What you need to know about studying in the UK – 2023 (Part 01)

Study in UK from Bangladesh has become the most optimal choice for international students compared to more popular nations like; the USA, Canada and Australia in the ongoing pandemic time of 2021. The prime reason behind this is the strict control of COVID-19 measures taken by the current UK Prime Minister in just three steps for more than a year, in comparison to other aforementioned nations. Additionally, travel bans from high-risk countries in the world have been lifted up recently by the UK government to ease the study opportunities for international students. Besides, a study in UK without IELTS has been made possible from March 2019 onwards, which was not the case for the previous 3 years during the ruling period of Theresa May. There are many factors to keep in mind for international students. However, some of the most important factors what you need to know about studying in the UK in 2021/2022:

1. Set up a Bank Account

Set up a Bank Account from your home country- Before travelling to study in UK, international students are recommended to open up a bank account in their own country in some of the specific Bangladeshi banks for incurring their daily expenses in the UK such as rent, utility bills and any other travel and food expenses without the massive need to get bank transfers done from your home bank. There are certain home banks in Bangladesh for example Standard Chartered Bank, Prime Bank Ltd, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd (HSBC), Eastern Bank Limited, Citi Bank, Pubali Bank Ltd, National Credit and Commerce Bank Ltd, The City Bank Ltd and other 13 banks as approved by the UK Government. The most important thing is that it is mandatory to show BDT 25 lac in the bank account of the student or his/her parents for at least 3 months prior to going to the UK Embassy for obtaining Student Visa (Tier-4).

2. Insurance

Get notified about your Insurance- There are two types of mandatory insurance to be done by your educational consultant for the international students to study in UK from their homeland. Do not forget to ask your educational agent to get the below mentioned done for you before you arrive in the UK.

• Health Insurance 

If you are a Non-European citizen travelling to study in UK from Bangladesh, you can still avail full healthcare facilities in the UK. The eligibility of the course you are going to study in the UK needs to be at least 6 months. To get access to those NHS healthcare services during your study period, international students are obliged to pay an Immigration Healthcare Surcharge. These IHS fees will be a part of your visa student application and it has increased from GBP 300 to GBP 470 per year from 1st October 2020.

• Travel Insurance   

Few of the educational consultants like; Career Paths will definitely suggest you to do Travel Insurance from Bangladesh through them, which could be inferred as one of the wisest decisions given by them to international students. The role reason behind this is to avail medical services from National Healthcare Service (NHS) on an emergency basis, an unexpected accident or lost luggage or theft and even unforeseen trip cancellation during pandemic compared to Health Insurance which does not come with this type of facilities for international students during the study period in the UK.

3. Knowing Proper Information

Ongoing instructions regarding travel of international students to the UK- There are numerable current instructions given on the travel of international students to study in UK. Some of the crucial ones which are necessary to know prior to travelling to the UK are listed below.

• Information on International Travel– The UK government and universities remain dedicated to the restart of physical teaching in classrooms as part of a mixed teaching model, due to the ongoing lockdown imposed in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. As a consequence, international students are directed not to travel and hold up their education journey to the UK. The core reason for the decision is to decrease the dissemination of the virus and prevent the spread of the latest variants. Decreasing the number of on-campus students and availing university services, targeted to assure the safety of student and staff. Border restrictions are also in position as a pre-plan to protect the well-being of international students.Don’t worry, some good news for students will be published in the 2nd part of this blog.

This blog will continue and more important information will be in the next part. So, please keep eyes for next one- News & Blog – Career Paths.