Am I self-supporting?
If you have been working and supporting yourself independently of your
biological or adoptive parents for thirty six months prior to the start
of your course, you are eligible to apply for independent status on the
grounds of ‘self-support’. The three years does not have to be continual,
and it can be broken up.
You will need to provide evidence of this by showing that you are earning
enough to be nancially independent. You can do this by supplying P60s
or payslips for the thirty six months you have been supporting yourself,
statements of earnings from HMRC or employer, a statement from the job
centre indicating the periods of time you were receiving benets.
Although periods on benets count towards showing you have been
nancially independent, do not only provide benets awards letters, as on
their own, these don’t summarise your income for the three years prior to
the start of your course.
If you have had gaps in employment, you should send in material that
shows your earnings and how you were supporting yourself.
The income threshold for self-support is assessed on a case-by-case
basis but you are still advised to apply if you earn a small income but are
genuinely completely nancially independent. You will need to send in
further clarifying documents to show your circumstances. For example,
your income may be low because you have been working in a job that
provides you with accommodation, you may have particularly low rent or
you may have been claiming benets that give you a lower income.
Do I qualify as a care leaver?
If you were looked after by a local authority throughout any three month
period ending on or after the date on which you turned 16, and before the
rst day of the rst academic year of your course. A letter from a social worker or
support worker can be used as conrmation that you are a care leaver and your period
in care.
If you have been given a residency order that expires on your sixteenth
birthday, you must also send in evidence that you were in local authority
care for three months after your sixteenth birthday to be considered as a
care leaver.
If you have been in care, and have contact with your parents in the years
before leaving for University, you can be assessed on your parents’
income and won’t be considered independent.
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