Support for asylum and sanctuary seekers

We currently offer financial support for asylum and sanctuary seekers. This is administered solely at the discretion of the University.

Article 26 Scholarships

For 2023 entry, the University is offering five Article 26 Sanctuary Seeker Scholarships for undergraduate study.

This applies to all undergraduate courses except Medicine and Dentistry. The scholarship is intended to help those who have sought refuge in the UK to progress into higher education.

The scholarship includes:

  • the full cost of tuition;
  • £5,000 a year living cost bursary;
  • free accommodation in one of the University’s Halls of Residence for the duration of study.

For more information on how to apply visit the student support website.

Asylum Seekers tuition fee concession 

Asylum seekers, children of asylum seekers or unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who meet the academic course requirements, and the criteria shown below, will be eligible to pay the home rate of tuition fee while their application is under consideration by the Home Office, provided they have proof that an application for asylum in the UK has been made.

This is normally the original Standard Acknowledgement Letter or a NASS card issued by the Home Office.

Eligibility and deadlines for the fee concession

Undergraduate

  • full-time undergraduate applicants are eligible;
  • MBChB and BDS courses are ineligible;
  • you must have applied for asylum in the UK before you applied to UCAS.

Postgraduate

  • full-time, non-clinical postgraduate applicants (taught and research) are eligible;
  • you must have applied for asylum in the UK before you applied to study at The University of Manchester.

Assessments of eligibility for a concession will be conducted by our Fee Assessment Team.

If you have not already been contacted to complete a Fee Assessment, please email the team so that they start this process and provide a link to the online form.

Please note that if you meet the above criteria, you will be classified as an international student but allowed to pay the home rate fee. 

Changes in fee status

If your asylum case is decided during your course of study at the University, your fee status will change to 'home' with effect from the following academic year and the tuition fee concession will cease if:

  • you (or your parents or your spouse/civil partner) are recognised as a refugee by the UK Government and are granted indefinite leave to enter/remain in the UK and have been ordinarily resident in the UK since you/they were granted this immigration status (spouses/civil partners must have been the spouse/civil partner on the date on which the application was made, while children/step-children of a refugee/person with leave to remain/enter must have been aged under 18 on the date on which the asylum application was made);
  • as a result of an asylum application, you (or your parents or your spouse/civil partner) are granted Humanitarian Protection in the UK and you/they have been ordinarily resident in the UK since you/they were granted this immigration status (spouses/civil partners must have been the spouse/civil partner on the date on which the application was made, while children/step-children of a person with Humanitarian Protection in the UK must have been aged under 18 on the date on which the asylum application was made).

If you are granted some other form of immigration system as a result of the case decision, your international fee status will not change, but your home tuition fee bursary will stop.