HOST UK visits
We’ve teamed up with HOST UK to link international students and postgraduate researchers with British families for a cultural exchange experience.
HOST UK is a charity that wants to help you feel welcome in the UK by giving you a taste of what British life is like. Enjoy a short time away from your university work with a host family, and benefit from this unique opportunity.
You can meet kind, friendly people in their home to enjoy traditional home-cooked meals, explore the local area and try new activities like gardening, hiking or fishing.
All hosts are unpaid and invite students because they enjoy welcoming you to this country.
Apply for a HOST UK visit
To apply, you must be a registered full-time student aged 18 or over. Spouses and partners can also apply as part of the application.
Due to the limited number of available places, we recommend taking the following steps to maximize your chances of securing a visit:
- consider travelling further afield to increase your chances of being matched with a host.
- offer as many available dates as possible.
- regularly check your email (including your spam folder) for important updates about your application.
Costs
The University contributes to the cost of applying for your first HOST UK visit for you and your spouse/partner. The costs are:
Student day visit
- Usual cost: £60
- You pay: £30
Student weekend stay – 2 nights
- Usual cost: £110
- You pay: £45
Student festive stay – 3 nights
- Usual cost: £150
- You pay: £50
Spouse/partner day visit
- Usual cost: £40
- You pay: £20
Spouse/partner weekend/festive stay
- Usual cost: £60
- You pay: £30
What students said about their Host UK visit
Don't think about it twice. Apply to HOST UK! It will be the chance you are looking for to experience British culture. Get to know amazing people and make more friends!
I had an absolutely fabulous time with my hosts. If you want to learn about British culture I strongly encourage you to go on a HOST visit. I feel like I could live in the UK for years and not understand the British culture as closely as I did during that one weekend.
At first I was hesitant about registering, but after the visit I would do it all over again without hesitation.
Apply to be a host
If you’re from the UK, your family can experience this cultural exchange by becoming volunteer hosts and inviting international students to stay for a day or for a weekend.
Apply to be a host on the HOST UK website.