// Eight chapters on paperwork, banks, the Tube, the NHS, work and the cultural codes of the island. Everything you figure out in the first six months — laid out across eight spreads.
National Insurance, bank, SIM card, GP — four things for your first week.
National Insurance number is your permanent identifier in the HMRC system: you need it to work in the UK, to pay tax, and for a range of public services. Once you have an NI number, it stays with you for life.
NI number is a unique identifier for tax and contributions in the UK — but technically it's not a "tax number" in the sense of a separate card or licence. It's used to track your right to work, your National Insurance contributions and your tax records. You apply online on GOV.UK, and the service is free; if any site asks you to pay for "the application", it's not the official service.
To apply, you normally need to live in the UK, have the right to work, and either be working, looking for work, or have a job offer to start work. If you already have a BRP or eVisa, your NI number may already be printed on the BRP or visible in your UKVI account. If you don't have a number yet and you plan to work, you still need to submit an application while in the UK.
You'll be asked to prove your identity. GOV.UK states that you can prepare a passport from any country, or a national identity card from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, and upload a photo of yourself with your passport along with photos of other documents. If you can't upload, they may schedule an appointment or ask you to post copies. If your online identity check is successful, your number usually arrives within up to 4 weeks after verification.
You can work before receiving your number if you can prove your right to work in the UK. This is particularly useful for new employees: your employer can start the paperwork, and you pass them the NI number once it arrives.
In your first days, the easiest option is Revolut — it opens an account without UK proof of address and works as a full card for daily payments. Using this link gives both of us a small bonus if you sign up.
In parallel, open a traditional bank account — you'll need it for tenancy, salary and credit history. The most newcomer-friendly options: Monzo and Starling (fully online, 10 minutes through the app), HSBC and Barclays (branches, slower but classic). For proof of address, an HMRC letter, council tax bill or tenancy agreement will do.
The three major networks: EE, O2, Three. Reliable coverage, plans from £10–15 a month with generous data. If you're not tied to a contract, MVNOs (virtual operators running on the same networks) are cheaper: Giffgaff, Lebara, Smarty — from £6–8/month, no minimum term. For your first week, even a Pay As You Go SIM from Sainsbury's or Tesco does the job.
Registering with a GP is free and essentially mandatory, even if you're healthy. Without a GP you can't get a prescription, a referral to a specialist or a routine check-up. Find your nearest surgery by postcode via the NHS service search, fill in the registration form and bring (or upload) proof of address. A letter from your bank or a council tax bill works.
Register early — by the time you're ill, you'll wish you'd already been on the list.
→ Apply for NI number online
→ Open Monzo, Revolut or another digital account + a traditional bank
→ Get a SIM (PAYG to start, contract after your first payslip)
→ Register with a GP by postcode
Rightmove, tenancy, council tax — the minimum needed not to sign something you'll regret.
Main aggregators: Rightmove and Zoopla for whole flats, SpareRoom and OpenRent for rooms and flatshares. Facebook groups and local community channels often surface rooms before they hit the big portals.
Realistic ranges in London right now: a flatshare room in zones 2–3 runs £900–1400, a studio from £1500, a one-bed from £1800–2200. Outside London prices drop noticeably: a flatshare room in Manchester, Bristol or Birmingham is often £600–800.
The standard contract in England is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST), usually 12 months with a break clause at 6. Check before signing: deposit (legally capped at 5 weeks' rent and must be held in one of three protection schemes — Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits, Tenancy Deposit Scheme), who pays bills, break clause terms, pets/guests, who handles repairs.
If your landlord doesn't protect the deposit in a government-approved scheme, you have the legal right to claim compensation of up to 3× the deposit.
Council tax is a local charge that funds police, waste, roads and libraries. Paid monthly, usually 10 instalments a year. The amount depends on the property's band (A to H) and the area: a London band D averages £1500–2000 a year; in Bradford or Manchester it can be £1900–2300. Full-time students are fully exempt; single occupants get a 25% discount — you apply for single person discount on your local council's site.
Electricity and gas usually come from a single supplier (British Gas, Octopus, EDF, Ovo); water comes from your regional monopoly (in London, Thames Water). TV Licence is a separate £174.50/year payment, mandatory if you watch any live TV or iPlayer; if you only watch Netflix or YouTube it's not required, but you should still declare a No Licence Needed, or they'll keep sending threatening letters.
→ Outside London the rental market is gentler: 3–5 people show up to a viewing instead of 30, and you usually have a couple of days to decide.
Tax code, HMRC, ISA, credit score — a brief handbook to British money.
Your tax code is the cipher on your payslip that tells your employer how much to withhold. The standard 2026/27 code is 1257L: a personal allowance of £12,570 (tax-free), everything above is taxed at the basic rate of 20% up to £50,270, then 40% up to £125,140, and 45% above that. The personal allowance is frozen at this level until April 2031.
If your code starts with BR, D0 or 0T, your allowance hasn't been applied (common on a second job or first paycheck). Fix it through your Personal Tax Account on gov.uk — you can also see how much tax you've paid this year, and whether HMRC owes you a refund.
If you're an employee with no extra income, tax is withheld automatically through PAYE and you do nothing. Self-Assessment kicks in if you're self-employed, rent out property, earn over £150,000, or have dividend/foreign income. Register on gov.uk; the online filing deadline is 31 January for the previous tax year (April–April). Tax is on the same scale, plus Class 4 National Insurance (6% on profits £12,570–£50,270, 2% above).
From April 2026, self-employed people earning over £50,000 must use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — mandatory quarterly reporting via HMRC-approved software (FreeAgent, Xero, QuickBooks).
The ISA is the main vehicle for legally avoiding tax. Any interest, dividends or capital gains inside an ISA are tax-free. The 2026/27 allowance is £20,000 per year, resetting on 6 April. Types: Cash ISA (a deposit), Stocks & Shares ISA (investments), Lifetime ISA (for a first home or retirement — the government adds 25% on contributions up to £4,000/year), Innovative Finance ISA.
Important: from April 2027, the Cash ISA limit for people under 65 drops to £12,000, with the remaining £8,000 to be put into Stocks & Shares or another investment ISA.
In the UK, credit history is a separate currency. It governs tenancy approvals, phone contracts, mortgages. Free checks: ClearScore, Experian, Credit Karma. To build it: pay every bill on time, use a credit card and pay it off in full every month, don't apply for multiple credit products in quick succession. The overdraft is a built-in feature on most UK accounts; it's easy to slip into one accidentally, and rates can be 35–40% APR — turn off the overdraft option in your bank settings if you don't need it.
Contactless, zones, Hopper fare, National Rail — everything you need on getting around.
Simplest: a regular contactless card (or Apple/Google Pay). Tap on the yellow reader at entry and exit, and the system works out your cheapest daily and weekly fare automatically. Oyster only makes sense if you have a concession (Student, 60+) or a Railcard you want linked to it for discounts.
London is split into 9 zones. From March 2026 a bus journey costs £1.75, regardless of distance. Hopper fare: within one hour of your first tap, you can transfer to any bus or tram for free — just tap the same card.
The Tube is pricier: a single zone 1 journey at peak is £3.10, off-peak £2.70. The key concept is the daily cap — beyond a certain amount, the system stops charging you for the day. 2026 caps are frozen until March 2027:
→ Zones 1–2: £8.90/day · £44.70/week
→ Zones 1–3: £10.50 · £52.50
→ Zones 1–4: £12.80 · £64.20
→ Zones 1–5: £15.30
→ Bus & tram: £5.25/day · £24.70/week
At some interchange stations (Stratford, Canada Water, Highbury & Islington, Whitechapel, Clapham Junction) you'll see pink readers. They tell the system your route didn't pass through zone 1 — otherwise you'll be charged for the most expensive route. If you're travelling between outer zones and changing at one of these stations, tap the pink reader, or you'll overpay.
Inter-city travel runs on National Rail. Book ahead on Trainline (small fee, clean search) or directly on nationalrail.co.uk. If you travel often, get a Railcard (£30/year, a third off most journeys); types include 16–25, 26–30, Two Together, Network, Senior.
Where to look, how to translate prior experience, your rights and who qualifies for benefits.
LinkedIn remains the main channel for office and skilled roles — the bulk of London hiring runs through it. Indeed and Reed cover the full range: bartenders to executives. Industry-specific: Otta (tech and startups), CharityJob (non-profits), CV-Library (trades and manual roles).
UK recruiters read CVs literally — speak their language: job titles in English, exact dates, no salary conversions needed. Key steps: rewrite the CV in UK format (1–2 pages, no photo, no date of birth), align LinkedIn the same way, convert your diplomas through UK ENIC — you'll get an officially recognised equivalent qualification for HR.
If you need UK-based experience fast, volunteering at events or for charities gives you a clear British reference and that line on your CV that says "worked in London". The SNAMI community regularly needs helpers for quiz nights, mafia games, walking tours; email kate@eventme.info and we'll find something.
From 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage for adults 21+ is £12.71/hour; for 18–20 year olds, £10.85; for 16–17 year olds and most apprentices, £8.00. Anything below is illegal, even if you signed a contract for less — that clause is legally void.
Baseline rights that always apply: paid holiday (minimum 5.6 weeks/year, including bank holidays), sick pay (Statutory Sick Pay from day 4), notice on termination (minimum 1 week for under 2 years' service, plus a week per additional year). ACAS handles enforcement — go there before considering an employment tribunal.
Universal Credit is the main low-income benefit, consolidating several older payments. Apply on gov.uk, processed in 5 weeks. Eligibility: low or no income, right to live and work in the UK, savings under £16,000. The amount depends on your situation: a single adult gets the base rate, plus possible add-ons for housing element (part of your rent), child element, and work allowance if you're partially employed.
NHS, GP, pharmacies, mental health — how British medicine works and where it works differently.
The NHS is the national health service, free for those who paid the Immigration Health Surcharge when applying for a visa. The system's logic: everything goes through the GP. Unlike in many countries, there's no direct access to specialists — you first see a GP, who assesses whether to refer you further.
Standard NHS advice for a cold: "rest, fluids, paracetamol, come back in two weeks if it hasn't cleared." Antibiotics are prescribed only when there's a confirmed bacterial infection. This isn't indifference — it's evidence-based medicine, common across European systems — but it does take getting used to.
If you genuinely need to be seen sooner, there are levers. The phrase that opens doors: "This is affecting my ability to work" or "I can't work in this condition." It moves your request from "discomfort" to "functional impairment", which the NHS treats more urgently.
For sore throats, UTIs, minor skin conditions, you can often get a prescription without a GP visit through Pharmacy First: a pharmacist at Boots or Lloyds can issue antibiotics for qualifying symptoms. Free, no queue.
NHS 111 is the free 24/7 line for when you're not sure what to do; they'll tell you whether to go to A&E, see a GP, or wait it out. 999 is for genuine emergencies only. UK ambulances won't come for someone who could take a taxi to A&E — this is by design.
NHS dentists technically exist, but in practice the waiting list runs into years and most are closed to new patients. The realistic route is private. Typical costs: check-up £40–80, cleaning £80–120, filling £150–300, implant £2,500–4,500. Cheaper than central London — clinics in zones 3–4. Many people fly to Hungary or Turkey for major work — it's considered normal practice, not exotic.
Most OTC drugs (paracetamol, ibuprofen, antihistamines, nasal sprays) are sold without prescription at Boots, Superdrug, Tesco, Sainsbury's. Prescription items have a flat charge of £9.90 per item in 2026, regardless of the drug's actual cost.
Your GP can refer you to free therapy through NHS Talking Therapies (formerly IAPT) — typically 6–12 sessions, usually CBT. Waiting lists range from a few weeks to several months. In parallel, free crisis lines: Samaritans (116 123, 24/7) and Shout (text 85258). Private options: Counselling Directory or BetterHelp; average session £60–90.
Shops, weather, small daily details and cultural quirks you only learn by living through them.
Adapters — UK sockets are unique (type G, three flat pins), and European or Asian adapters won't fit. Basics like kitchenware and bedding are cheapest at Ikea, Argos, Dunelm. Umbrella — day one essential; Fulton is the London classic. A warm waterproof coat costs more than your summer wardrobe but earns it back.
Supermarket hierarchy from cheapest to priciest: Lidl and Aldi (budget, limited range), Asda and Morrisons (mid), Tesco and Sainsbury's (mid with wide range), Waitrose and M&S (premium). Tesco Clubcard and Sainsbury's Nectar make a real difference — without the card you're often paying 20–30% more on discounted items.
Poundland and B&M are go-tos for cleaning supplies, kitchenware, bags and anything that shouldn't be expensive. Too Good To Go — restaurants and bakeries sell end-of-day leftovers at £3–5 per bag, decent food and sometimes excellent.
The cardinal rule of English weather: there's no "weather today", only "weather for the next three hours". A hooded jacket, comfortable shoes, and acceptance that your umbrella will invert at least once a week. Summer is short (June–August, 18–25°C), sun is rare, worth catching. Winter is mild but grey, with minimum daylight (sunrise 8, sunset 16). Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is real here — light therapy lamps, vitamin D and walks even in the rain all help.
The queue is a British ritual, and breaking it reads as a personal offence. Nobody will say anything out loud, but they will remember. "Sorry" is said by everyone for everything: for stepping on your foot, for you stepping on theirs, for the weather. Tipping isn't mandatory, but 10–12.5% is often already added to your restaurant bill under "service charge" — if it's included, you don't add more.
Small talk isn't insincerity, it's social protocol. "How are you?" isn't a question, it's a greeting; the answer is "Good, thanks, you?". A serious answer breaks the genre. Brits seem reserved, but they keep exactly the distance needed for their own comfort — it's not coldness, it's interface.
In conversation, pay attention to what isn't said. "That's interesting" often means "no", "with respect" means a fight is coming, "not bad" means good. English is a language where politeness and precision of meaning travel along parallel lines.
Save this guide and join the community — we're here to make your first steps in England a little less lonely.
Social Life
Friends, museums, communities — how not to end up texting only yourself.
Finding people
Multiple routes, all working only in combination. Regular meetup platforms: Meetup (thousands of London events a week — morning runs to board games), Eventbrite (ticketed events), Discord for interest-based servers — photography to programming.
SNAMI is a multicultural community based in London running regular quiz nights, mafia game evenings, networking events, walking tours and weekend trips. The English-language events channel: tellmelondon.uk/events. Mafia game nights — including the social-deduction format and tournaments — run under MurMur Mafia, the English-language umbrella for our game community.
Museums and culture
All the major museums — Tate Britain, National Gallery, Tate Modern, V&A, Natural History, Science Museum, British Museum — are free for permanent collections. Only temporary exhibitions are paid. Wallace Collection, Sir John Soane's Museum, Wellcome Collection — less obvious, free, well worth a visit.
Learning the city
If you want to hear London's history from someone who knows it inside out, SNAMI runs walking tours led by a qualified historian through the old City, literary London, and lesser-known corners of town. Tour dates appear on tellmelondon.uk/events.
→ Every major UK city has its own free museum network — manchester.gov.uk, visitbristol.co.uk and similar. Cathedrals are free across most of England.