Before you leave home

Shop around for flights and travel insurance. Usually the earlier you book, the better the deal.
As opening a local bank account after you have arrived in the UK can be notoriously difficult to do without proof of UK address and income, you should consider setting this up beforehand. Your 'home' bank should have affiliate banks within the UK and we strongly recommend you take advantage of this.

Update your CV to the UK standard. See our CV Writing page for helpful advice and a downloadable template.
Hand in your notice at work (depending on the notice period in your contract).
Gather personal and professional references. (Not all employers in the UK will require these but recruitment agencies will always perform an independent check with your previous employers from the past five years. Contact details of HR departments or previous managers will suffice.)
Confirm (and if necessary, pay for) your flights.
If you don't have family or friends to stay with when you arrive, research and book accommodation. www.gumtree.com advertises 'short lets' which are a good way to source short-term accommodation. Usually the room/flat will be established meaning you don't need to buy much to start with and can scope out London (plus find out where you will be working) before you make a long-term accommodation commitment. For a cheap temporary option take a look at www.hostelworld.com
Arrange for storage of items that you are not taking with you. It is a good idea to make a list of the things you store.

Register your job-hunting details with myJobCaddy if you have not already done so.
Leave a photocopy of important documents (e.g. passport and its visa page, references, academic transcripts, academic certificates, airline tickets, etc) with family or a friend at home.
Ensure you have met or are aware of the tax obligations in the country you are leaving.
Pay any outstanding (and upcoming) bills.
If one of your family members is going to be taking care of your financial and legal affairs ensure they have power of attorney for these.
If necessary, change your postal address to ensure your mail is sent somewhere safe.
Gather landlord references and note all addresses you've lived at for the last five years (necessary for credit checks in the UK).
Have some extra passport photos taken of yourself (these will be handy when applying for countries you wish to visit, travel cards, etc).
If you intend to drive in the UK you may wish to apply for an International Driving Licence which will allow you to drive for up to 12 months in the UK and Europe.
Have a dental and medical check up.
Organise foreign exchange. See our FX Transfers page for information and providers.
When packing, remember most airlines only allow 20kg of checked-in baggage and 5–7kg of hand luggage in economy class (although this is significantly more when travelling via the USA).
If you want to transfer funds from a South Africa to a UK bank account you'll need to contact SARS to arrange tax clearance.