How do I know if I qualify as an estranged student?
Generally, estrangement means you have little or no contact with your parents and this is unlikely to change.
You could apply for student finance as an estranged student if you are under 25 and:
- you have not had any contact (either verbal or written) with either of your biological / adoptive parents for 12 months or more, prior to starting your course, or
- your relationship with your parents has broken down within the last 12 months and you do not expect this to change in the near future
Student Finance England (SFE) may be able to consider estranged status for those estranged from their parents for less than 12 months, but this would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
If you are irreconcilably estranged from your parents, you will not be asked to provide any of your parents financial details. SFE know that it may not be possible or safe for some students to ask their parents for their income details. If this applies to you, then you may be able to be assessed as being an independent student. This means that once you send SFE evidence, they will award maintenance support based on your own income and where you are residing during your studies.
Common examples of estrangement can include students:
- that have no relationship with their parents and are living with friends
- living in supported accommodation, or
- living with other family members such as aunts, uncles or grandparents
Each application for estrangement is reviewed, based on your individual circumstances.
You should always apply for student finance as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for your application and evidence to be reviewed before starting your course.
How do I apply as an estranged student?
If you already have evidence of your estrangement, sending the SFE a copy is usually the fastest way to demonstrate estrangement (for example - a letter from your teacher, doctor, support worker or local authority, which confirms that you are not in contact with your parents). The letter will need to confirm their relationship to you and the length of time they have known you (this normally needs to be a minimum of 3 months).
The letter will need to confirm:
- your estrangement from both parents
- the duration of your estrangement
- the level of contact you have with your parents, and
- that reconciliation is unlikely
If you have already been in contact with our Specialist Support team, they may also be able to provide confirmation of your estrangement to SFE by completing a Confirmation of Estrangement Form, which can be found in your SFE online account.
All applications for estrangement are assessed on a case-by-case basis and usually involve a telephone call between yourself and a trained independent assessor at Student Finance England.
What else do I need to know?
If you qualify as an estranged student, you will usually only be asked to provide evidence of this once. However, you may be asked to provide additional evidence of your continued estrangement when you apply for student finance in further years, particularly if the estrangement occurred recently (usually within the last 12 months), or if reconciliation with your parents seems possible.
If you have any other enquiries about financial support for care leavers, you can contact either the Specialist Support team or Funding Advice team by submitting a case through the Student Hub online portal.