Get a local SIM card – ideally on the same day you land
As soon as you land, you should be able to communicate – with your family back home, your university and your accommodation provider. Various SIM card providers have booths at airports, so you could buy one directly at the airport itself. However, it might be more expensive than usual, so you could also wait until you've reached the city center to get one for its standard price. Make sure to bring a SIM card removal tool in your bag so that you can insert your new SIM into your phone as soon as you can get it.
Then, you should update your phone number on the apps you regularly use to communicate, such as WhatsApp. Websites and apps you use will likely show you their rules and regulations page again because these change from country to country. These apps should be available in nearly all countries. However, a few countries have banned specific apps. If you are an incoming international student in China, Russia, India, Iran or Turkey, it's best to download a VPN prior to your flight. Once you are already in China, for instance, you won't be able to download a VPN – and you won't be able to contact your family via apps like Messenger and WhatsApp. On the other hand, if you have a pre-installed VPN, you can simply turn it on and access all your usual apps and websites.
Complete your onsite enrolment and, if necessary, get your long-term student visa
You must probably have already completed most of your enrollment online before moving. Once you land in the country, there likely are a few enrollment steps left to complete. Your university will have sent you an email about the remaining steps to be completed on campus. If they didn't send such an email, do visit the campus within your first few days to enquire about these steps. These are generally steps that require things that would be impossible to obtain remotely, such as handwritten signatures and the border/entry stamp in your passport.
Once you're fully enrolled, you should receive your Student ID Card. It will not only give you access to the campus and its services (library, gym, subsidized canteen, etc.), but it will also give you city-wide and country-wide student discounts. You will have to present it to get discounted cinema and theater tickets, for instance. There are apps that list all of these discounts. UNiDAYS is a popular one that is available to anyone studying in the UK, US, Australia, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. These discounts can save you a lot of money if you need to fork out on unexpected expenses, such as on a new laptop if yours (on which you write your assignments!) stops working.
If you can, attend induction or orientation events. Not only will these give you useful information about your course (concerning assignment formats and deadlines, library services, etc.), but they will provide you with tips about getting around the city, finding part-time work, making new friends, seeking legal and psychological help, and improving your language skills. It's also an opportunity to feel comfortable around your lecturers and classmates before your classes even start.
In most countries, the student visa you receive before traveling is the only one you'll need. However, in a few countries, that first visa is a temporary one for the sake of entering the country. Once in the country, you need to extend it or get a more long-term student visa. This is the case in the UK. You'll first be provided with a passport vignette or online share code. Within the first 10 days of entering the UK, you'll then need to fetch your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) from campus or from a designated post office. It looks like an ID card and will indeed function as your main form of identification during your studies. After getting your BRP, you don't need to carry your passport everywhere. You'll also need your BRP before being able to complete the final steps of your onsite enrolment at university.
Get a student travel card or pass
Once you have your Student ID Card, you can get a student travel card or pass. Of course, you could still buy a standard travel card before you complete your enrollment and have a Student ID Card, but it will be more expensive. Many international students buy one-trip fares during their first few days when they haven't completed their enrollment yet.
Some universities even have a deal with the local transport authorities for their students to not pay anything or pay a very small sum for commuting to campus. Or the university might have its own free shuttles. This is the case with Carnegie Mellon University in the US, which runs daily free shuttles across the city of Pittsburg for its students and staff.
In most places, however, you'll have to use a discounted student travel pass sold by the city's transport authority. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), for instance, offers a CA$128.15 monthly travel pass to post-secondary students; in comparison, working adults need to pay CA$156 for the same pass. It allows them to take the subway, streetcar and bus as much as they want without needing to worry about spending money each time. In some cities, this kind of pass is unfortunately limited to students under 26. That is the case with Madrid's student travel card – which is only €20 per month. Older graduate and non-traditional students need to pay full adult fares.
You will likely also be eligible for discounted student fares on long-distance trains and flights. Air Canada, for instance, offers a Student Flight Pass that acts as a cost-effective package for multiple trips between two Canadian cities or even between a Canadian city and an international one. For instance, it has a 4-flight student package for trips between Eastern Canada and North Africa, which can be bought for CA$2,596.
In the UK, international students between 16 and 25 can buy a £30 railcard that will let them buy train tickets across the country for ⅓ their regular price. Older students can also possibly get this card, but if they fill in the Mature Student Application Form on the 16-25 Railcard website and include the signature of a person of authority at their university (e.g., a professor's signature). It's best to start these procedures in your first month abroad. This way, by the second month, you'll be able to enjoy affordable trips across the country that will make your international student experience more enriching.
Buy clothes and electronic devices adapted to the country
If you are studying in a country with a very different climate from your home country's climate, you might not have found suitable clothes back home to bring in your suitcase. Within your first few weeks in your new city, you should try to buy these. This is often the case for students from warmer Asian and African countries who move to the colder climes of Europe, the US and Canada. The aforementioned student discount apps often include clothing stores from which you can get affordable winter coats. Don't forget to also get tights, thicker socks, mittens and beanies/wool hats.
You might also need to buy new electronic devices suited to the country. You might have already brought a travel adapter in your suitcase, but it might be useful to buy one that fits directly into the local plugs and is certified by the local authorities (this will reduce the risk of fires). In some countries, buying a phone from a local brand or at least a popular brand might also make your life easier. For instance, in China, having a phone from a Chinese brand will make it easier to install a local SIM card and local apps on it. If you are studying in the US, you might consider buying a MacBook there – they are often more affordable in the States than in stores in other countries.
If necessary, register at a healthcare center
To study abroad in most countries, you need to have private health insurance. There are some exceptions. The UK, for instance, requires international students to pay a surcharge to be able to use their public healthcare system (the NHS) in lieu of asking for proof of private insurance.
You should check where in the country your insurance is accepted. It might be accepted anywhere, or it might be accepted only at certain hospitals, clinics and private practices. Locate those that accept your insurance and aren't too far from your dorm or campus. Some universities, especially in North America, have a small health center attached to their campus where you can get basic first-aid, minor treatments (e.g., for a cough or sprain), laboratory tests and X-rays. However, they'll refer you to an off-campus hospital or doctor for more complex treatment or specialist consultations.
As the UK requires international students to pay for the NHS as part of their visa application, international students there have an important step to complete within their first few weeks in the country: registering with a GP. It's their responsibility to look for an NHS-registered GP in their postcode area and register with them. This will then be the person they go to whenever they fall sick or need a prescription, even for medication they were already taking before they went to study abroad. On the website of the NHS, you can enter your postcode to look for GPs in your area and see if they're accepting new patients.
Open an international student bank account
You must have brought an international visa card as well as some cash in the local currency to get by during your first few weeks. However, using a card issued in another country will make you rack up high transfer, currency exchange and ATM fees over the long run. So it's best to also open a local international student bank account, especially if you will be studying in this country for multiple years.
Such an account is necessary if you plan on working part-time during your studies – your employer will want to debit your salary to a local account, and the local tax authorities will also prefer dealing with a local account. A local account will also help you build a credit score in the country from your student days, which will help you access things like housing loans if you decide to remain there to work after you graduate.
For your international student account, choose a bank that is widely present internationally – especially in your home country. This way, it won't be difficult to perform transactions from back home when you're back there during semester breaks. For instance, if you're a South American student, it will make sense to open a Santander account in Europe – because this Spanish bank has branches across South America. Barclays and HSBC are also good options because they have branches in multiple countries. Also, choose a bank that waives administrative fees for students and, if you don't have much savings, one that doesn't have a high initial deposit requirement.
