Before you start

A valid UK visa granted under the relevant route
A UKVI account linked to your immigration status
The Immigration Health Surcharge paid up front as part of the application
A Birmingham address, for the NI number application and almost everything else

Step-by-step

1
Set up and check your UKVI account before you fly
The eVisa is the only record of your status. Confirm the passport number, personal details and the conditions shown all match what you were granted. Errors are far easier to correct from outside the country than at a Birmingham letting agency on a Friday afternoon.
OnlineWho: YouBefore travel
2
Learn to generate a share code before you need one
Employers run a right-to-work check and landlords in England run a right-to-rent check, and both work by entering a share code you produce from your UKVI account. You will be asked in your first fortnight. Each code is purpose-specific and time-limited.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
3
Apply for a National Insurance number once you are here
There is no way to arrange it in advance — the application only works from inside the UK. Check first whether you already have one; several visa categories had the number printed in the remarks on an old biometric residence permit. You can work legally without it, but expect an emergency tax code and a reclaim.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1, decision in a few weeks
4
Register with a Birmingham GP
You have already paid the Immigration Health Surcharge with your visa, but nothing happens automatically. Find a practice covering your postcode and register while you are well rather than when you are not.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
5
Register for Council Tax with Birmingham City Council
Council Tax falls on the occupier here, not the owner, and the council will find you eventually. Registering yourself lets you claim the 25% single-occupant discount or the full all-student exemption from the start rather than arguing about it later. Birmingham's rates have risen sharply since 2024, so this is worth more than it sounds.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
6
Know which rules are English rather than UK-wide
Your visa is identical across the UK. Income tax bands, prescription charges, tenancy law and Right to Rent are not — Right to Rent applies in England only, prescriptions are charged in England only, and Scotland's tax bands are different. Advice written for Glasgow is right about your visa and wrong about almost everything else on this page.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport carrying the visa grant
UKVI account credentials, with a working email and phone for two-step verification
Share code, generated fresh for each employer or landlord check
Proof of your Birmingham address
Evidence of Immigration Health Surcharge payment, included in the visa grant

Things most newcomers don’t know

There is no card, and that changes what can go wrong.

Biometric residence permits are no longer issued and visa vignette stickers ended for new applicants in July 2026. Your status exists only as an online record. If the UKVI account details are stale, if you renew a passport without updating it, or if you cannot get into the account at a border or a viewing, there is no fallback document to produce.

Source: GOV.UK — online immigration status (eVisa)

You cannot apply for a National Insurance number before you arrive.

The application requires you to be in the UK, so it cannot be front-loaded like a visa. Apply in your first week and check first whether you already have one printed on an old BRP. Working without it is lawful but usually means months on an emergency tax code and a reclaim from HMRC afterwards.

Source: GOV.UK — apply for a National Insurance number

Right to Rent is an England-only regime and it shapes the Birmingham market.

Landlords in England must verify a tenant's immigration status before letting, and the penalty for getting it wrong falls on them. Birmingham has a very large small-landlord sector, and some of those landlords quietly avoid overseas applicants rather than learn the share-code process. Arriving at the viewing with the code already generated removes the objection before it is voiced.

Source: GOV.UK — right to rent checks

Council Tax is your bill here, and in Birmingham it is a big one.

In most countries the local property tax falls on the owner. In England it falls on the occupier and is billed separately from rent. After section 114 Birmingham raised it 9.99% and then 7.5% in consecutive years, with a further rise for 2026/27 taking Band D past £2,300. Budgeting rent alone will leave you several hundred pounds a year short.

Source: Birmingham City Council — Council Tax

Common mistakes to avoid

Travelling before setting up and checking the UKVI account, with no card to fall back on.
Renewing a passport without updating the linked eVisa record.
Applying for a National Insurance number you already have printed on an old BRP.
Turning up to a viewing without a right-to-rent share code ready to generate.
Budgeting rent without Birmingham's Council Tax, and not claiming the single-occupant discount.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.