2.5 Estranged students and care leavers
Estranged students
You can apply for student finance as an estranged student if:
- you’re under 25 years old
- you’re estranged from your parents
Being estranged from your parents means that you’ve not had any verbal or written contact with them for at least 12 months and this is unlikely to change.
If you’ve had contact with your parents within the last 12 months you can still apply, but you’ll need to give a full explanation of the nature of the contact. This would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
What does this mean for your student finance?
If you qualify for student finance as an estranged student, then we do not need your parents’ details to assess your application. This means you could be entitled to the maximum amount of student finance.
How to apply for student finance?
Applying for student finance as an estranged student is different than other ways of applying, as we do not need your parents’ financial details.
The quickest and easiest way to apply is to sign into your student finance account (opens in a new tab)
When filling out your application you'll be given the chance to tell us you want to apply as estranged.
What evidence you'll need to send
After you’ve submitted your application, we'll send you a Declaration of Estrangement form to complete. We'll also send you an Independent Verification of Estrangement form that needs to be completed by a third party who can confirm your estrangement.
You should provide as much evidence as you can to support your application. Send your evidence to your local Student Finance office.
You may be asked to give evidence of your estrangement each time you apply, but this will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Extra help
Your university or college may be able to provide you with additional support relating to your estrangement. Advisers can usually be found within the Student Services, Student Wellbeing or Student Union Teams.
The charity Stand Alone (opens in a new tab) offers a wide range of support to people experiencing estrangement from family.
You can also write to your local Student Finance NI (SFNI) office.
Further information
You can also read the Stand Alone student finance guide (opens in a new tab) for more information on applying for student finance if you're estranged.
Care leavers
You can apply for student finance as a care leaver if:
- you've been in the care of, or have been given accommodation by your local authority (LA)
- your time in care lasted at least 13 weeks
- your time in care ended after you turned 16
- you've not returned to the care of your parent(s) before the first day of the first academic year of your course
What does this mean for your student finance?
Applying for student finance as a care leaver means we won't need financial details from your parent(s) to assess your application. This means you could be entitled to the maximum amount of student finance.
How to apply for student finance?
Applying for student finance as a care leaver is different than other ways of applying, as we won't need your parent(s)' financial details.
The quickest and easiest way to apply is to sign into your student finance account (opens in a new tab).
When filling out your application you'll be given the chance to indicate you want to apply as a care leaver. Just tick the box to confirm you want to apply as a care leaver. Remember and check your 'To do' list in case we ask you for any evidence.
What evidence you'll need to provide?
We'll need you to provide some evidence to prove your care leaver status.
You'll to need to provide a letter confirming:
- that you were looked after by a local authority (this includes being placed in foster care by your local authority (LA);
- the dates you were in care; and
- that you have not returned to the care of your parent(s) prior to the first day of the first academic year of your course.
Evidence should be sent to your local Student Finance (SFNI) office.
What if you've been in foster care or adopted?
You can also apply as a care leaver if you were placed in foster care by your LA for a period of at least 13 weeks that ended after you turned 16.
If you were in a private fostering arrangement with (for example) a family member, God parent or family friend you won't be able to apply as a care leaver, but you may still be able to apply as an independent student. The evidence you need to send will depend on your specific circumstances.
If it's the case you have been officially adopted by your foster parent(s), we'll then assess your application based on your adoptive parents' income.
Further information
You can find more information about care leavers and applying for student finance on the following websites: