Guide

What you need to bring to University

Updated on 18 March 2024

Which documents you need to bring depends on your tuition fee status. There are some items everyone needs to bring, and others which only apply if you need a visa to study here.

On this page

Documents and paperwork

It is very important you bring original documents and not photocopies

  • driving licence, valid passport, for UK students: a PASS accredited card such as YoungScot, or for EU students: a national identity card

Documents for Student visa holders

  • your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) statement (this shows the pre-payments you have made towards tuition fees / accommodation)
  • documents listed on your CAS - these are under the heading "documents used to assess academic ability"
  • qualification certificates - you need to bring evidence that you have met the entry requirements for your course
  • English Language Certificates - which were used for Student visa
  • CAS statement changes (receipt or UKVI Screenshot, printouts of payments you have made to the University of Dundee after your CAS statement was issued)
  • passport with the 30 day vignette sticker
  • confirmation of your accommodation address in Dundee
  • sponsor's letter (if you have one)
  • passport photographs
    • there are passport photo booths in the Overgate Shopping Centre in the city centre, or you can have your photo taken at the Max Spielmann photo shop (inside Tesco Extra Riverside)
Police registration

The Police Registration Scheme has ceased, meaning that foreign national students are no longer required to register with the police within 7 days of arrival.

Further information for foreign nationals who are no longer required to register can be found on the Police Scotland website.

If you have any questions you can also email ImmigrationCompliance@dundee.ac.uk

Your Biometric Residence Permit BRP (Student visa)

  • You will need to collect your BRP card as soon as possible, normally within 10 days of your arrival into the UK. You will have specified a pickup location during your visa application. If you used the University of Dundee ACL Code 3HE297, you will receive an email from our Immigration Compliance team with full details of where to collect your BRP Card once you arrive on campus. If you specified the pickup location as the Dundee Post Office, this will be Post Office, 30 Whitehall St, Dundee DD1 4AF. You can check which collection location you selected either on your Home Office letter or by logging back in to view your visa application summary.

Health

When you start the new semester in Dundee we ask that you take simple steps to protect yourself and others from respiratory illnesses such as flu and Covid-19. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has now officially ended, the virus that causes the illness is still circulating, as are other respiratory viruses such as influenza. These simple steps are recommended:

  • Ensure that you have received all the vaccinations recommended for you. 
  • Practice good hand and respiratory hygiene (washing or sanitising your hands regularly and coughing/sneezing into a handkerchief or the inside of your elbow).
  • Maintain good ventilation of indoor spaces where possible.
  • If you know or suspect you have a significant respiratory illness, please stay away from other people and do not come onto campus until your symptoms have passed. 
  • Bring any necessary prescription medicines (for students from abroad, check your medicine is legal in the UK).
  • Bring a copy of prescription for glasses or contact lenses (this lets you replace them easily if you break or lose them).
  • Bring any necessary medical records / letter from your current doctor.
  • Bring your tuberculosis (TB) test certificate (if applicable).

Also, please ensure that you are registered with a doctor as soon as possible after your arrival in Dundee. For further information, please visit our Covid-19 & flu webpages.

For more information on keeping healthy as a student you can read NHS inform's Student Health guide which will help you use NHS services to get the care you need quickly and safely.

Money

The UK is an increasingly cashless society, with contactless payments, Apple Pay, and Google Pay increasing in importance during the coronavirus pandemic.

  • most up-to-date bank statement (not the bank statement used for Visa approval)
  • your bank sort-code, account number, and contact details (or IBAN (international bank account number) if not a UK account)
  • your UK national insurance number (if you have one)
  • any insurance policies

Find out more from our guide to bank accounts

Make sure you are familiar with how to pay your tuition fees, whether you are paying yourself or are using SAAS or SLC funding

If you're new to the UK

  • approximately £200 cash and up to £500 on a prepaid Visa / MasterCard for immediate expenses (travellers cheques are difficult to cash so are best avoided). If you have not already pre-paid for your accommodation in Dundee, you may want to add more.

Accommodation / living in Dundee

🛒 Shopping in Dundee

You don't need to bring everything you'll ever need. Dundee has lots of supermarkets, hypermarkets, and department stores so if you forget anything you'll always be able to get it here. You also might want to share the cost of some things, or someone else might bring one for the flat.

The following supermarkets provide an online shopping delivery service:

🏠 What's already in your University accommodation

  • kettle
  • microwave
  • iron / ironing board
  • vacuum cleaner
  • mop and bucket
  • recycling, refuse, and wastepaper baskets

If you are staying in private accommodation, your landlord will be able to let you know what is already in the flat / house.

🚫 Do not bring to accommodation

  • portable heaters (University flats are centrally heated)
  • candles
  • furniture
  • too much food - only bring food for the first day, it is easier to buy food at local supermarkets/hypermarkets
  • too many kitchen items (remember there are 5-7 other people in your flat who will also bring things)

🧳 Bring with you to accommodation

  • bed linen - (UK bedding sizes are different than European)
  • towels
  • coat hangers
  • clothes airer / drying rack
  • clothes - including jumpers and coats for winter, and sportswear
  • toiletries - bring an overnight bag until you have been to the supermarket
  • medication and a basic first aid kit
  • crockery, cutlery, pots, and pans
  • Television Licence - you will need a licence if you want to watch TV using a television set or a computer - this includes BBC iPlayer. For further information on TV licensing, see the TV Licensing website.

💻 Technology

  • your laptop - we have wifi coverage throughout campus and our residences to allow you to study wherever necessary. Once you are on campus, you can set up on our superfast wifi network, eduroam,
  • a mobile device, (iOS, Android, or a simple phone that can receive calls or text messages - this will allow you to set up multi-factor authentication, a security measure that lets you log into your IT account when you're away from the campus network
  • chargers for all your devices

About electrical equipment

UK power is 230v 50Hz. If your country also uses 220-240v you can use an adapter for your plugs. UK plugs are Type G - a large 3 pin plug. Electrical sockets have switches on them.

 

If your country uses 110v 60Hz (for example, United States, Canada, or Japan) you must check appliances are suitable for worldwide use. Check the product / power adapter for input: 100v-240v. If your appliance is 110v only you will damage it and you should buy a new product in the UK.

Photograph of a hand holding a UK plug next to a UK power socket
Welcome to the University of Dundee

Make sure you visit our welcome web pages to view the full range of welcome guides, plus information on where you need to be and when during your first week at University