University of Birmingham Sanctuary Scholarship 2026

The University of Birmingham is pleased to be able to offer five Sanctuary Scholarships for new undergraduate and postgraduate taught students starting at the University in 2026 who have sought refuge in the UK. We are committed to providing a welcoming environment for Asylum Seekers and we are passionate about being a University of Sanctuary. 

Table of Content

• Summary
• Benefits
• Requirements
• Interview Process
• Application Deadline
• How To Apply

Summary

• Application DeadlineMarch 8, 2026
• Study LevelMasters , Undergraduate
• SponsorUniversity of Birmingham
• City to studyBirmingham
• School to studyUniversity of Birmingham
• Eligible CountryAll Countries

Benefits

Sanctuary Scholars will receive:

• A full-tuition fee waiver for the duration of your course.
• A yearly £5,000 payment to help with study costs, paid monthly.
• A fully-funded place in University-owned accommodation for the duration of your course.
• A welcome pack with useful resources to help get your studies off to a great start.

Requirements

The Sanctuary Scholarships have been established to help prospective students who have sought refuge in the UK and are unable to access student loans or other sources of statutory funding available in the UK, due to their residency status.

To be considered for a Sanctuary Scholarship you must be able to demonstrate that you meet the following conditions at the point your application for the Scholarship is made:

• You must be in the UK and;
• You must be unable to access mainstream UK student funding due to your residency status at the point your application for the Scholarship is made and;
• You must have submitted, or be a dependant* of someone who has submitted, an asylum application in the UK OR you need to have already been granted discretionary leave, at the point your application for the Scholarship is made and;
  
  *To be classed as a dependent, spouses/civil partners must have been the spouse/civil partner on the date 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.

• You must have made an application** to study at the University of Birmingham for a full-time undergraduate or postgraduate taught course beginning in September 2026.
  
  **Please note that an application for the scholarship is not an application to study at the university. A separate application for admission to the University of Birmingham needs to be made before you make an application for the Sanctuary Scholarship. If your application to study is rejected, we will be unable to consider your application for the Scholarship.

If your status changes after you have made an application for the Sanctuary Scholarship, at any point prior to or during your studies, it’s really important that you get in touch with us to discuss the issue as quickly as possible by emailing us at [email protected].

Open to students with the following nationalities: Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories , Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, The Caribbean and West Indies, The Philippines, Türkiye, UAE, USA, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Selection Process

1. After you’ve completed the online application form, Funding, Graduation and Awards will check your application and contact you if we need any further information.
2. Your application will then be reviewed by the University’s International Student Team (IST) to check that you meet the eligibility criteria for an award. The University will need to contact the Home Office on your behalf, so it’s important that you complete the authorisation form as part of your scholarship application.
3. If your application is taken forward, it will be shared with the University’s Sanctuary Scholarship panel, who will identify the applicants that we would like to invite for an interview.
4. For those who make it to this stage, the interviews will take place either at our Edgbaston campus or online (interview dates TBC).
5. Successful candidates will be identified at the interviews and notified of the outcome by the beginning of June. All awards are made at the discretion of the panel and there is no appeal against a decision not to award a scholarship.
6. If necessary, the successful candidates will then be invited to an English Language testing day, hosted by the Birmingham International Academy (BIA) in either June or July. The testing will help those who have outstanding English Language requirements in their offer to study at the University of Birmingham.

Application Deadline

How To Apply

To make an application for the scholarship you must:

1. Make an application to study at the University of Birmingham – Applications to study at the University of Birmingham are separate from applications for the Sanctuary Scholarship. There are different ways to make an application to study at the university. You can read about how to apply for foundation, undergraduate or postgraduate study on our website. If you are having issues with your application to study at the university, please contact our Admissions team at [email protected].

2. Complete the letter of authority form – The Letter of Authority form gives us the authority to confirm your status with the Home Office and for us to discuss your case with them. You need to complete this section first for us to be able to consider you for an award. Once you have submitted this first section of the form, you will then be able to access the main scholarship application form through the link provided in the submission confirmation message at the end of the letter of authority.

3. Main Application Form - The final step is to complete the main application form. The application form will ask some questions about your current situation, a reference (if possible), and then some short personal statement style questions. You will need to complete all the sections of the form to be considered for an award.

You can begin your application for a Sanctuary Scholarship through our online letter of authority form. You will need to have submitted your letter of authority and main scholarship application form by the deadline of 23:59 on 8 March 2026.

It’s important to remember that the availability of awards is limited and as such not all applications will be successful. Applicants will be informed of the outcome by the end of June.

For more details, visit University of Birmingham Scholarship webpage