Before you start

A valid UK visa granted under the relevant route
A UKVI account linked to your status
The Immigration Health Surcharge paid up front with the application
A Cambridge address, for the NI number application and for right-to-rent checks

Step-by-step

1
Confirm which route your sponsor is actually using
University and research employers sponsor under several routes, and they are not interchangeable. Some carry different salary rules, different switching conditions and different dependant rights from a standard Skilled Worker post. Ask HR to name the route in writing before you accept, because it determines what you can do afterwards.
Via employerWho: Your employer or departmentBefore you accept
2
Set up and check the UKVI account before you fly
The eVisa is the only record of your status. Confirm the passport number, personal details and conditions all match the grant. Errors are far easier to fix from outside the UK than from a Cambridge letting agency in July.
OnlineWho: YouBefore travel
3
Learn to generate a share code before you need one
Employers run right-to-work checks and English landlords run right-to-rent checks, both by entering a share code you produce from your UKVI account. In a market as competitive as Cambridge's, having the code ready at the viewing is a real advantage over an applicant who has to go and work out how.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
4
Apply for a National Insurance number once you arrive
The application only works from inside the UK, so it cannot be front-loaded. Check first whether you already have one — several visa categories had it printed on an old biometric residence permit. You can work legally without it but expect an emergency tax code and a reclaim.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
5
Register with a GP and with Cambridge City Council
GP registration turns the Immigration Health Surcharge you already paid into actual access. Council Tax registration lets you claim the 25% single-occupant discount or the full all-student exemption from the start — in an all-student household the exemption is total, which is worth knowing before you pay a bill you did not owe.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
6
Know which rules are English rather than UK-wide
Your visa is identical everywhere in the UK. Right to Rent applies in England only, prescription charges apply in England only, income tax bands differ in Scotland, and English tenancy law changed fundamentally on 1 May 2026. Advice written for Edinburgh is right about your immigration and wrong about most of the rest.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport carrying the visa grant
UKVI account credentials with a working email and phone
Share code, generated fresh for each check
Certificate of Sponsorship reference from your employer or department
Proof of your Cambridge address

Things most newcomers don’t know

There is no physical document any more, and that changes the failure modes.

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

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

In Cambridge, the route your employer sponsors under is not a formality.

A large share of arrivals here are sponsored by the university, a college, a research institute or a spinout, and the routes available to those sponsors differ in salary rules, switching conditions and how time counts toward settlement. Two people doing the same lab work on different routes can face very different rules if they want to change jobs. Get the route named in writing.

Source: GOV.UK — work visas

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

The application requires you to be physically in the UK. Apply in your first week, and check first whether you already have one printed on an old BRP. Working without it is legal but usually means months on an emergency tax code and reclaiming from HMRC afterwards.

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

The share code is the thing that wins you a flat in a market this tight.

English landlords must run a right-to-rent check and the penalty for getting it wrong falls on them, so some smaller landlords avoid overseas applicants rather than learn the process. In Cambridge, where a good flat sees many applications, arriving with the code already generated and an explanation ready removes an objection the landlord may not otherwise voice.

Source: GOV.UK — right to rent checks

Common mistakes to avoid

Accepting an offer without knowing which visa route the sponsor is using.
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.
Not claiming the all-student Council Tax exemption in a wholly student household.

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