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Asylum-Seeker Support

For the 2025-26 academic year, the University of Suffolk is offering two undergraduate scholarships for students who are seeking asylum in the UK, and who are not eligible to receive financial support from Student Finance England.

The successful candidates will receive a 100% tuition fee waiver and a £2,000 Asylum Seeker’s Bursary per level of study.

This Scholarship will be awarded until the student is able to access support from Student Finance England. Students will be required to apply for student support from Student Finance England in each academic year.

To be eligible for Asylum-Seeker Support, students must meet all of the following criteria:

  • Studying a full-time undergraduate course at the University of Suffolk in Ipswich, Great Yarmouth or Lowestoft (includes the Ipswich campus, Suffolk New College, and East Coast College); AND
  • Be a resident in Suffolk or Norfolk; AND
  • Have sought asylum in the UK or were included as a dependent (spouse/child) on an application for asylum*; AND
  • Have yet to receive a decision on your asylum claim, or you have received a decision on your claim for asylum which has resulted in an award of DLR (Discretionary Leave to Remain), Humanitarian Protection or Limited Leave to Remain as a result of an asylum claim; AND
  • Are unable to access Financial Support (tuition fees and maintenance loans) from Student Finance England because of your current immigration status; AND
  • Do not have a qualification that is equal or higher than the course you are applying to.

*Spouses/civil partners must have been the spouse/civil partner on the date on which the asylum application was made. Children/step-children must have been aged under 18 on the date on which the asylum application was made.

This award is available in each academic year of your course until you (or your parents or spouse/civil partner) are granted Refugee Status (Leave to Remain) in the UK. Your award will then stop from the start of the next academic year.

Students will be automatically assessed against the criteria following enrolment and notified if eligible. Students will be automatically reassessed for this bursary every year.