basera
Open the app
Basera is the knowledgeable older cousin, as an app. It tells you exactly what to do, in what order, and gives you honest advice on the rest. Free forever.
No sign-up first. Works in your phone’s browser. Some links pay us a fee — never you.
About 134,000 students a year arrive from South Asia, and most land knowing nobody and not knowing what to do first. Basera is the first week, written down in the right order.
Student, dependant, Graduate Route or Skilled Worker, plus your country and city. We shape the list around you, so a dependant never sees student tasks.
The essentials first (eVisa, SIM, bank, NI number, GP), then ways to save money. Each task has one button that takes you straight to the provider or gov.uk.
Tick things off, collect stamps, then send your family a letter in their own language to say you’re settled.
Three tiers. Essentials are the things you have to do. Save money is the Railcard, student discounts and broadband. Extras are sending money home, food apps and days out. Tap the main button and you’re at the provider or gov.uk.
The Underground, supermarkets, the NHS, British phrases, your first winter, renting and finding work. A couple of minutes each, and a fun quiz at the end so it sticks.
Every pick comes with one honest line. If it’s worth it, we say. If you can skip it, we say that too, and the verdict doesn’t change for money.
When the SIM, bank and doctor are sorted, Basera makes a card you can send home in your family’s language. Every stamp you collect along the way goes in your album.
Basera (बसेरा) means “dwelling” or “home” in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and Nepali. We’re launching with the Nepali community in London first, and growing outwards from there.
Help someone land and you’ll see them in “people you’ve helped land”, with a monthly leaderboard for each community. Milestone rewards are coming soon.
You will never pay for Basera. When you sign up with a provider through one of our links, such as a bank or a Railcard, that provider sometimes pays us a fee. That’s how we keep the lights on.
If a deal is poor, we’ll tell you to skip it, links or no links.
Some links pay us a fee — never you.
Yes, free forever. You never pay to use Basera. Some of the links we show pay us a fee when you sign up with a provider, but that fee comes from the provider, never from you, and it never changes what we tell you about them.
No. You can answer the questions, see your checklist and read the guides without signing up. We only ask you to make an account when you want to save your progress across devices, collect stamps or send a letter home. Nice one, that's it.
Student, dependant (partner or child of a student or worker), Graduate Route and Skilled Worker. You tell us which one you're on and the list changes to fit. A dependant never sees student tasks like university enrolment.
We keep it small and we keep it ours. Your first answers stay on your own device until you create an account. We don't use third-party analytics or ad trackers, and there's only one essential sign-in cookie, so no cookie banner. You can delete your account and everything in it from Profile, then Settings, then Delete account. Details are in our privacy policy.
Some links pay us a fee when you sign up with a provider, such as a bank or a Railcard. It never costs you more, and verdicts don't change for money. If something is a bad deal, we say so. Some links pay us a fee, never you.
We're starting with London because that's where we're building the first community, with Nepali students first. Most of it, like the visa, bank, GP and NI number steps, works anywhere in the UK, and we'll add more city guides as we grow.
Yes. Basera runs in your phone's browser at app.joinbasera.com, so there's nothing to download. To keep it on your home screen, use Share then Add to Home Screen on iPhone, or the menu then Add to Home screen on Android. There's no app store version yet.
No. Basera is a friendly guide, not legal or immigration advice. Rules change, so always check gov.uk and your university before you act on anything, especially about your visa.
Basera is made by Oakley Ridge Ltd, a small UK company. We built it because the first weeks in a new country are easier when someone who's done it before tells you what to do first. You can write to us any time at hello@joinbasera.com.
Welcome to your basera.
Two minutes to tell us your visa, and you’ll know exactly what to do first.
The Underground