--- title: "Studying abroad: paperwork and deadlines | Gigapass" description: "Enrolment, visa, housing and healthcare, and none of them waits for the others. The order to do them in and what can be left until last." url: https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/studying-abroad-paperwork markdown: https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/studying-abroad-paperwork.md lang: en site: Gigapass generated: 2026-10-24 languages: es: https://getgigapass.com/blog/estudiar-en-el-extranjero-tramites de: https://getgigapass.com/de/blog/im-ausland-studieren-formalitaten it: https://getgigapass.com/it/blog/studiare-all-estero-pratiche fr: https://getgigapass.com/fr/blog/etudier-a-l-etranger-demarches pt: https://getgigapass.com/pt/blog/estudar-no-estrangeiro-tramites nl: https://getgigapass.com/nl/blog/in-het-buitenland-studeren-formaliteiten ja: https://getgigapass.com/ja/blog/kaigai-ryugaku-tetsuzuki ko: https://getgigapass.com/ko/blog/haeoe-yuhak-jeolcha zh-hans: https://getgigapass.com/zh-hans/blog/chuguo-liuxue-shouxu pl: https://getgigapass.com/pl/blog/studia-za-granica-formalnosci sv: https://getgigapass.com/sv/blogg/studera-utomlands-arenden no: https://getgigapass.com/no/blogg/studere-i-utlandet-papirer da: https://getgigapass.com/da/blog/studere-i-udlandet-papirer tr: https://getgigapass.com/tr/blog/yurt-disinda-okumak-islemler ru: https://getgigapass.com/ru/blog/ucheba-za-granitsey-dokumenty zh-hant: https://getgigapass.com/zh-hant/blog/chuguo-liuxue-shouxu ar: https://getgigapass.com/ar/mudawana/aldirasa-fi-alkharij-muamalat he: https://getgigapass.com/he/blog/lilmod-bechul-halichim index: https://getgigapass.com/llms/en.txt --- # Studying abroad: the paperwork in order, with its deadlines > Enrolment, visa, housing and healthcare, and none of them waits for the others. The order to do them in and what can be left until last. [Home](https://getgigapass.com/en) › [Blog](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog) › Studying abroad: the paperwork in order, with its deadlines Students Enrolment, visa, housing and healthcare, and none of them waits for the others. The order to do them in and what can be left until last. **Tomás Berruezo** 10 Aug 2026 6 min Photo by Sergei Gussev on Unsplash In this article › The real order › The documents you will be asked for more than once › The timings people underestimate The academic side of going abroad to study is well explained by the university. The administrative side much less so, and that is the one that can leave you without a place or without somewhere to live over a single deadline. ## The real order 1. Acceptance from the host institution, because almost everything else asks for it as a document. 2. Visa or residence permit if your nationality needs one, and that is what takes longest. 3. Housing, which in university towns runs out before the places do. 4. Healthcare: a travel health card or private insurance, depending on the destination. 5. Bank and local number, once you are there and have an address. 6. And registering your address with the local authority, if the country requires it. Steps five and six chase their own tail in a lot of countries: to open an account they want an address, and to rent they want an account. It resolves with temporary housing for the first few weeks and some patience. ## The documents you will be asked for more than once - A valid passport with plenty of margin. - Acceptance letter and proof of enrolment. - Proof of funds, on many student visas. - Health insurance covering that country. - A criminal record certificate and sometimes a medical certificate. Scan them all before you leave and keep them in your email. You will need them in places where you have neither a printer nor the will to find one. > The step that delays an academic year most is not the academic one: it is the visa applied for too late. ## The timings people underestimate Consular appointments in peak season, sworn translation of qualifications, apostilles on documents, and the time a foreign bank takes to activate an account. None of them can be sped up and all of them can be started sooner. How to check which permit applies to you is in [how to know if you need a visa](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/do-i-need-a-visa). General information. The specific requirements are set by the destination country and by your university, and they are the source that counts. Know where you're going? Pick your destination, days and data. Install it before you leave and pay once. [See destinations](https://getgigapass.com/en#destinos) Tomás BerruezoPlans and small print Thirty years reading operator terms, first for work and now out of habit. If something is billed separately, he finds it. ## Frequently asked questions **Which step do I do first?** Acceptance from the host institution, because almost all the others ask for it as a document. Then the visa, which takes longest. **When do I look for housing?** As early as you can: in university towns it runs out before the places do, and a lot of paperwork asks for an address. **What documents will I be asked for?** Passport, acceptance letter, proof of funds, health insurance and sometimes a criminal record and medical certificate. **Which timings get underestimated?** Consular appointments, sworn translations, apostilles and getting a foreign bank account activated. ## Keep reading - [Students](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/student-housing-abroad) | Finding student housing abroad without falling for a scam | 6 min - [Students](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/health-insurance-student-abroad) | Healthcare while studying abroad: what covers you and what you must buy | 5 min - [Students](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/erasmus-phone-line) | Erasmus: what to do with your phone and your line before you go | 6 min