Student Finance for Refugees & Asylum Seekers in the UK

Student Finance England (SFE) treats refugees, people with humanitarian protection, and certain other protected statuses as home students — meaning you pay UK tuition fees and can apply for a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan from day one.

The main qualifying statuses are:

• Refugee status (granted by the Home Office)
• Humanitarian Protection
• Stateless person leave
• Section 67 leave (Dubs)
• Calais leave to remain
• Discretionary leave granted under specific schemes (e.g. Afghan Citizens Resettlement, Ukraine schemes)

Each status has slightly different residency requirements. Most require you to be ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of your course.

If you're an asylum seeker waiting for a decision, you are not currently eligible for Student Finance England. You'd be classed as an international student and asked to pay overseas fees, which most asylum seekers cannot afford.

However, several universities run sanctuary scholarships that fully cover tuition and provide a stipend — including SOAS, the University of Manchester, the University of Sussex, and many others. We help students identify and apply to these every cycle.

SFE will ask for proof of immigration status. Make sure you have:

• Your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) or eVisa share code
• Your Home Office decision letter granting status
• Evidence of UK residence (tenancy agreements, bills, GP letters)
• Passport or travel document

If your BRP is missing or expired, request a replacement before submitting your finance application — delays here are the most common reason refugee students miss September enrolment.

1. Apply to university via UCAS — declare your fee status as "Home" and your residency category honestly.
2. Open a Student Finance England account at gov.uk/student-finance.
3. Upload your status evidence in the "Special Circumstances" section.
4. Apply early — refugee applications are reviewed manually and can take 8–10 weeks.
5. Keep your decision letters; you'll need to re-confirm status each year of your course.

• Declaring "International" fee status on UCAS by mistake — this triggers overseas fees.
• Applying to SFE without uploading evidence, then getting a rejection letter.
• Missing the deadline (typically late May for September starts).
• Assuming you're not eligible without checking — many statuses qualify and the rules updated in 2023 and 2024.