Financial Assistance Fund  Before you apply

The academic year for the majority of Undergraduate students ends on 20th June 2025 and most are not in active study over the summer break. We will generally only assess applications from Undergraduate students during this time if one the following criteria applies:

• You have dependent children (and you have already applied for all available benefits);
• You have caring responsibilities for children or adults (and you have already applied for all available benefits);
• You are unable to work or have limited availability to work due to illness (medical evidence will be required); 
• You are unable to work or have limited availability to work due to a disability (and you have already applied for all available benefits); 
• You are care experienced;
• You are estranged from both of your parents, or your guardian(s) and you have no support from your family, or, you have been granted independent status by the Student Loans Company due to estrangement; 
• You have been a Foyer Federation resident or participated in a similar scheme for homeless people.

If your course does not have a summer vacation, you can submit an application during the University summer months if:

• You are a Nursing or Midwifery student, or student on an undergraduate course with non-standard term dates, who has not already applied during the academic year

Postgraduate students who have not already applied in their current academic year can also submit an applicaiton during this period.

If you do not fall into one of the categories above, you can apply in the 2025-26 academic year once you have received your first instalment of statutory funding (e.g. Student Finance or NHS bursary support).

All registered students and Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs) on a higher education course at the University of Leeds who have experienced unforeseen changes to their financial situation, and who meet the ‘Eligibility Criteria’, can apply to the Financial Assistance Fund.

An unforeseen change is something that happened to you unexpectedly – you couldn’t predict it would happen, like an accident, and it’s affecting your financial situation. It must be something that has impacted you directly, or dependants who are living with you and are included in the application. The Fund is not able to support situations where your family or friends have experienced an ‘unforeseen change’ and are consequently unable to provide funds that had been previously promised and were part of your financial plan.

Unfortunately, it is not within the scope of the Fund to support students whose finances are impacted by currency fluctuations or political changes in their home country, or failure of a sponsor to provide agreed funding.

There are eligibility criteria you must meet as a student applying to the Fund:

• You must be registered on a higher education course at the University of Leeds;
• Students who have suspended studies for all/part of the year or are taking all/part of the year externally can still apply;
• Students who have stepped off the course and are ‘Not in Attendance’ (NA) cannot apply;
• You must not be ‘Under Examination’ (PGR);
• You must not be studying on a degree apprenticeship course;
• You must be able to show that you had funding in place and a sound financial plan to cover your living costs and tuition/examination fees at the commencement of your course and at the start of your current academic year (where your course is longer than 1 year); 
• You are expected to seek help from all other available funding routes before applying to the Financial Assistance Fund, including friends and family if applicable, and benefits if you are eligible;
• The Fund is primarily to help you to continue with your studies. If you have dependants (spouse/child/children), normally evidence of their income and expenditure will need to be provided to carry out a full financial household assessment;
• You must have applied on time, and received the first instalment of any statutory funding that you are entitled to e.g. Student Loan or NHS bursary.* 

*Note, if you applied for your statutory funding by the published deadline, have completed online registration and have had your ID checked, and the first instalment of your statutory funding has been delayed due to circumstances outside of your control please contact the Student Funding team at Funding@leeds.ac.uk. 

As an international student applying to the fund, you must: 

• Continue to meet all of your Student Visa requirements;
• Have a valid Tier 4 sponsorship or Student Visa. Students sponsored by the University of Leeds as Tier 4 students won’t be eligible for assistance from the fund if their Tier 4 Sponsorship is temporarily or permanently withdrawn;  
• Have met the UK Student Visa Financial requirement. 
• Be aware that because the Financial Assistance Fund is primarily for you, if dependants such as a spouse or child/children have travelled with you, you must have met the financial visa requirement;
• Be aware that if you hold a Tier 4 or Student Visa, applying for assistance from the Fund will not affect your visa or be reported to the Home Office. If your visa has a 'no recourse to public funds' condition on it, applying for/receiving assistance from the Fund is not a breach of this condition;
• Be aware that any student needing immigration permission to be in the UK will not be eligible to apply to the Fund if that permission expires or is curtailed by the UK Home Office;
• If you have non-UK bank accounts, provide your bank account statements and also complete the Financial Information Form which will be sent to you with the application form. You will need to convert foreign currency amounts into UK sterling. 

When filling out your application form, you’ll need to provide evidence when you submit your application, including all types of income and expenditure.  

For international students, we’ll automatically include some assumed income in your application:  

• £1136 per month will be included as standard income because you will have met the UK Student Visa Financial requirement;

• £680 per month for each dependant (e.g. spouse, child/children) will be included as standard income if dependants have travelled with you. 

For all students, here is a list of your income that you’ll need to evidence when filling out your application form: 

• Bank statements (your and your partner’s, if applicable) covering 90 days for all of your accounts, including savings accounts, locked savings accounts, ISAs, unused accounts, accounts closed in the previous 90 days, non-UK accounts;
• Documentation for all money available in your bank and savings accounts* - income/savings/wages/benefits - including your three most recent payslips (and/or for your partner, if applicable); 

*Please note, the assessment must take account of all available funding, including money in locked savings account(s), even if this was intended for a specific purpose. If you have funds in a UK Government Lifetime ISA, we will also need to include this as ‘available funds’ but we will take account of the 25% charge incurred for early withdrawal.

• Documentation of any statutory funding, bursaries and scholarships you receive. For example, your Student Finance England notification letter and/or NHS bursary statement (Home/UK students only);
• If you are a postgraduate, an international student, a part-time student, or an undergraduate with previous study, you will need to show that you had sufficient funding already secured and a sound financial plan in place to cover your tuition fee and living costs: i.) at the start of your study, if you are in the first year of study at Leeds; and additionally, ii.) at the start of your current academic year, if you are in year 2 onwards;
• Any financial contributions from family, friends or other sources, e.g. community trusts.

The purpose of the Fund is to provide support for essential living costs only, and there are certain costs that the Fund cannot assist with. Additionally, you may have some personal financial commitments that cannot be included in the overall expenditure assessment as they are beyond the scope of the Fund. These costs and commitments include, but are not limited to:

• Rent outside your academic year. The assessment will include the rent you are paying in your current academic year, but cannot include rent you need to pay before the start of, or after the end of, your academic year. Assessments for students who meet the eligibility criteria for applying to the Fund over the summer break will include the rent you are paying over the summer months.
• Tuition and Examination Fees;
• Visa Fees;
• Legal Fees;
• Fines and bank charges;
• Subscription charges and membership fees, e.g. for publications, membership of professional bodies, etc. (NB: a set amount for ‘Composite Living Costs’ will be included as expenditure and this figure incorporates allowances for gym membership and streaming services.); 
• Credit agreements and hire purchase arrangements, e.g. buying a mobile, equipment, car;
• Buying a laptop (except where the laptop has been purchased with the Disabled Student’s Allowance but the first £200 is not covered, in which case this amount can be included as expenditure in the assessment);
• Losses as a result of fraud or being scammed, or the loss or theft of cash, valuables, or possessions (please see the University guidance if you have been a victim of fraud or victim of a crime);
• Private medical treatment (including private therapy);
• Costs of keeping a pet;
• Costs of extra-curricular activities that are not a compulsory part of your course, e.g. attending conferences, summer schools;
• Replacement of non-essential household items stolen or damaged (these should be covered by contents insurance);
• Repaying loans to family and/or friends;
• Financially supporting family and/or friends, and expenditure incurred by them (including situations such as medical emergencies) except for dependants who are living with you and included in the application;
• Cost of attending your graduation ceremony;
• Post-graduation costs, e.g. relocating and starting work.

Need support finding the relevant evidence? 

The Student Funding team will contact you using your University email address if they need more information about your income and expenses. Check your email regularly to ensure your assessment isn’t delayed. 

Please contact the Student Funding team at Funding@leeds.ac.uk or LUU Help & Support if you have questions about the evidence required. 

You should apply as soon as you think you’ll face financial difficulties during your academic year. Don’t wait until you are in financial crisis. Evidence will still be needed to support this change in financial circumstance. 

You can apply at any point during your academic year if you are a registered student or PGR, including if you have suspended your studies or are repeating as an external. If you have completed your studies, including being under examination (UE), you no longer meet the Financial Assistance Fund eligibility criteria. 

It would normally be expected that you have received the first instalment of your statutory support, e.g. student loan or NHS bursary. If this is delayed for any reason, please contact the Student Funding team at Funding@leeds.ac.uk. 

Applications with all necessary evidence need to be submitted and accepted as complete before the last day of your personal academic year. 

You generally shouldn’t need to submit a second application in any one study year because the original assessment will normally cover the period up to the end of your academic year. However, if there has been a significant change in your financial circumstances, you can ask for your application to be reassessed. Depending on the situation, and how long it has been since you applied, you may be required to complete another application form and submit up-to-date evidence.

You can ask for a reassessment whether or not you initially received a financial award. If the reassessment shows that you have a financial need, you may receive a financial award. You can ask for a reassessment at any time before the last day of your academic year. Not all changes in circumstances will result in a change to the original assessment.  

Before requesting a reassessment please contact the Student Funding team at Funding@leeds.ac.uk to discuss your eligibility. 

The first stage of the application process is to check your current financial situation. If you need immediate financial help, where it’s appropriate, you’ll receive a low-value ‘emergency’ award covering a two-week period to help you buy essential items such as food and toiletries. Afterwards, a full financial assessment will be undertaken. No two applicants are the same. All applications to the Financial Assistance Fund will be assessed individually by an experienced member of the Student Funding team. Assessments are completed fairly, consistently and without judgement following the criteria of the scheme.   

This means that not everyone who is assessed will receive financial support. The possible assessment outcomes are:

• A financial award 
• A financial award and referral to a specialist service, e.g. Counselling and Wellbeing, or for budgeting advice
• No financial award.
• No financial award and referral to a specialist service, e.g. Counselling and Wellbeing, or for budgeting advice 

A financial award means money that is given to you from the Fund. If you do not receive an award, a brief explanation will be outlined in the Decision Email from the Student Funding team. You can contact the team for a fuller explanation. You will also be sent information about the Appeal Process.

Where information is disclosed in an application raising concern of harm or danger to self or others, this information will be shared with the appropriate specialist teams within the University.

If you are a Research Postgraduate, a Taught Postgraduate, an International student, a Part-time student, an Undergraduate student who isn’t eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan due to previous study or due to not meeting other eligibility criteria, or an Undergraduate who has chosen not to take out a Student Loan, you will need to demonstrate that you meet the following requirements to be assessed for an award:

1. You had a sound financial plan in place at the commencement of your course and at the start of the current academic year to cover both your tuition/examination fees and living costs; and,

2. If you are an international student, we will assume as a minimum that you have the monthly income figure required to obtain a UK Student Visa for yourself and any dependants. Although, for the Visa, you need to demonstrate the monthly income for 9 months, if your academic year is 12 months, we will apply the monthly income figure for 12 months in calculating your minimum required income. If your monthly expenditure exceeds the UK Student Visa monthly income figure, you are expected to fund this shortfall yourself, for example, through paid work; and, 

3. Since the start of your current academic year there has been an unexpected change in your situation that could not have been reasonably foreseen and that has impacted your financial plan. Please read the section above for guidance on what can be considered an ‘unforeseen change’ within the criteria of the Fund.

If the assessor determines that a sound financial plan was in place (i.e. you were able to cover the costs of living expenses and tuition) and an unforeseen change has occurred that affected your finances, then they will assess your current financial situation to determine if an award can be made.