Welcome Guide
Arrivals Weekend
It's time to move into your new home! Here's everything you need to know about Arrivals Weekend 2026.
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This year Arrivals Weekend is Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September.
Our Arrivals Weekend is an exciting period when our incoming students move into their accommodation and begin their journey at York St John.
This is the day where you will pick up your accommodation keys and move in, meeting your new housemates and starting to make your new space feel like home.
This page has all the information you need about checking in, picking up your keys and moving in to your accommodation. There is also further information about parking on campus and at our accommodation sites.
Booking your arrival slot
You will be contacted via email when you can book an arrival slot as part of an online induction on our Accommodation Hub. This will be at some point after Results Day. Once you have completed your induction and selected a time slot, you will be given an arrival pass for use on Arrivals Weekend.
If you get stuck in traffic on the day and you are late for your slot, don't worry - we know these things happen, and you will still be able to move in to your room when you arrive.
If you have any questions about arrivals outside of our Arrivals Weekend (19 to 20 September), please contact our Accommodation team directly at accommodation@yorksj.ac.uk. Early arrivals will not be possible for students moving in to St John Central, except those participating in the Early Start programme.
Check in and pick up your key
You will need to pick up your key from campus before you travel to your accommodation. Unless you are a blue badge holder, you will need to park at one of the nearby public car parks to check in and collect your keys. See our parking information below for more details.
Students at all accommodation sites will collect their keys from our Holgate reception. Use our Campus Map to find Holgate if you are not sure where to go, and follow the signs on campus.
Make sure you have completed your online induction on the Accommodation Hub before you arrive. This will generate the arrival pass you will need to collect your keys. You can print a copy of this or provide a screenshot. You will also need your 9-digit student ID number.
Partner provider accommodation
Students who are moving to our partner provider accommodation will be contacted by the provider directly about key collection at the site itself. Some partner providers will have tenancies that start before ours so please check your tenancy details and contact the partner provider if you have any questions about their moving in process.
Complete your Registration early
Members of the Enrolment team will be available on campus during arrivals weekend to support you with completing the registration process after you have picked up your accommodation keys. This means you will not need to attend a registration session on campus during welcome week and can focus on other welcome and induction activities.
Before you can complete registration, you must ensure that you have first completed the online enrolment process by following the instructions in your enrolment email. Please visit the enrolment page for further information.
Once you have completed student registration will you be able to:
- Use the library
- Use computing facilities
- Receive your university Student ID Card
- Have your student loan payments initiated (if applicable)
Moving into your accommodation
Once you have collected your keys, you can head to your accommodation site to start unpacking. There are just a few things to remember:
- Our Residential Support Assistants (RSAs) will be on hand to assist with directions to help locate your accommodation
- Any vehicles temporarily allowed into our accommodation sites to assist with moving in must be unloaded in a timely manner and then moved off site to allow other students access. No long-term parking is available at our accommodation sites unless a student has been issued a permit. Details on parking permits can be seen below.
- Please try not to bring large groups of family or friends with you to help you move. This will help to prevent crowding at our accommodation sites.
You can contact our accommodation team at accommodation@yorksj.ac.uk if you have any questions or would like to make us aware of adjustments you require.
If you need help at our accommodation sites after Accommodation staff and RSAs have left for the day, our 24-hour Security team are available on 01904 876 444 or 07885 201 182.
Parking
Use the drop-down below for information on parking at accommodation sites and on campus.
Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) is in operation at our Lord Mayor's Walk campus, 24/7, every day of the year. Unauthorised vehicles will receive a Penalty Charge Notice.
There is no vehicle parking available on our Lord Mayor's Walk campus other than a limited number of Blue Badge spaces.
These spaces cannot be reserved, and vehicle registration numbers must be provided in advance if you require one. Please email your vehicle registration number and the date you will be moving in to estates.admin@yorksj.ac.uk.
There is a large pay and display car park at Union Terrace which is opposite our campus which can also be utilised. Please visit the Union Terrace Car Park website for up-to-date parking charges.
As most accommodation sites have limited parking spaces, you are only able to park whilst you unload your vehicle. You will then need to move to a nearby car park. Details of York's car parks can be found on the City of York Council website.
ANPR is in operation at our accommodation sites, 24/7, every day of the year. Unauthorised vehicles will receive a Penalty Charge Notice. However, this will not be in operation from Saturday 19 to Sunday 20 September, inclusive.
If you are moving in outside of these dates, your vehicle registration number must be provided in advance so that your vehicle can be added to the exemption list. Please email your vehicle registration number, date you will be moving in, and which accommodation site you will be moving in to, to estates.admin@yorksj.ac.uk. Vehicle registrations must be provided at least 2 business days in advance to allow time for them to be entered onto the system. Please check the vehicle registration provided carefully.
If you have enrolled as a student and received your University log in details, you can download the MyYSJ app before Arrivals Weekend. On the app, you can organise a 1 hour exemption period through the 'Booking an hour in a car park' tile on the app.
This allows you to book a 1 hour parking permit. It is issued for 1 hour from the point of submission, and must be done within 20 minutes of the vehicle entering the accommodation grounds. Should more time be required, a new booking request should be submitted.
If you are moving into 49 Clarence Street, 79 Clarence Street or Garden Street, there is no set parking managed by the University. This means that you are unable to park outside of the property as an authorised vehicle. We would recommend visiting the City of York Council's loading restrictions page for more guidance and contact details regarding parking options near to these sites. There is a pay and display car park at Union Terrace which is very close to the Clarence Street sites which can also be utilised. Please visit the Union Terrace Car Park website for up-to-date parking charges.
St John Central does not have any set parking, meaning that you will only be able to park outside whilst you unload your vehicle. After this, you will be required to move to alternative parking. There is a large pay and display car park to the rear of St John Central, operated by Q Park. Security will be available at this accommodation site to assist with traffic control.
For more information about parking at York St John, visit our Car parking page.
For any questions about parking at our partner provider accommodation sites, please contact your provider directly.
The Brickworks: thebrickworks@iqstudentaccommodation.com
Abode: abode@wearehomesforstudents.com
The Coal Yard: coal.yard@host-students.com
There will be different parking facilities at each of our university managed houses (UMHs), so take note of any road markings outside the property and any City of York Council parking signs to see how long a vehicle can remain outside your house.
Visit the City of York Council's loading restrictions webpage for more guidance and contact details.
Often if there is someone in or next to the vehicle while you unpack, there should not be an issue as long as it is done in a timely manner. You can also consider searching online to see if there any car parks close to your property if that is preferable.
Social media groups
Incoming students will be contacted by the Accommodation team about joining accommodation social media groups where they can meet future flatmates and housemates. This will be at some point after Results Day.
