Visa
To enter the United Kingdom, you will just need a U.S. passport and you’re good to stay for at least six months. In addition, your Study Abroad Advisor will also provide you two immigration letters to prove that you are entering the U.K. as a student visitor. However, if you are planning to complete an internship or look for jobs while abroad, you will need to sign up for a Tier 4 visa that comes with a $400 fee. Flight I used the website called studentuniverse.com to book my flight, and it saved me about $500. You will just need to sign up with your EDU e-mail and you would be able to take advantage of the discounted flights. I was advised to book a round-trip ticket to avoid any further questions once I reach the airport in London. I would also recommend booking your flight ahead of time to save yourself a few hundred dollars. Preparation With just FIVE days left on the island, I have been feeling a lot of mixed emotions lately. It did not quite hit me that I will be leaving soon until I left my job a few days ago. Since then, I have been pretty much occupied with pre-departure work, running errands, meetings, and enjoying as much time as possible on this beautiful island with loved ones. I have not gotten around packing just yet; however, I would still recommend packing as early as possible. One thing you might want to make sure to pack is at least one towel, as you might want to hit the shower right away from a lot of traveling. I will be traveling for a total of 26 hours with the layover duration included - it personally doesn't sound very fun to me, but I know it will all be worth it once I reach London! We were advised to order some British Pounds to hold us over for the first week or two abroad. You can find a better exchange rate at airports or in the country you're visiting, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. For my financial method, I decided to just use my credit union's debit card that has just 0.9% international fee per transaction. This is actually helpful, as I have heard of 3% and 5% fees from other financial institutions. However, I have other fellow scholars who were able to open a Hawaiian miles card that does not carry any transaction fees, but does have an annual fee. Lastly, I also advise to inform your bank regarding your travel plans and the duration of your stay.
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