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United Kingdom · Relocation guide

Your first 90 days in the UK: work, home, healthcare and paperwork

Start with immigration evidence and a safe base, then make work, money and local services function. The 90-day structure is an organising tool, not a residence allowance or blanket legal deadline.

Content updated 11 September 2026. Individual source-check dates are listed below.

Week one: establish your base

Keep the approval and entry evidence accessible. Complete the employer’s immigration check before working and confirm where wages can be paid. An outstanding National Insurance application does not by itself stop a job if you can prove the right to work.

Check the accommodation agreement and required identity evidence. Ask the bank about temporary-address documents. In England, begin GP registration without waiting for address paperwork; use the appropriate service in the other UK nations.

Month one: make services reliable

Reconcile the first payslip, record travel and work days and identify any cross-border tax questions. Healthcare eligibility is not earned by making a first National Insurance payment; check the visa/IHS or other applicable entitlement.

Confirm the school place and any support required, arrange transport and use the correct overseas-licence checker. Keep records of the providers and authorities you have contacted so missing evidence can be followed up.

Months two and three: review costs and the next decision

Compare actual household spending against the budget, including bills outside the headline rent. Review any longer-term housing decision using the current local tenancy rules, not assumptions imported from another UK nation.

Before a job, course or family change, check whether immigration permission must be updated. Preserve residence and absence evidence for the next application. Use this review to correct the plan rather than assume all future rights follow from the initial approval.

Your moving checklist

Tick off the tasks that apply to you. The timing is a planning order, not a substitute for the deadlines on your permission or an official instruction.

0 of 15 tasks completed

Before you move
On arrival
Your first month
Later and before renewal

Sources and checks

The linked authorities set the rules. VisaAtlas explains how the steps fit together; planning suggestions are not a decision on your immigration status, tax residence or entitlement to services.

Plan your next step