTANT: Bring SPICES (MASALA POWDERS), PICKLES, SNACKS etc as much as you can

Bring these in SMALL quantities if only if you have SPACE.oil, salt, rice, all kinds of Pappu,
sugar and things like that it will only increase your load

 Pulav Masala(mix of all spices that we usually put in pulav, biryani leaves, cloves,
 cinnamon, cardamom)
 Garam Masala
 Mustard seeds
 Cumin seeds
 Coriander power
 Tamarind
 Cloves
 Garlic paste
 Pickles You Like
 Kandi podi, Karappodi,karivepaku podi elc..
 Tea Powder/Coffee Powder
 turmeric powder
  Jeera
 Aavalu
 Pepper powder
 Chilli Powder
Sambhar Podi , Rasam Podi(Important)

Carry other spices as per your requirements. Most of the spices can be found in indian
stores in UK so don’t carry in bulk

NOTE
You can bring 2 big suitcases and 1 carry on, one medium-size college bag ask

 the agent through whom your booking your tickets about the dimensions of the
bags and how many Kgs can you carry.
 all foodstuff, miscellaneous. And cooking stuff or any electronic items must be put in
big suit cases. Do not put these in carrying on or college bag. In carrying put shirts,
shorts or pants and whatever you like.
 Put all your documents in a file and put it in your Backpack.
Ask the booking agent for all the rules to be followed.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Documents
Carry all your transcripts, degree and certifications. You will need them. Carry at least 1-2 ID
proofs with your signature on it, because you will need them when paying by your Indian
debit/credit cards in the UK.
Personal suggestion, leave a set of xerox at home and keep a scanned copy on your google
drive. It helps carry all your transcripts, degree and certifications. You will need them. Carry
at least 1-2 ID proofs with your signature on it, because you will need them when paying by
your Indian debit/credit cards in the UK!
 Carry some stationery and notebooks, these are a little expensive in the UK. These
are small things and can easily be carried.

Carrying Currency and Forex

 When coming to the UK, you will obviously be wanting to carry some cash with you.
According to norms, don't carry cash more than 1000GBP. it's not safe. Rather,
buy a forex card in India.
 A lot of banks offer such forex cards like HDFC, IndusInd, Axis, etc. Its best to get a
forex card from your primary bank as they might offer you personalized discounts.
SBI Forex card has the lowest rates. Through forex card, even in future, if you want
to get money from India, you can ask them to just deposit it in your forex card and
you will have it with you in minutes. International debit cards will work on shopping
but it may deduct some conversion fee depending on your bank policies.
 Forex card is only required for the initial days as you can ask your bank to cancel it
after getting a UK bank account.
Carrying Documents
 Carry all your original documents (transcripts, degree, certifications, etc) because
you will be needing them when looking for jobs. Also, carry at least 1-2 ID cards
issued in India with your signature on it. Since debit cards issued in India aren't all
contactless cards, and here in the UK, whenever you use a strip or chip-based card,
you will have to sign a receipt and they will ask for an ID proof to match the
signatures and validate the transaction.

Getting a SIM Card and Mobile Phones

 Almost all Indian Mobile Phones work in the UK as well. But still, to be sure, go to
your mobile's product description and check for the operating bands on which your
phone works. If it works on at least 2 of 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz and
2600MHz, it will work in the UK.
 Preferred network operators, my suggestion will be to go with Lebara or Lyca.
Lebara has some of the best plans. The one with most value costs 12GBP and gives
unlimited national and international calling (in 39 countries including India), 1000
free national SMS, and 5GB of data.
 SMARTY is the best affordable option as they provide max value plans starts as low
as 6 GBP for 4GB data with unlimited calls and text within the UK . For other plans
check out smarty.co.uk and you can use whatsapp or Duo etc to call your home
country. Smarty operates under 3 network ( one of the largest in UK ) so you don’t
have to worry about network coverage.
 And yes, 5GB of data is more than enough for a month since you will have wifi on
campus, at home and in trains.
 You can get a SIM card at any general store like WH Smith, Tesco, etc. It will be easily
available on airport or nearest station. Don't buy it from Indian Airport, they charge
extra for it.

Some Important Apps and Tips

Some of the most important apps that I can suggest are,

Travel Support Apps

 Uber and ADT are two of the most used cab services in the UK. Ola has also started
its operation in some parts of the country.
 Use Trainline for booking trains.
 National Bus or Megabus for inter-city bus travels ( according to region certain
student passes are avl. You can buy them to save up on travel within your city )
 Use Google Maps to check routes, how to reach using public transports, the timing for
buses and trains etc.

Food and Groceries

 Uber Eats, Just Eat and Deliveroo are basically Zomato and Swiggy of the UK. You
can order food from these websites.
 Lidil and Aldi and asda are overall the cheapest supermarkets and most expensive
ones are Morrisons, Waitrose etc ( Note ; sometimes some items might be cheap in
one supermarket but will be expensive in others its like that sometimes )
 Use Mysuermaketcompare , latestdealsuk to compare grocery prices.
 Shopping

 Amazon UK is the best website to shop.

 CurrysPCWorld for electronics and gadgets.
 Shop at Primark ( instore ), ( online ; Asos, Topshop/ Topman, Newlook, asda
george ) etc for affordable clothing.
 POUNDLAND for everything under 1 GBP Groceries, Consumer goods, Electronics
and DIY products.

Miscellaneous

 UNiDAYS tells you about different places around the country where you can get
some sort of discount using your student ID card only.
 Student beans for student discount from multiple stores.
 Other apps that I can suggest include, Evernote or Keep to make shopping lists, or to
just write down a note at any random time. These 2 apps sync with your Google
account and you can access them on any device, anywhere in the world.
 Netflix and Prime Videos for Entertainment.
 Money Manager to monitor your expenses. It's a really good app and helps you find
out how much have you spent on entertainment, on food, on living, etc.
 Odeon and Cineworld for booking movie tickets.
 Gumtree and Facebook to buy second-hand things.
 Use Idealo to compare prices.

What to do the moment you land?

 Once you land, you will go through the immigration check process. It may take
somewhere between 1 to 2 hours depending on the airport you are landing in.
Figure out the way through which you are going to go to the
university/accommodation you booked way in advance. If you have to, book your
train or bus tickets in advance with a gap of at least 3 hrs after flight landing.
 Some universities provide free pickups from London Heathrow or Manchester
Airport. Look into it and book it in advance if you want to.
 You can buy a SIM card at the airport itself. Most of you will be landing in London
and may take a train from St Pancras or King Cross. There are a lot of shops where
you can buy a UK SIM Card. They are activated instantly.
 Reach the university, collect your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), settle down,
rest for the day, explore the town a little, figure out the nearest shops, TESCO, post
office, bus routes and bus stands, train station, etc. Get yourself registered in the
university the next day.

Loyalty Cards and Free membership Accounts

 Almost all big chains give you Loyalty cards.

In the UK, get a Tesco Club Card, it's free. For every 1GBP spent, you will get 1 point, and for
every 150 points, you get 1.5GBP discount. You can keep collecting them and buy a bigger
voucher for something else. They keep giving you special offer mails as well.

Oyster Card is always beneficial BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE LIVING IN LONDON. Oyster
Cards are only valid on public transports in London.
 Rail Card gives you 1/3 discount on train tickets. Rail Card costs 70GBP for 3 years. ( you can
get a 4 year rail card worth 100 / 120 GBP free when you open a student account with
santander bank but that bank account has a monthly maintenance fee).
Amazon Prime bought in India won't work in the UK. But you can get free Amazon
UK Prime if you register with your university student mail address.
NUS Extra Card discount card for Students for just 12 GBP to save upto 500 GBP.
Student Identity card for discounts on dine out.
Taste Card for 34.99 GBP offers upto 60% entertainment, upto 50% off attractions , 2 for 1
meals and dining out at 50% off all offers available at select stores and restaurants only.

Cash Back Sites and Apps

TopCashback ( classic membership is free) is one of the top rated cashback site.

Quidco is another leading cashback site.

Groupon, Livingsocial is the best site to find daily deals.

Checkoutsmart app shows you discounts and rewards avl on groceries.

Vouchercloud app for deals and discount offers.

Foursquare app for dining out discounts.

Popular Banks and Bank Account Opening

• Once you are in the UK, you will have to open a Bank Account for receiving any part
time work payments. Prefer Barclays, HSBC, Santander or Natwest and best digital/
challenger bank is Starling, Revolut, Monzo and Atom bank. I would suggest you to open a
normal and digital bank account. Every bank also has its own mobile app.

NOTE ; Compare and choose the banking provider that fits your needs.

Here in the UK, you cannot just walk-in to the bank and get an account opened. First of all, go
through their website lookout for different types of bank accounts available and
which suits you the best. Then either book an appointment with the bank or just give
a call to the nearest branch and they will advise you on how to get it done. For the
bank account, you will be needing,

1. Your Passport and BRP ( get BRP done at your University)

2. Proof of Residence and proof of being a student - You will have to ask your
university's administration team, they will issue you a letter for this.
3. Your Student ID Card.

Once the bank account is opened, you will receive your online banking credentials along
with your debit card.
National Insurance Number

• To work in the UK, you will need a National Insurance Number. It is free of cost. To
get a NI Number, you will have to book an appointment by calling at a number given
in gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number. They will take some of your details and
book an appointment for you. They will let you know the documents you need to
carry, and then you will have to visit the centre for your appointment.

• Once your interview at the centre is done (there isn't any complex interview, they
will just confirm your identity and ask you why do you want a NI Number, just say
because I wanted to work part-time for the university, and I am allowed 20hrs per
week), it takes 6-8 weeks to get the NI Number, but you can start working just after
the interview. You don't have to wait for it.

Sending , Receiving and Withdrawing money

Always compare the best available rates on monito.com to get the maximum value for your
money.

1.Receive Money

Use Wise or Instarem for receiving money from India as they provide the best exchange rates.

Use Skrill to instantly receive money in your account ( use only if you need money urgently as
costs are a bit higher).

2.Send Money

Use Remitly, WorldRemit, Smallworld to send money back home as they charge the lowest
fees and provide best rates.

NOTE: For transactions above 6000 GBP Smallworld provides the best rates and for
transactions below that Remitly provides the best rates.

3.Withdraw Money

Use ATM locator app to find out free cash machines near you. The app even tells you which
machines have transaction fees and which ones are fee free etc.

I BELIEVE I HAVE COVERED ALMOST EVERYTHING, HOPE IT

HELPS