International Students

Here is some general advice for international students, however for more extensive information please visit the University ISAS (International Student Advice Sevice).

The University of Greenwich has an International Student Advice Service.

Advisor and Campuses
Isaac Ifinnwa / Avery Hill & Greenwich
Manoj Walgama / Greenwich & Medway
Katie Jenkins / Greenwich & Medway

If you wish to make an appointment with a member of ISAS or make a telephone query, you should visit or contact your campus Student Centre. For email queries, please use the contact form online at www.gre.ac.uk/students/isas/advisers.

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Healthcare

You will be able to receive healthcare from the National Health Service (NHS). Some or all of this may be free of charge, depending on your residency status and how long you have been living here.

Some health services are free of charge to everyone. These are:
- treatment given in an accident and emergency (A&E) department or in an NHS walk-in centre that provides services similar to those of an A&E department
- treatment for certain infectious diseases (but for HIV/AIDS, only the first diagnosis and counselling that follows it are free)
- compulsory psychiatric treatment
- family planning services

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Work and Employment

Depending on your residency status and any conditions the UKBA has placed on it, you may or may not be allowed to work while you are living in the UK.

If and when you get a job, your employer should give you a contract in writing, no more than two months after you start work. This should set out your pay, holidays, sick pay and pension, and should say how much notice you must give if you want to leave. There is a national minimum wage of £5.80 (age 22+) or £4.83 (18-21), and people in full-time employment should receive at least four weeks’ paid holiday a year.

You have a right to:
- be treated fairly at work, regardless of your gender, race, nationality, sexuality, religion or any disability you have;
- be paid the same wage for a job, whether you are a man or a woman;
- join a trade union; and
- receive paid time off for medical care if you are pregnant and time off after the baby is born. (This is known as maternity leave.)

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Housing

Private landlords will normally rent their property at the market rate and their right to increase the rent depends on the type of tenancy. Make sure you get a tenancy agreement and read it carefully before committing to it.

A private landlord will normally ask for a deposit. You should make sure that the condition of the property and any items of furniture are recorded in an inventory and the tenancy agreement states:
- how much the deposit is and who holds it
- when money can be deducted from the deposit (for unpaid rent or damage to property)
- when you will get the deposit back
A property should be safe and healthy for occupiers, so responsibility should be taken to ensure that:
- the dwelling is capable of providing adequate heating, which ideally means controllable central heating and insulation, with equipment and the fabric of the building in good repair
- electricity and gas supplies, and the sanitation (drains, basins, sinks, baths and WCs) are in working order
- there are no fall or trip hazards
- water heating equipment is in working order
- the property is free from damp

Harassment and illegal eviction
- Harassment and illegal eviction, as defined in The Protection from Eviction Act 1977, are criminal offences.
- Your council has the power to prosecute people who commit offences. Housing officers from the council will investigate complaints and mediate between the both sides wherever possible. Your council will consider bringing a prosecution where there is enough evidence to indicate that it will be successful and where it is in the public interest.

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