If you are returning to your home country at the end of your course, there are a few things you need to think about before you go.
Your Possessions
You may have more stuff now than you can take home on the plane with you. You will have to decide if you want to take all your stuff home. Excess baggage fees can be very high so you may want to ship some things home instead. You can also sell things you don’t want to take home or donate them to a charity shop. Gumtree and eBay are ways of selling things you no longer need.
Let People Know
You have relationships with lots of people and companies. Some you will have to let know that you are leaving the UK, some you may want to give your new address and some you will want to close your accounts.
Check the following list for examples of who you need to tell you are leaving the UK.
UEA - Make sure your home address is up to date on e:Vision. Make sure you don’t owe the University any money.
Utility companies - Electric, gas, water, phone & broadband accounts. Give them at least a month’s notice of the date you will be leaving so they can send you their final bill and close your account.
Bank - Will you be closing your UK bank account? Do you have Direct Debits and Standing Orders that need to be cancelled or rearranged?
Friends and Colleagues - Have you got home contact information for your friends as you all move? Have you given your new contact details to your friends and colleagues?
You can pay Royal Mail to forward any letters from your Norwich address to your new address.
Deposits and Refunds
Make sure that you speak to your landlord so you know how you will get your house deposit back. You will also need to make sure that you have paid all your bills including electricity, mobile phone, water and broadband, and that you haven’t overpaid anything. If you pay the same amount by direct debit every month, you may have overpaid, especially your electricity and gas. If you paid for a TV license in advance, you may be eligible for a refund of the unused amount.
If you have worked in the UK in the last year and have paid tax you may be entitled to a tax refund.
Reverse Culture Shock
In the same way that you may have felt culture shock when you first came to the UK, you may find that you find it difficult to adapt back to your old ways of doing things.
You can prepare yourself for going back to your home culture by:
Reading newspapers and magazines from home, to catch you up with what’s going on at home.
Keep in contact with friends and family back home, in your home language.
As well as changes that you may have gone through, things and people at home will have changed too. Focus on the positives of being back home; reconnecting with family and friends, rediscovering your home country and the foods and aspects of life that you have been missing. UKCISA has a great article on reverse culture shock as does Expatica and GVI.