Before you start

Immigration Health Surcharge paid as part of the visa application
An address within a GP practice's catchment area
Passport and eVisa share code, though a practice cannot refuse you for lacking them
A UK phone number for appointment and prescription systems

Step-by-step

1
Register with a GP practice in week one, and expect to be told the list is closed
Find practices covering your postcode on the NHS website and register. Cambridge has grown fast and several practices periodically close their lists, so you may need to try more than one. You do not need proof of immigration status to register and a practice should not demand it, though you will usually be asked for an address.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
2
Buy a prescription prepayment certificate if you take regular medication
England charges a flat fee per dispensed item. A prepayment certificate covers unlimited NHS prescriptions for three or twelve months at a fixed price, breaks even at roughly two items a month, and can be paid by instalments. Nothing in the system prompts you to buy one.
OnlineWho: You
3
Learn 111 before you need it
NHS 111 handles urgent but non-emergency problems, particularly out of hours, and routes you to the right service. Addenbrooke's emergency department is a regional major trauma centre and is busy accordingly; using it for something 111 would have handled means a long wait as the lowest priority present.
Mobile appWho: You
4
Find a dentist taking NHS patients early
NHS dentistry is under real strain nationally and Cambridgeshire is no exception. The Health Surcharge does not cover the gap. Start looking in your first month rather than when you have toothache, and treat private treatment as a realistic fallback.
In personWho: You
5
Check whether you are exempt from prescription charges anyway
Prescriptions are free in England for under-16s, over-60s, pregnant women and people with certain listed medical conditions, among others. The exemption list is broader than most people assume and worth reading before buying a certificate.
OnlineWho: You
6
Know what the Biomedical Campus means for you as a patient
Addenbrooke's is a major regional trauma and specialist centre, and Royal Papworth — the national heart and lung hospital — moved onto the same site in 2019. If you have a complex or specialist condition, the referral pathways available from a Cambridge GP are genuinely better than in most of England. It also means the site is busy and parking there is expensive; the guided busway and the cycle path go straight to it.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Proof of address for GP registration
Passport and eVisa share code, if asked
Vaccination and medical records from your home country, ideally translated
A list of current medications by generic name rather than brand name

Things most newcomers don’t know

England charges for prescriptions and the rest of the UK does not.

Scotland abolished prescription charges in 2011 and Wales and Northern Ireland followed. England still levies a flat fee per item. For anyone on long-term medication this is a genuine annual cost that does not exist in Cardiff or Glasgow, and it never appears in UK-wide relocation advice.

Source: NHS — NHS prescription charges

The prepayment certificate is the cheapest piece of admin available to you.

It covers unlimited NHS prescriptions for a flat three- or twelve-month fee, breaks even at roughly two items a month, and can be paid by direct debit instalments. People on regular medication pay per item for years without discovering it, because nothing in the prescribing process mentions it.

Source: NHS Business Services Authority — prescription prepayment certificates

Cambridge GP lists close, and that is the constraint rather than the hospital.

The city has grown considerably faster than its primary care capacity, and practices periodically stop accepting new patients. This is the opposite of what people expect from a city with one of the best hospitals in the country. Register in your first week and be prepared to try two or three practices — and do it while you are well, because the alternative route in is the emergency department.

Source: NHS — how to register with a GP surgery

Living near the Biomedical Campus is a genuine health advantage, and a transport problem.

Addenbrooke's and the Royal Papworth on one site means specialist referral pathways most English GPs cannot offer. It is also one of the largest employment sites in the county with heavily constrained and expensive parking. Both the guided busway and the off-road cycle network run directly to it, which is why so many staff who work there live along those corridors rather than next to them.

Source: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming registration is instant — Cambridge practices close their lists and you may need to try several.
Paying per item for prescriptions when a prepayment certificate would cost less.
Assuming Scotland's or Wales' free prescriptions apply in England — they do not.
Going to Addenbrooke's emergency department for something NHS 111 would have triaged.
Assuming the Health Surcharge gets you an NHS dentist — access is separately constrained.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.