Asylum Seeker’s Scholarship

Overview

About the Award

We are delighted to offer two full scholarships to students who are registered asylum-seekers in the UK, and who will be starting their full-time undergraduate studies at Queen’s University Belfast in September 2019. 

Eligibility

To qualify for an asylum-seeker scholarship, students must first apply for, and receive an offer of admission for 2019 entry to an undergraduate degree programme at Queen’s University Belfast and meet the eligibility criteria below:

1. Candidates must be registered asylum seekers in the UK and must be currently resident in Northern Ireland, to be considered for this scheme
2. You must have discretionary or limited leave to remain in the UK, be a dependant of someone with discretionary or limited leave to remain as a result of an application for refugee-status, or you or your parent/guardian have submitted an asylum application and not yet received a decision from the Home Office on that application.
3. You must be unable to access mainstream UK student funding due to your immigration status i.e. you are not eligible for Student Finance for the 2019/20 academic year.
4. You must submit an application for a place of study on a full-time undergraduate course starting in the academic year 2019-20 at Queen’s University Belfast through UCAS by 15-January.
5. You must hold a conditional or unconditional offer or have ‘decision pending’ status from Queen’s University Belfast by 01 April 2019. Candidates are required to meet any academic and language conditions attached to their offer as stated in their offer letter.

N.B. Please note that if you have already been granted Refugee Status or Humanitarian Protection Status as the result of an asylum application, you may be eligible to apply for financial support from Student Finance NI.

Exclusions

Please note that asylum-seeker scholarships are NOT available for the following programmes:

1. All programmes which have quota controls, including Medicine, Dentistry, Social Work, Nursing, Midwifery and Theology.
2. All Distance Learning programmes, foundation degree programmes and part-time courses.

Amount

The scholarships will cover the cost of tuition and provide an £8,000 award to support living costs for each year of study, up to a maximum of three years.

Terms and Conditions

1. Asylum-Seeker Scholarship candidates must return a completed scholarship application form, including documentary evidence regarding immigration status, by 23.59 GMT on 04 April 2019.
2. Tuition fees will be waived upon enrolment in 2019-20 and a maintenance scholarship will be paid in monthly instalments over 12 months.
3. Students must register on their degree programme by the start date outlined in their offer.
4. Scholarships may not be deferred to the following academic year.
5. Students must request authorisation from the International Office before making any changes to their programme of study. Where changes are made without authorisation being granted, the scholarship may be withdrawn.
6. Candidates are normally required to achieve the required annual pass grade / percentage applicable for their programme in order to benefit from the scholarship for the subsequent year of study. The University reserves the right to exercise its sole discretion regarding academic progression.
7. Students must inform International Student Support of any changes to their immigration status during their studies. Students must consent to regular UKVI immigration history checks to verify full immigration status, and will be required to meet with an International Student Support advisor on a monthly basis for the duration of their studies at the University.
8. If you receive a notification of a change in your Asylum-Seeker Status which means that you become eligible for student financial support from the UK government, you must make an application for support for the next academic year. For example, if you start a course with Asylum-Seeker Status in September and are then granted Refugee Status in November, you must apply for UK government student financial support for all future academic years of the course.
9. If the University is informed by the Home Office that you should not be studying in the UK at any point during the application process or your programme of studies, you will no longer be eligible for the award. You will be considered withdrawn and will be asked to leave your studies and, if applicable, University accommodation with immediate effect.
10. The University reserves the right to vary all or any scholarship awards and regulations and will exercise at its sole discretion.