Before you start

Immigration Health Surcharge paid with your visa application
Proof of address in the GP practice's catchment area
Passport and eVisa share code
A UK phone number for appointment systems

Step-by-step

1
Register with a GP practice in week one
Find practices covering your postcode through the NHS website and register with one. You do not need proof of immigration status to register — practices should not demand it — but you will usually be asked for proof of address. Do this while you are well.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
2
Buy a prescription prepayment certificate if you take regular medication
England charges per item. A prepayment certificate covers unlimited prescriptions for three or twelve months for a fixed sum, and it pays for itself at roughly two items a month. Almost nobody tells newcomers it exists, and it can be paid by instalments.
OnlineWho: You
3
Learn the 111 route for urgent care
NHS 111 handles urgent but non-emergency problems, particularly out of hours, and will direct you to the right service. A&E is for emergencies, and using it otherwise means a long wait as low priority.
Mobile appWho: You
4
Register with a dentist separately and early
NHS dentistry is under real pressure and practices taking new NHS patients are scarce across Greater Manchester. Start looking early, and be aware that private dentistry is the fallback and is not covered by the surcharge you paid.
In personWho: You
5
Check whether you qualify for free prescriptions anyway
Prescriptions are free in England for under-16s, over-60s, pregnant women and people with certain listed medical conditions, among others. The exemption categories are broader than most people assume and are worth reading before buying a certificate.
OnlineWho: You
6
Know what the surcharge does and does not cover
It covers NHS care on the same basis as a resident. It does not cover dentistry beyond NHS rates, prescription charges, or private treatment, and it does not entitle you to care outside the UK — travel insurance is still needed.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Proof of address for GP registration
Passport and eVisa share code
Vaccination and medical records from your home country, ideally translated
A list of current medications by generic name

Things most newcomers don’t know

England charges for prescriptions and the rest of the UK does not.

Scotland abolished prescription charges in 2011, and Wales and Northern Ireland did the same. England still levies a per-item fee. If you take regular medication this is a genuine annual cost that simply does not exist a hundred miles north, and it never appears in UK-wide relocation advice.

Source: NHS England

The prepayment certificate is the single most useful thing nobody tells you.

It covers unlimited NHS prescriptions for a flat three- or twelve-month fee, breaks even at roughly two items a month, and can be paid by direct debit instalments. People on long-term medication routinely pay per item for years without discovering it exists.

Source: NHS Business Services Authority

You have already paid for the NHS, but you still have to register.

The Immigration Health Surcharge is charged per year of leave and paid up front with your visa application. It entitles you to NHS care — but nothing happens automatically. Until you register with a GP you have no route into the system except A&E, which is the worst way to use it.

Source: GOV.UK — pay for UK healthcare

NHS dentistry is the gap the surcharge does not fill.

Access to an NHS dentist is genuinely difficult across the UK, and Greater Manchester is no exception, with many practices closed to new NHS patients. The surcharge does not change that. Start looking in your first month rather than when you have toothache, and budget for private treatment as a realistic fallback.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Not registering with a GP until you are ill.
Paying per item for prescriptions when a prepayment certificate would cost less.
Assuming Scotland's free prescriptions apply in England — they do not.
Going to A&E for something NHS 111 would have handled.
Assuming the surcharge covers dentistry — NHS dental access is separately difficult.

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