How to Prepare for Your Chevening Year

How to prepare for your Chevening year is something every new Chevening Scholar needs to understand well before travelling, since getting selected is only the beginning. Between receiving your award and stepping onto UK soil, there’s a real checklist to work through: understanding the scholarship rules, applying for your visa, planning your finances, arranging accommodation, and preparing for daily life in the UK. Your Chevening year moves quickly once it starts — the more you’ve handled before you arrive, the easier it is to settle in and actually focus on the experience itself. This guide covers what to do before you travel, right after you arrive, and throughout your year, based directly on Chevening’s own scholar support guidance.

Must-Read: Top UK Scholarships for International Students

Read and Understand All Chevening Policies

Accepting a Chevening award means agreeing to follow its rules, as set out in Chevening’s official Terms and Conditions. Breaching them carries real consequences — Chevening can stop your stipend payments, remove you from the programme, or require you to repay the scholarship entirely. After you arrive, you’ll also be required to complete mandatory online training covering equality, diversity and inclusion, and consent on campus. Skipping this training or ignoring Chevening’s policies can directly affect your scholarship status, so treat it as a genuine requirement, not a formality.

Prepare Your Student Visa Early

You must apply for your own visa — Chevening cannot do this on your behalf. The good news: your visa fee and Immigration Health Surcharge are already covered, confirmed directly on Chevening’s visa guidance page, so you won’t pay those costs yourself.

Before applying, you’ll need two documents, and you cannot apply without both:

1. Your Final Award Letter (FAL) from Chevening, typically issued by August
2. Your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from your university

Check If You Need a TB Test

Some countries require a tuberculosis test before a UK student visa application can proceed. If this applies to you:

• The test must be completed at a UKVI-approved clinic — see GOV.UK’s list of approved clinics
• Your certificate is valid for six months from the test date
• Book it early — testing can take real time, especially if results are initially inconclusive

If your certificate expires before you submit your visa application, you’ll need to repeat the test. Chevening’s own Terms and Conditions confirm a contribution of up to £75 toward TB testing costs where required, reimbursed after you arrive in the UK.

Find Out If Your Course Needs ATAS Clearance

The Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) applies to some science, engineering, and technology programmes. Ask your university directly whether your course requires it.

If you do need ATAS clearance, confirmed via Chevening’s own visa guidance:

• Apply as soon as you receive your university offer
• Processing can take six weeks or longer
• The certificate is valid for six months
• There is no charge for ATAS clearance

Make Sure Your Passport Is Valid

Your passport needs to remain valid for your entire period of study. If it will expire during your scholarship year, renew it before applying for your visa — an expiring passport mid-course can create real complications with your visa or travel documents later.

Plan Your Travel to the UK

Once your Final Award Letter arrives, your Programme Officer sends instructions for booking your flight. If your scholarship includes return travel, Chevening arranges it through their travel agency, under a specific policy:

• Economy class only
• One-way travel to the UK
• Travel from the nearest airport in your home country to the nearest airport to your university
• No stopovers in other countries

Extra baggage isn’t covered — if you need additional luggage allowance, that cost is yours to cover.

Arrive at the Right Time

Scholars typically arrive one to two weeks before their course begins, but not before the start date listed on your visa. When planning your arrival, weigh your visa start date, your accommodation start date, and your course start date together — if your course begins September 20, arriving around September 10–12 gives you time to settle in without arriving too early.

Keep Key Documents in Your Hand Luggage

You’ll pass through immigration before collecting your checked luggage, so carry these in your hand luggage, not your checked bag:

• Your passport
• Your visa
• Your Final Award Letter

Missing these at immigration can cause real delays.

Bring Enough Cash for Your First Few Days

Chevening recommends bringing around £200 for your first few days, covering food, transport, a SIM card, and small essentials for your accommodation. Your stipend is calculated from your course start date, not your arrival date — so your first payment may not land immediately, and that £200 buffer matters more than it might seem.

Start Looking for Accommodation Early

Finding accommodation is entirely your own responsibility, and it’s worth starting the moment your Final Award Letter arrives, since spaces — especially university accommodation — fill quickly.

University accommodation tends to be simpler: bills are often included, it’s close to campus, and it’s frequently easier to navigate as an international student.

Private accommodation requires more diligence. Research the area, check transport links, confirm whether bills are included, and read the contract carefully before committing.

One safety note worth taking seriously: never transfer money before you’ve actually seen the room or confirmed the listing is real. Fake accommodation offers are a well-documented way international students lose money before they’ve even arrived.

Understand the Right to Rent Rule

If you’re renting privately in England specifically, you’ll need to prove your right to rent through a share code generated via your UKVI account, which your landlord uses to verify your immigration status. This rule applies in England only — not Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.

Open a UK Bank Account Quickly

Chevening may issue a temporary cash card for your first payments, but this isn’t a long-term solution. Open a UK bank account within your first few weeks — if you haven’t done so by the end of October, your future stipend payments risk being delayed.

Plan Your Money Carefully

Your stipend is meant to cover accommodation, food, transport, phone bills, daily living costs, and study materials. Scholars based in London receive a higher stipend, reflecting the city’s higher cost of living. Build a simple monthly budget covering rent, groceries, transport, savings, and a buffer for emergency expenses — this is what prevents overspending in your first few months, when everything feels new and costs aren’t yet familiar.

Be Careful About Extra Scholarships or Income

Chevening expects your studies to remain your main focus, and you cannot accept another public scholarship during your Chevening year, per Chevening’s Terms and Conditions. Receiving a large amount of additional funding can lead Chevening to reduce or withdraw your award. Support that isn’t already covered by Chevening — a former employer continuing your salary while you study, for instance — may still be permitted.

Understand How UK Universities Work

UK academic culture differs meaningfully from many other systems, built around independent learning, critical thinking, discussion, and research rather than passive lecture attendance. Expect to read outside class, complete projects independently, participate actively in seminars, and both write essays and give presentations regularly. Lecturers may genuinely expect you to challenge an idea respectfully and explain your own view — this can feel unfamiliar if you’re coming from a system built more around listening than discussing.

Use University Support Services

Nearly every UK university offers study skills classes, writing support, tutors, student unions, and mental health support. Use these resources before you’re struggling badly, not after — if UK academic essay writing feels unfamiliar, ask your university’s study support team early rather than working it out alone under deadline pressure.

Know the Rules About Working in the UK

Most Chevening scholars hold a student visa allowing limited work, confirmed on GOV.UK’s student visa guidance: up to 20 hours per week during term time, full-time during official university holidays. Make sure any work doesn’t interfere with your studies, follow your visa conditions precisely, and get approval from your Programme Officer where needed — a job that causes you to miss classes or assignments risks creating problems with both your university and your scholarship status.

Register With a Doctor After You Arrive

Register with a GP as soon as possible after arriving — your local doctor for most health needs. Since your Immigration Health Surcharge is already paid, the NHS covers many services directly. Two numbers worth knowing immediately: 999 for emergencies, 111 for urgent but non-emergency health advice. You may still need to pay separately for dental treatment, eye care, and prescription medicine in England, which is why some scholars choose additional medical insurance.

Inform Chevening If You Become Seriously Unwell

If you’re unwell for more than five days, inform your Programme Officer, and speak to your university directly if illness affects your coursework or exams. Most universities have established procedures to support students dealing with illness.

Make the Most of the Chevening Community

Throughout your year, you’ll have access to academic events, networking events, cultural activities, and leadership opportunities. Take part in as many as you genuinely can — you’ll be alongside future business leaders, government officials, researchers, and scholars from dozens of other countries, and these connections often matter well beyond your scholarship year itself.

Prepare Early for the End of Your Scholarship

Your Chevening year passes quickly, and the end requires its own checklist:

1. Complete the Chevening departure survey
2. Inform your landlord
3. Pay any outstanding bills
4. Arrange how to send your belongings home
5. Collect references from professors or employers while they still remember your work clearly
6. Leave a forwarding address

Forgetting something as simple as closing your bank account or paying a final electricity bill can create real problems after you’ve already left the UK.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Chevening pay for my UK student visa?

Yes. Your visa fee and Immigration Health Surcharge are covered by Chevening, so you don’t pay these costs yourself.

How much does Chevening contribute toward a TB test?

Up to £75, where a TB test is required for your visa application, reimbursed after you arrive in the UK.

Can I accept another scholarship while on Chevening?

No. You cannot accept another public scholarship during your Chevening year. Accepting significant additional funding can lead Chevening to reduce or withdraw your award.

How many hours can I work during my Chevening year?

Up to 20 hours per week during term time, and full-time during official university holidays — the same limit that applies to standard UK student visas.

What happens if I don’t open a UK bank account quickly enough?

If you haven’t opened one by the end of October, your future stipend payments risk being delayed, since Chevening’s temporary cash card isn’t intended as a long-term solution.

Disclaimer: Chevening scholar policies, visa requirements, and financial details in this guide were verified directly against Chevening’s official resource hub and Terms and Conditions as of mid-2026. Requirements can change between cycles — always confirm current policy directly with your Chevening Programme Officer or on chevening.org.