Moving to the UK from India: A starter guide (2023)

Planning or considering a move to the UK from India? There are lots of reasons why the UK is an attractive prospect for Indian expats, including high standards of healthcare and education, and an established South Asian community.

But there’s a lot to think about when moving to a new country, including visas, bank accounts, and finding somewhere to live.

Whether you’ll be joining your family, starting a business or taking up skilled work, we’re here to help you plan your move. We’ve put together a helpful starter guide for people moving to the UK from India, covering everything you need to know.

This includes a handy tip for managing your money between India and the UK. Open a Wise multi-currency account and you can send, spend, receive and convert between British pounds (GBP) and Indian rupees whenever you need to.

There’s even an international debit card for spending in GBP from the moment you land in the UK.

But more on that later. For now, let’s focus on the essential things you need to know about moving to the UK from India.

Living in the UK - key facts

First up, some handy at-a-glance facts to know about the UK if you’re considering moving there:

• Currency - Pound sterling (GBP)
• Main languages - English
• Number of Indian expats in the UK - approx. 920,000¹
• Most popular regions for Indian expats - London, West Midlands and the South East².

Getting a UK visa

One of the most complicated, time-consuming and costly parts of moving to a new country is getting the right visa. You need to identify the right visa for your circumstances, check that you’re eligible and make sure you have all the right paperwork ready. Next comes the application process, and waiting for your visa decision to come through.

So, what are your UK visa options as an Indian national? You’ll find full visa information on the UK Government’s website.

But let’s run through some of the main visas you may be able to apply for, including details of eligibility, visa duration and fees.

Skilled Worker visa³

To be eligible for a Skilled Worker visa, you must have a confirmed job offer from an employer approved by the UK Home Office. You’ll also need to be doing a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations.

Other key requirements include:

• A ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from your employer in the UK
• Proof of your knowledge of written and spoken English
• Be paid a minimum salary (which depends on the type of work you’ll be doing).

The Skilled Worker visa costs between £625 to £1,423⁴, depending on your circumstances. There’s also a healthcare surcharge of around £624⁴ to pay, so that you can access NHS healthcare services.

If your application is successful, you can stay in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa for up to 5 years. You can also bring your partner and any children with you as dependents, if they’re eligible. Here are more details on how you can apply for the UK Skilled Worker Visa from India and how to track your UK visa application from India.

You may also want to explore other options like - can you move to the UK without a job from India.

Family visa⁵

If you’re moving to the UK to be with your partner, children or family for more than 6 months, you may be able to apply for a UK Family visa.

To be eligible, your partner will need to be a British citizen and have ‘indefinite leave to remain’ in the UK.

The fees for this visa are quite high, starting from £1,538⁶ if applying from outside the UK.

Ancestry visa⁷

The UK Ancestry visa is designed for citizens of Commonwealth countries, which includes India.

You can apply if you can prove that one of your grandparents was born in the UK, and you meet the other eligibility requirements. The fee to apply for this visa is £531. If successful, you can stay for up to 5 years at a time.

Startup or Innovator visa

This visa category is ideal if you don’t have a UK job offer, but are interested in starting a new business in the UK. If so, you may be eligible for either a Startup visa or an Innovator visa. Here are some details for each:

• Startup visa⁸ - for people wanting to start a business for the first time, who have an innovative and unique business idea. The initial visa length is up to 2 years, and application fees start from £378⁹.

• Innovator visa⁸ - for experienced business owners, who have a unique business idea (assessed by an endorsing body) and at least £50,000 to invest. The initial visa length is up to 3 years, and after this time you can apply for permanent settled status. The application fee for this visa starts from £1,036¹⁰.

Study visa

Moving to the UK from India to study? If so, you may be able to apply for a study visa. There are a few different categories, including¹¹:

• Short-term Study visa - for studying on an English language course for up to 11 months
• Student visa - for further or higher education courses
• Child Student visa - for children aged 4-17 studying at an independent school.

Opening a UK bank account

With your visa application submitted, now it’s time to think about how you’ll manage your finances while in the UK.

It’s not absolutely essential to have a UK bank account, but you could find it very useful for paying bills and receiving income.

To open a UK bank account.), you’ll need to have a few key documents to hand. These include:

• Your passport or driving licence
• Proof of address - the requirements vary from bank to bank, but can include recent utility bills, council tax bills and tenancy agreement documents.

If you haven’t yet moved to the UK, you may not have proof of address yet. So, you may need to wait until you arrive to start the process of opening a bank account.

Another option is to consider opening an international account. These are designed specially for non-residents, and are often available from major UK banks such as Lloyds, Barclays, NatWest and HSBC.

You may even be able to find an Indian bank which has a presence in the UK, such as Bank of India or Punjab National Bank. They may be able to help you open your UK account ahead of your move.

The Wise multi-currency account - ideal for Indian expats moving to the UK

If you can’t open a UK bank account yet but need an account for GBP payments, check out an alternative e-money provider like Wise.

Open a Wise multi-currency account online and you’ll be able to manage your money in 50 currencies, including GBP and INR. You can send money over to the UK for low fees¹² and the mid-market exchange rate. This could be very handy for covering rental deposits and other initial costs to help your move go smoothly.

And after you’ve moved, you can continue using your Wise account. You can receive money from all over the world in multiple currencies, which is ideal if you’ll be supported by relatives in India. Or alternatively, if you want to move money between your accounts in different countries.

There’s even a Wise international debit card for spending in GBP from the moment you land. You can use it at the airport, on public transport, in restaurants, shops, supermarkets and wherever else Visa and Mastercard is accepted.

The Wise card automatically converts your money to the local currency whenever you spend, for just a small conversion fee¹² . Or if you already have the currency in your Wise account, there’s nothing to pay. So, there’s no need to change money or carry cash around with you.

¹² Please see the Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise fees & pricing for the most up-to-date information on pricing and fees

Finding somewhere to live in the UK

An important priority for anyone moving to a new country is to find somewhere to live. As a new arrival, you’ll likely be renting an apartment or house - at least at first.

Here are some websites and platforms you can use to start your search for a rental property:

• Rightmove
• OpenRent
• Zoopla
• Spareroom.

Another option is to use the services of a specialist agent to help you find a property in the UK. This is likely to come with fees and other costs, but it could be a convenient option if you’re still in India and don’t have the time or knowledge to search for yourself.

It’s also useful to know a little about how renting a home works in the UK. You’ll be required to sign a tenancy agreement with the landlord, which usually lasts 6 or 12 months. You’ll need to pay a minimum deposit (usually 1 month’s rent) along with 1 month’s rent in advance¹³.

To start renting a property, you may need to pass a referencing and credit check process. You may be asked for proof of income and employment, along with your ID documents.

Finding a job in the UK

If you’ll be moving to the UK from India on a Skilled Worker visa, you’ll already have a confirmed job offer lined up. Alternatively, you may be coming to the UK to enrol at university. But if neither are the case, you’ll need to start looking for work.

Here are some popular jobs portals you can try:

• UK Government’s Find a Job search engine
• CV Library
• Indeed
• TotalJobs
• LinkedIn
• Expatica UK Jobs.

Cost of living in the UK

Before moving to the UK, it’s useful to know what to expect in terms of everyday living costs. This can help you manage your budget, which could be crucial in those first weeks and months.

In general, you’ll find the cost of living in the UK is considerably higher than in India, especially for things like rent and utilities. Although of course, it depends which region you’re moving from India, and whereabouts you’re moving to in the UK. You may also want to check the cost of moving to the UK from India.

To give you an idea of what to expect, here’s a quick comparison of standard living costs between the UK and India¹⁴:

Everyday living expenses	Average cost in India	Average cost in the UK
Monthly rent - 1 bedroom city centre apartment	£149.62	£901.22
Monthly public transport pass	£8.04	£65.22
Basic monthly utilities	£30.57	£191.08
Meal for 2 people - mid-range restaurant	£10.05	£55.00
Loaf of fresh bread (500g)	£0.39	£1.02

The UK healthcare system

It’s also useful to know a little about the UK’s healthcare service. The good news is that once you’re living in the UK, you’ll have access to the country’s world-famous National Healthcare Service (NHS).

The NHS provides free medical assistance and treatment to all UK residents, including doctor’s appointments and hospital treatment.

As an expat from India, you may need to pay a healthcare surcharge in order to access free NHS treatment.

The healthcare surcharge is £624 per year for the duration of your visa - so, it’ll be £3,120 for a 5-year visa¹⁵. You’ll pay this when making your visa application, and you must pay it even if you already have private healthcare insurance in place.

But it means that once you’ve arrived, you can access free healthcare treatment. Like most UK citizens, you’ll still need to pay for some health-related services such as prescriptions, dental treatment and eye tests.

You can also opt to use private healthcare providers, which offer chargeable services and treatment options.

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There’s a lot to do, organise and think about when moving to another country.

But hopefully after reading this guide, you’ll be better equipped to start your preparations for moving to the UK from India.

The best of luck for your move!

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Sources used:

1. ONS - International migration, England and Wales: Census 2021
2. Moovaz - Most Welcoming Communities for Indians Relocating to UK
3. Gov.uk - Skilled Worker visa
4. Gov.uk - Skilled Worker Visa - How much it costs
5. Gov.uk - Check if you need a UK visa - Marriage
6. Gov.uk - Family visa
7. Gov.uk - Ancestry visa
8. Gov.uk - Check if you need a UK Visa - Business
9. Gov.uk - Start-up visa
10. Gov.uk - Innovator visa
11. Gov.uk - Check if you need a UK visa - Study
12. Please see the Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise fees & pricing for the most up-to-date information on pricing and fees
13. HSBC International Services - Moving to the UK
14. Numbeo - Cost of Living Comparison - UK and India
15. Gov.uk - Healthcare immigration application

Sources last checked on date: 12-Feb-2023