Scholarship for Students Seeking Asylum

What it gives

full tuition waiver · living costs · equipment and study costs · travel costs

up to £5,000

Up to £5,000/yr bursary (books/IT/travel) + full fee waiver, max £10,000/yr combined, paid in 3 instalments

Who it is for

asylum seeker (claim pending) · humanitarian protection · dependant of a person with status

Level of study: undergraduate

The student finance condition

Only if you cannot access student finance

This scheme is for people without access to government student finance — usually asylum seekers and some limited-leave categories. If you have refugee status and can access student finance, this is normally not for you.

Important warning

Payments stop if you are granted status during the course. Ask in advance what happens to the money: a decision can arrive mid-course.

How to apply

You need a place first: apply to the programme and wait for an offer. Scholarship applications are only considered from people who already hold one.

Hold a conditional or firm offer on an undergraduate programme at Winchester
Complete the online Sanctuary Award application form for September 2026 entry (link on the page)
Submit a copy of your ARC card and your Bail 201 form (showing residence conditions and any study limitations)
Note: some programmes are excluded — Physiotherapy, Nursing (all pathways), Nutrition and Dietetics, and Professional Policing (which has extra College of Policing requirements)
Award is paid in three instalments each standard academic year

What to prepare

Copy of ARC (Application Registration Card)
Copy of Bail 201 form showing conditions of UK residence and any study limitations

How they select

application form · evidence of circumstances · automatic, no separate application

There is no interview — the decision is made on documents. On most routes there are no subject entrance exams either: the main hurdle on the way into university is proving your level of English. The exceptions are medicine, dentistry and creative courses, where tests and portfolios do appear.

Dates

Can you apply now · as of 6 September 2026

Rolling admissions

Where the date comes from: “no fixed annual deadline stated on this page»

Deadline

No fixed annual deadline stated on page; disbursed in 3 instalments across the academic year

When applications open

For September entry; no fixed annual deadline stated on this page

How many places

up to 2

For how many years

Renewed for the following years of the course, as long as you keep studying.

If this scheme is not for you

See the full list of schemes — it has a filter for your status and for whether student finance is available to you.
Check whether you are entitled to student finance — if it is, a scholarship stops being the only road.
Foundation year and Access to HE — routes for people who only have a school certificate.
Education hub — where to start if you have not chosen a route yet.

About the institution

University of Winchester, Hampshire (postcode SO22 4NR).

There are adults, but they are a minority. 17.6% of students are over 30 and 23.5% are over 25 — an average picture for a UK university.

In detail about University of Winchester: all schemes, student ages, study modes →

Source

Every fact on this page we opened and read on the institution's own site, rather than taking it from an aggregator. Checked on: 22 August 2026.

The scheme page on the institution's site →

Award ends if applicant/family granted ILR; must live within 25 miles (priority given); excludes Physiotherapy/Nursing/Nutrition & Dietetics.