Arrivals and enrolment

Welcome to the University of Gloucestershire. We’re excited to welcome you to the UK and support you as you begin this important new chapter.

Moving to a new country can be both thrilling and challenging, and we’re here to make your transition as smooth as possible. Whether you’re preparing for your journey, arriving in the UK for the first time, or getting ready to complete your enrolment, this information will guide you through each step of the process.

Jump to:
Plan your travel to the UK
Accommodation
Setting up your University Network Account
Your enrolment
Finance
Your immigration permission
Your student ID card
Your engagement and attendance on the course

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Plan your travel to the UK

We recommend reviewing our guidance on preparing for the UK, to make sure you are ready to travel and can quickly adapt to life in the UK.

Before you travel, we also recommend reading our guidance on arriving at the UK border. It explains which documents you should carry and provides helpful information on navigating immigration and customs controls.

Having arrived in the UK, travel to the University of Gloucestershire should be straightforward. Both Cheltenham and Gloucester have strong transport links to international airports. We are approximately an hour from Birmingham and Bristol airports and less than two hours from London’s Heathrow Airport.

View our guide on how to get to us from the main UK international airports.

You are advised to plan your onward travel from the airport to the University before you arrive in the UK. For information on transport links and campus maps, please visit our ‘How to find us‘ webpage.

Accommodation

We have a range of accommodation options available to international students. You can choose to live in our halls of residence in Cheltenham and Gloucester, or explore university-approved private housing and lodgings.

It’s vital that you arrange your accommodation before you arrive in the UK, whether this is short-term accommodation in a hotel or a confirmed reservation with university halls. If you wish to secure halls accommodation you should confirm your booking before arriving.

For international students bringing family with them to the UK, it’s important to note that it can be very difficult to quickly secure family accommodation, with very limited local options. We advise students to arrive ahead of their family and secure appropriate accommodation, before inviting family to join them in the UK.

If you will be studying an undergraduate or postgraduate taught programme (including the first year of Professional Masters by Research programmes), you are required to secure accommodation in the Cheltenham or Gloucester areas, or at the very least within a reasonable, commutable distance, no more than one hour away from your home campus. If the location of your chosen accommodation negatively impacts your ability to meet the university’s attendance requirements, your visa sponsorship may be withdrawn.

For information on halls of residence, private housing and options for you and your family, please visit our ‘Accommodation‘ webpage.

Setting up your University Network Account

Your enrolment

Finance

To complete your enrolment you will be required to pay a minimum of 40% of your outstanding tuition fee liability (calculated as your course fee that remains after deducting your deposit and any bursary or scholarship awards) and to sign up to an approved instalment payment plan. Instalment plans and examples of how to calculate the fees due at enrolment are outlined in  Appendix A.

You will need to have paid 40% of your remaining fee before you will be able to enrol for the programme. Please see our online calculator for details of the exact amount you will be required to pay.

If you are unable to pay to enrol before the final enrolment deadline, you will be withdrawn from the programme and your visa sponsorship will be withdrawn. If there are anticipated delays with making payments to the UK, you should ensure that this payment is made as soon as possible.

A full list of approved payment methods can be found here.

Please see here for a calculator to help with determining the amount that is required prior to your enrolment.

If you are unable to pay to enrol before the final enrolment deadline, you will be withdrawn from the programme and your visa sponsorship will be withdrawn. If there are anticipated delays with making payments to the UK, you should ensure that this payment is made as soon as possible. The University does not accept cash payments, and so you will need to ensure that funds have been transferred to the University in time for them to clear into our account.

Your immigration permission

Your student ID card

Your engagement and attendance on the course