Checklist - you’ll need these before you go abroad
• Passport
• A copy of your birth certificate (if needed)
• Driving licence*
• Visa (if necessary)
• E128 form (if travelling to EU country)
• Enough of the local currency to keep you going for the first few days, funds for the first month’s rent and deposit.
• Given details of source of emergency funds in UK to International Office
• Proof of student status
• Spare passport sized photos
• All correspondence from/to your employer
• Contract of Employment if you have it
• Important phone numbers & addresses (employer, accommodation etc)
• International Student Card (for Europe)
• Insurance Policy
• Medical and dental check ups
• Medication, insect repellent, malaria tablets etc, if needed
• Travel documents
• Guide book
* Up-to-date information on International Driving Permits can be obtained from RAC Travel Processing, PO Box 1500, Bristol BS99 2LH. Tel. 0800 550055. It takes 2 weeks to obtain an international driver’s licence and costs £4.00 with a passport sized photo.
Questions – to ask your work placement provider
Some agencies are reliable and trustworthy, however some are not. It’s worth taking some precautions to ensure your safety before you depart.
- Details of travel arrangements
- Is yout ticket transferable, if you need to return early
- Your accommodation address
- The standard of your accommodation
- If staying with a family – have they been paid (or paid enough), why are they having you to stay
- Distance to the nearest town
- Distance to your employer
- Safety – is there a British embassy, is is safe for a single student. Check Foreign Office or call 0845 850 2829
- Salary – how much, when – weekly, monthly, in arrears
- Working hours and spare time
- If teaching – who, how many, age group, support materials given or not supplied
- Agency insurance – type, sickness repatriation, personal injury, has a copy of the policy been given to you
- Agency induction or briefing – is one offered. Is any training given for your job.
- Agency representative – is an English-speaking rep available
- Check the agency at Companies House or The Charities Commission
- Organisational values – if you’re paying, where does your money go? Who is the organisation benefiting? Are the local interests being served?
- Get everything in writing
- Speak to someone who has worked with the organisation (Tip: check out this blog)
- If in doubt, ask the Careers Service
(adapted from AGCAS)
