International student moving to Lincoln? Here's the guide
The practical first weeks for international students at the University of Lincoln: getting here, your eVisa, the GP, the rules on work, a bank account, and where to find food and faith from home. Each fact was read from the official source named beside it on 10 September 2026, and several change by the term, so check the date.
Before you travel
Start with the University’s Arrivals Guide for the September 2026 intake, last updated on 25 August 2026. It covers when to arrive, the documents for the border, accommodation, travel, the GP and banking.
Your permission to study is an eVisa, not a card. You reach it through a free UK Visas and Immigration account, prove your status with a share code, which lasts 90 days, and link the passport you’ll travel on. Biometric residence permits have all expired; an expired one can only be used to sign in, set up that account or apply to extend, and only until 31 December 2026 at the latest. Police registration ended on 4 August 2022, so any advice telling you to register with the police is out of date.
Getting to Lincoln
There’s no airport pick-up: the Arrivals Guide leaves the journey from the airport to you. Lincoln’s station, listed by National Rail as Lincoln and by the University as Lincoln Central, is a few minutes’ walk from the Brayford Pool campus.
- From Heathrow: the Piccadilly line runs direct to King’s Cross in just over an hour, and LNER runs direct trains from King’s Cross to Lincoln in 1 hour 54 minutes on average.
- From East Midlands Airport: there’s no station, so take the Skylink bus to Nottingham, which runs every 30 minutes, day and night. Since 14 December 2025 East Midlands Railway has run two direct trains an hour from Nottingham to Lincoln, Monday to Saturday.
- From Manchester Airport: TransPennine Express runs direct to Sheffield in about 1 hour 17 minutes, and the onward train to Lincoln is Northern’s.
Timetables change every May and December, so plan the exact trains on National Rail.
Your first week
Welcome Week runs from Monday 21 to Friday 25 September 2026, and you need to arrive before it starts (term dates). The International Student Welcome is compulsory; on 10 September 2026 its time and place had not been published yet.
Student visa holders enrol online in OneUni and then attend an in-person immigration check, booked by email. Bring your passport, your eVisa share code, your visa sticker if you have one, and your boarding pass or flight confirmation.
The International Advice team are the only University staff legally allowed to give immigration advice: email internationaladvice@lincoln.ac.uk, or go to the drop-in, 10am to 1pm on weekdays. The University says the drop-in is moving to the UniHelp Hub on the ground floor of the Stephen Langton Building, so check its page for where it is this week.
Seeing a doctor
Register with a GP as soon as you arrive. Anyone in England can register free, mostly online, and you don’t need ID, proof of address or proof of immigration status. The practice on campus is Heart of Lincoln Medical Group’s University of Lincoln site, in the Marina Building at Brayford Pool, LN6 7GA, open 7.30am to 6.30pm on weekdays, phone 01522 870010.
The Immigration Health Surcharge you paid with your visa covers NHS care from the day your visa starts; prescriptions, dental treatment and eye tests are still charged. Call NHS 111 for an urgent problem that isn’t an emergency, and 999 in an emergency.
Working while you study
At degree level, with a university as your sponsor, you can work up to 20 hours a week in term time and full time in the vacations (Immigration Rules, Appendix Student, ST 26.1). You can’t be self-employed or fill a permanent full-time job.
The University sets the vacations: undergraduates can work full time only in the Christmas, Easter and summer vacations, and taught postgraduates in the Christmas and Easter vacations. For 2026 to 2027 the undergraduate Christmas and Easter vacations run from 21 December 2026 to 10 January 2027 and from 26 March to 11 April 2027.
If you’ll work, you need a National Insurance number. You may already have one, shown in your UK Visas and Immigration account, and you can start work before it arrives if you can prove your right to work.
A bank account
Most banks ask for your passport, your visa, proof of your UK and home addresses, and a letter from the University. Request the letter in OneUni, under Taught Student Role, then Forms, then Self-Service Letters, and it’s emailed to you.
Food and faith from home
- Asian supermarkets in Lincoln
- African restaurants and grocers
- Caribbean places in Lincoln
- Chinese restaurants in Lincoln
- Turkish and Middle Eastern restaurants in Lincoln
- Polish and Eastern European shops in Lincoln
- Vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Lincoln
- Halal restaurants and halal butchers and grocers
- Every place of worship in Lincoln, and the prayer and quiet rooms on campus
Checked 10 September 2026. If something here has changed, tell us at alex@digitalhighstreett.com and we’ll correct it.