Consider this a 'To Do' list for getting started in Cambridge.
Some IoA postdocs are here on a `general tier 2' visa. If you are funded by a research grant that is approved by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), you can apply for a Global Talent Visa. You cannot apply for your visa until you have a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) or Endorsement (in the case of the GTV), and this will not be issued more than 3 months prior to the expected start date of your appointment. Make sure the University is prepared to issue your CoS as early as it can -- if you do not receive it 3 months before you would start, contact Ashley Worman. The visa application is annoying but straightforward, and much of the needed administrative info will be on your CoS; again, contact Ashley if you didn't get a copy of this.
If you are applying from the US or Canada, you will have to send your passport to New York City as part of the application -- make sure that you don't need to travel abroad during the application process!
Similarly for other countries you may have to relinquish your passport during the application process.
In addition to your passport, you'll also need to provide 2 passport photos (make sure you aren't smiling!).
The University of Cambridge is an A-rated visa sponsor, and so you shouldn't need to demonstrate that you have sufficient funds to support yourself for your first month in the UK. (The current definition of 'sufficient funds', as of 19 August 2016, is £945 in savings). However you do have to provide a letter from the University (called a maintenance letter) in lieu of that, which Ashley can provide.
At some point the UK will ask you to enroll your 'biometric information' at a processing centre (if you are applying from within the UK for tier 2 extensions, this can be done at a Post Office Plus). This includes taking your fingerprints, a digital photo, and a signature.
UK visas are expensive. Expect to spend ~ £600 on the process (including certified mailings, etc). There is also a healthcare (NHS) surcharge, which is £1035 per year of the visa (as of 4 October 2023). So a typical 3-year post would actually be ~£3700/person for visa expenses.
It varies between funding grants whether or not your visa costs will be covered by the grant or not. If your grant doesn't cover visa costs the IoA may be able to help. Make sure you check with your PI.
The policy is that the visa costs of the postdoc only are covered. The visa costs of family members are not covered. The draft policy of the IoA can be found at this link (IoA unreserved policy on visa costs) but you need your Raven Login to view it.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) allows grants to pay for visa expenses; see their policy here.
If a foreigner is/has acquired their first (entry) UK visa, which is embossed in their passport, and they are first arriving in England through a connecting flight through Ireland, there is a potential issue because of the special relationship between Ireland and the UK: they can reach the UK without having their entry visa checked and stamped. This leniency causes issues later, so try not to let this happen (when passing through passport control in Ireland, open the passport up to your visa page and inquire if it should be stamped).
If you have children you will need to get them registered for pre-school and school as soon as possible. See this section on the For Families page for details and links.
** Colin, and ask Fabio**
The closest airport to Cambridge is Stansted, which is a very convenient 30 minute train ride away; there is also a regular bus service.
The next best options are Gatwick, Heathrow, and Luton. If you are arriving with lots of luggage, you might want to take a bus service from these airports to Cambridge.
If arriving into Gatwick, there is a direct Thameslink train to Cambridge, which takes ~2 hours.
If arriving into Heathrow you also have two options by train:
Take the (~expensive) Heathrow express to Paddington, then take the tube (with all of your bags!) to Kings Cross to get the train to Cambridge; note that there is a bit of a walk from the Heathrow express stop in Paddington to the tube lines.
Take the Piccadilly tube line (with all of your bags!) directly to Kings Cross to catch the train to Cambridge.
If arriving into Luton you have one train option;
Take shuttle from Luton Airport to Luton Airport Parkway, then take the train to London Kings Cross. From there take the train to Cambridge.
The bus service to all of these airports is the National Express. Buses leave often and regularly for each and are an inexpensive alternative. However be prepared for delays, and leave plenty of time to check in.
If you have more to bring to Cambridge than you can carry there are options for shipping. Ask the IoA support staff in the first instance about companies to try.
We'll try to get some stories from postdocs in this section as well.
You can be reimbursed for travel expenses (ie, the plane, train, car you took to get to Cambridge), shipping expenses, temporary accommodation when you arrive in Cambridge and -- in some cases, ask beforehand -- your visa. Make sure you keep all of your receipts, and submit your claim to Sue Leatherbarrow as soon as you have your travel expenses sorted.
There is University-managed accommodation available in Cambridge (see first link below) that, initially, may be more appealing as it is under the University 'umbrella'. For instance, there is a Postdoc-specific complex near to the IoA on Charles Babbage Road, which is fondly referred to as 'the postdoc prison'. Don't be put off by the name -- it's a modern complex with good facilities.
Here are several websites that you can use to find all types of accommodation:
Cambridge University Accommodation Service is a great place to start looking (http://www.accommodation.cam.ac.uk/). You'll need to create an account, which gets verified and then you'll be able to search for accommodation within Cambridge. You can register for the Accommodation Service before arriving in Cambridge; a University Raven login is not required.
RightMove is one of the most popular sites in the UK for finding a place to live, http://www.rightmove.co.uk/.
Gumtree is another place to look for accommodation offered by private landlords, rather than agencies (which can be expensive). https://www.gumtree.com/flats-and-houses-for-rent/cambridge.
The Cambridge Accommodation Notice Board is a locally run and free website to search for accommodation, http://www.brettward.co.uk/canb/
SpareRoom is a useful place to check if you're looking for a room in a share house: http://www.spareroom.co.uk/
Some useful things to be aware of are:
Agencies: If you are considering going through an agency, be aware that there can be very steep fees just to apply for a place, along with other moving in/out administration fees.
Council Tax: When looking at descriptions of places online, note the 'Council Tax Band'. This band indicates how much you will have to pay in taxes (in addition to rent and other bills). You can find the current tax rates for the Cambridge county council here: https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/council-tax-bands-and-charges.
Tenancy Laws: There are certain tenancy agreement laws that agents have to abide by, along with deposit protection schemes. You can read all about them here: http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice.
This can take some time and different banks require different documents, so take a deep breath and get stuck in. The IoA will supply whatever you need so don't worry.
The official university bank is Barclays (Cambridge map), but you can choose any bank you like. The main ones are HSBC, Lloyds, Santander, and Halifax. The UK also has 'building societies', which you can read about here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_society.
The documents you need to bring with you to open an account vary between banks, and even between employees from the same bank. It's best to bring every document you can think of to save time, such as:
Passport (with visa)
Signed employment contract
Letter of offer
Proof of address -- If you are staying at the IoA accommodation you may be able to get a letter from the IoA as proof of address. Speak with Ashley Worman.
Special letter from the IoA -- For Barclays and HSBC Ashley Worman can provide you with a letter that will suffice.
National Insurance Number -- may be needed for Lloyds Bank (the special letter for Barclays/HSBC negates the need for the NIN for those banks) and will be needed if you decide to supervise.
You will most likely need to make an appointment (certainly for Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds). There can be some delay in getting an appointment, especially at the start of the academic year so shop around if you don't mind which bank you sign up with.
It is worth trying just walking in without an appointment (but with your documents) as you may be lucky and find someone who will sort out a bank account for you there and then.
Asking them to call you if they have a cancellation is also a good idea.
The experience of opening a bank account varies greatly from bank to bank, and between the employees you may speak to at the bank. If one bank isn't moving fast enough try another.
Here are some experiences recounted by IoA postdocs for various banks:
"Lloyd's bank requires the National Insurance Number, which one cannot get before at least a month into coming here. (Not knowing this made me wait a couple of weeks for an appointment, then I realised that I waited in vain since the NIN wasn't mentioned as a requirement when I booked). Barclays, for example, does not require such thing so it's a much simpler procedure to open a Barclays account. I think it also applies to HSBC but it takes forever to get an appointment there so I chose Barclays."
"Funnily enough, my experience with HSBC and Barclays was the exact reverse -- I couldn't get an appointment with Barclays for ages, but HSBC saw me right away (and were about as simple as the above Barclays experience was). HSBC had a form letter that they needed signed (which the IoA administrator did), so that I could open an account without an address or an NIN."
"Interesting. I didn't have that experience with Lloyds. I just showed up with a letter from the IoA and that was enough for me (a USA citizen) and my wife (a South Korean citizen)."
"Adding info about Santander. I don't know if it changed from 3 years ago but they require for the applicant to have lived in UK for at least one year. I have HSBC, just went there with the IoA letter and that was it."
"I had a similar experience (in autumn of 2015) with Santander..., though I believe they told me I would have to have lived in the UK for at least 6 months to open an account, rather than 1 year."
In summary, be prepared for some back and forth to get the documents in order, but if a bank isn't happy with the letter from the IoA (most seem to be) or is taking too long then try another bank.This is clearly important and requires a variety of documents and letters to tick the various boxes the banks require. We've put detailed information in the Money & Travel Section called Getting a bank account. Read through this to get an idea of how it goes, and pitfalls to avoid.
Here are some useful mailing lists to join that will let you know about IoA postdoc events, as well as a large range of University-wide activities. These groups have been established to help Postdocs have the best experience possible while living and working in Cambridge. There is a lot of information and a lot of resources available so take advantage of these as much as possible and soon as possible.
To join the University mailing lists you need to have your Raven account, which you will receive when you start work. Your Raven account is your University profile which gives you access to the University system. It is separate to your IoA access (see Computing).
This is the main list for the IoA postdocs for emails regarding social events, general queries and information gathering specifically for the Postdocs. The email address is ast-postdoc-all@lists.cam.ac.uk.
To subscribe go to the following page, login via Raven and click 'subscribe': https://lists.cam.ac.uk/sympa/info/ast-postdoc-all
This is a University-wide postdoc-led society which provides a voice for postdoc concerns back to the University. They organise a range of work, career and social events, which are a great way to meet people from other disciplines. Their website has a lot of useful information for postdocs and instructions for signing up for emails. http://www.pdoc.cam.ac.uk/
PdOC circulate a weekly digest via their mailing list with upcoming events: movie and game nights, professional development opportunities, advertisements for college affiliations.
This is a recently-created department of the University tasked with looking after all postdocs within the University. The Office works with the Postdoc Society and Newcomers & Visiting Scholars to provide information, events and advice for Postdocs at all stages of their experience in Cambridge. See their website for more information and where to sign up for emails: http://www.opda.cam.ac.uk/
This is University-led programme to help integrate new researchers and, in particular, their partners and families. Information to sign up for emails is on their website, http://www.nvs.admin.cam.ac.uk/
When you arrive you will receive an induction pack from Ashley Worman or Joy McSharry. This has all the information about getting set up in IT for the IoA and the University, for payroll and HR with the University, and for the UK tax department. Complete these as soon as possible and return them to Ashley.
As part of your induction, you will be required to complete online Equality & Diversity training. You'll need your Raven login to access the training course -- details will be provided in your induction pack.
When you arrive, make sure you ask for your University Card (Amanda Smith will take your picture for this). This card gets you free access to the Colleges, discounts on some bus fares and discounted punts, amongst other things.
You'll need to get a National Insurance Number as part of your employment. Call to make an appointment at the Job Center Plus (on Chesterton Lane, right across from the Jesus Bridge). They'll ask you a few questions then mail you the NIN in a few weeks.
You can begin work without a NIN, but as soon as you receive one you should pass it on to Ashley Worman or Joy McSharry.
If you need medical attention, go and get it -- it is almost completely free, except for drug prescriptions, dentists, and... wigs. There is a flat fee of £9.65 (as of 1 September 2023) for each prescription that is picked up, regardless of the drug. The local hospital is Addenbrookes, http://www.cuh.org.uk/addenbrookes-hospital, where the accident and emergency centre is. It's an excellent hospital, mainly due to it being a University research hospital.
Register with a doctor: In the UK, medical doctors are called "GPs" (General Practitioners) and the medical centre in which one works is called a "surgery". Go to your local GP's surgery and ask to be registered. The surgery must indeed be local -- within the "catchment" area of your home. Type your postcode in to the field on this website to find the surgeries closest to your home.
Register with a dentist: Try and register with your local dentist -- not all of them will be accepting new NHS patients. NHS dental treatment is not free, but is significantly discounted. Current prices for NHS treatment are listed here.