Arriving in the UK
Immigration control
If you arrive by air, the first thing you will have to do when you enter the airport terminal is to pass through Immigration Control. Tell the Immigration Officer that you will be a full-time student: have your documents with you, in case the Immigration Officer asks to see them.
If the Immigration Officer refuses you entry to the UK, and you have no entry clearance, you may be sent back immediately, or given a very short period of temporary admission. If this happens, contact the United Kingdom Immigration Appeals Advisory Service (IAAS), telephone 020 7357 6917 immediately; you should also telephone the International Office – 020 7919 7702 – and let us know.
Baggage reclaim
Next, you will have to collect your baggage. Information will be displayed on electronic screens which will indicate your flight number and the ‘carousel’ where your baggage will appear. Make sure that you have your baggage tag counterfoils for checking if necessary. These should be stapled to your boarding pass or ticket. There are trolleys available free of charge in the baggage halls.
Customs
After you have collected your baggage, you must make your way to the Customs Hall. Unless your journey originated in the EEA (an airport stopover does not count), you have to pass through the red or green ‘clearway system’.
If your journey originated outside the EEA and you have nothing to declare over the duty and tax free allowances permitted to overseas visitors, you should pass through the Green Channel. This is subject to spot-checks by Customs Officers who have the right to look through your luggage and, if there is reasonable suspicion that you are committing a customs offence, to search you. You normally have the right to be searched by a person of your own gender.
If you have goods to declare, you should pass through the Red Channel. If you are unsure about what you can bring into the UK you should check with your local British Embassy or High Commission before you begin your journey. You can also find information about UK Customs and Excise on their website.
The UK has severe penalties against drug smuggling. Drug traffickers may try to trick travellers: never allow someone else to carry your bags before the customs checks and never carry bags through customs for other people.
Declaring cash on entering the UK
Under EU (European Union) Law, as of 15 June 2007, if you are carrying 10,000 euros or more, or the equivalent in another currency (approx £6,800) in the form of notes, coins, bankers drafts, cheques and travellers cheques, and are travelling directly to or from a non-EU country, you must complete a cash declaration form. These forms are available at airports and ports.
Please read the form carefully before filling it in. You will be liable to financial penalties if you fail to comply with the obligation to declare or provide incomplete or incorrect information.
When you have completed and signed the form, tear off the top copy and post it in the box provided at your point of entry. The second copy is for you to keep as evidence of your declaration.
You do not need to declare cash if you are travelling within the UK or to or from another EU country. HM Revenue and Customs officers may question you about your cash. They will not detain properly declared cash if they have no reason to doubt its legitimacy, but it may be seized if an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that it is either the proceeds of, or is intended for use in, unlawful conduct.
Goldsmiths, University of London recommend that international students pay their fees either by bank transfer before leaving their home country (claiming a 2.5% discount if paying in full by the last Friday in August) or by credit card. See 'How to pay your fees' for full information.Bringing your family
You are strongly advised not to travel to the UK with your family unless you know that you will have suitable accommodation on arrival. It is very difficult to find family accommodation, and you will not be able to organise this before your arrival. We suggest that you come to the UK on your own and then organise suitable accommodation for your family to join you. Unfortunately, Goldsmiths cannot provide family accommodation.
Wives, husbands, civil partners and children of students from overseas are normally allowed entry to the UK on the same basis as their student spouse/parent.
Arranging childcare might be difficult. Although there is a wide range of non-Goldsmiths childminding facilities - for example, domestic help, private day nurseries, child minders - these services can be expensive and because they are in heavy demand, there are long waiting lists.
For more information on bringing your dependents to the UK, see UKCISA.
Registering with the Police
Some nationalities have an instruction on their visa sticker to register with the police within seven days of arrival in the UK. The current charge for registration is £34.
Take your passport, your Certificate of Acceptance from Goldsmiths and two small photographs to:
Overseas Visitors Records Office
Brandon House
180 Borough High Street
London SE1 1LH
Monday-Friday, between 09.00 and 16.00.
The International Office can give you a map to show you how to get there.
For advice on police registration, please contact Student Support Services at student-supp@gold.ac.uk.
This information can also be found by downloading our Guide for Guide for new international students [PDF format].