Aberdeen is a small city at the top of Scotland with two universities and an airport fifteen minutes from the middle of it. Here is what to sort before you fly and in your first week.
Before you travel
Your eVisa. Physical immigration documents are gone — gov.uk's wording is that eVisas "have replaced physical immigration documents". An eVisa is a digital record of your status and what it permits.
Two things follow from that, and both are done before you fly. You need a UKVI account to see your eVisa at all. And you must add your passport or travel document to it: gov.uk says you can travel with your eVisa once those details are added. Do it early enough that a problem is still fixable. eVisas on gov.uk.
You can also generate a share code from the same account to prove your status — useful for a job or a tenancy once you are here.
You do not need to register with the police. That requirement is gone: "The police registration scheme ended on 4 August 2022", and it applies even to people who were told to register before it ended. gov.uk.
Bring a way to pay before your bank account opens. A UK account takes time to arrange and you will need money from day one. A prepaid or multi-currency card covers the gap.
Getting here
Most people connect through a larger airport and fly the last leg into Aberdeen. From the terminal, the Stagecoach 727 Jet is the official airport bus: it leaves from stance 1 directly outside the main terminal building, every 15 minutes, and runs into the city, stopping at Union Square bus station and on Union Street. Aberdeen Airport on the 727.
With a year's luggage, a taxi from the terminal is worth it. You will be tired and it is not a long drive.
By rail, Aberdeen station is on the east coast main line with direct trains from London, and it is seventeen minutes' walk from ABeleven — or a short taxi with bags.
Your first week
Agree your arrival time before you travel. Tell the team when you are landing so your keys are ready when you get here rather than the next morning.
Tell us when you are arrivingEnrol with your university and go to any immigration check they ask for. Your funding and your student card both depend on it.
Register with a GP. NHS inform's advice to students is to register with a GP practice and a dentist "as soon as you can", and not to wait "until you feel ill or are in pain". Bring your passport and a letter from your university — practices often ask. NHS inform: student health.
Open a bank account. Both universities issue the bank letter you will be asked for, after you have registered. Expect to start with a basic account until you have a UK credit history.
Get a UK SIM. Cheaper than roaming, and you need a UK number for the bank.
If you are 21 or under, apply for free bus travel. Every bus in Scotland, at no cost, with a National Entitlement Card — see the getting to university guide.
The weather, honestly
Aberdeen is on the North Sea at 57 degrees north. Winters are cold and the days are genuinely short — dark by mid-afternoon in December — and summer evenings run very late in return. It is windier than most of the UK and wetter than you would like, though less than Scotland's reputation suggests.
What that means practically: a proper winter coat, a waterproof that actually works, and layers. Buy the coat before you come if you can, because the first week is not when you want to be shopping for one.
What is already dealt with here
Your room is furnished and every utility bill, the internet and contents insurance are included, so there is no energy account to open in a language and a system you have just arrived in. There is a laundry, a gym and a common room in the building.
See what is availableIf you are arriving for one semester rather than a full year, the exchange and Erasmus guide covers the visa side, and the January 2027 guide has the dates for a mid-year start.