Estranged students
Frequently Asked Questions

Family estrangement refers to a situation where you and your parents have become emotionally and physically distant, resulting in a breakdown in the relationship. This may result in having no connection with your parents, very limited communication with family, or complete separation from them.

Estrangement can arise for various reasons and may take different forms, for example family breakdown, abuse, being disowned, or other severe circumstances. In many cases, the relationship becomes irreparable, resulting in a complete breakdown of communication between parent and child. Sometimes, estrangement affects just one family member, but in other instances, it may extend to the entire family or even a wider community. This can be emotionally distressing and significantly impact wellbeing.

If you’re under 25, some aspects of Student Finance England (SFE) funding – such as part of the Maintenance Loan – are based on your parents' income. This means that dependent students must provide evidence of parents' earnings. However, if you are estranged from your parents, an exception allows your funding to be assessed solely on your own income. This generally means you qualify for the maximum Maintenance Loan as an independent student.

If you are claiming independent status based on estrangement, Student Finance England (SFE) considers you as being estranged if you can demonstrate that you have been irreconcilably estranged from your parents for at least 12 months on or before the first day of the academic year for which you are applying for funding.

If you are more recently estranged, the SFE will look at all circumstances on a case-by-case basis and whether you can demonstrate in another way that you are irreconcilably estranged from your parents and/or it is dangerous for you to contact your parents. This means that, in the short to medium term, you don't believe you will be able to resume your relationship with your parents. It’s more about the likelihood of the situation being irreconcilable than the actual period of estrangement. However, if you become estranged during an academic year, it may still be possible for SFE to accept that you have become estranged.

You cannot claim independent status just because you don’t get on with your parents, or don’t live with your parents, or they don’t want to give details of their income, or financially support you (above your student loan).

The Student Finance England process of applying as an estranged student and the evidence required:

1. You apply for funding and indicate estrangement.

2. The estrangement declaration form is available on your account to download and complete.

3. You pass the estrangement declaration form to a third party to complete. A third party is a trusted and independent person who knows you, is aware of your estrangement and can provide a supporting statement. This person must not be related to you or be a close friend of the family.

Examples of accepted third parties you could consider:

• a statement/letter from your local authority social worker or other support worker
• a statement/letter from a doctor who knows your situation
• a statement/letter from your school or college
• a statement/letter from a person of good standing in the community (for example, a solicitor, religious leader or a counsellor)
• a letter from a housing organisation (if you were trying to find alternative accommodation)
• a letter of support from a counselling or similar organisation that may have been helping with your estrangement
• a police report evidencing any related incidents.

4. The third party completes the form and returns it to you.

5. You send the form to Student Finance England and your case is passed to the independent team – you can also upload your scanned form to your SFE online account via the Digital Upload section.

6. An independent team review your form, and if acceptable, re-assess your application.

To find details of the evidence required by SFE, please view the Confirmation of Estrangement form.

Once you have been assessed as estranged by SFE, you will receive an email confirming you have been awarded independent status on the grounds of estrangement. The email should have a PDF letter attached confirming your status. You will automatically be awarded the Reading Bursary and the Care Experienced and Estrangement Bursary from the University.

When granting independent status based on estrangement, SFE will either: 

• Let you know whether they have granted independent status for the course duration. In this case, you don't need to reconfirm your estrangement in subsequent academic years, but you do need to reapply for student finance each year, as all students do.

or 

• Let you know they will ask you to reconfirm your estrangement each academic year, when you apply for student finance. This is straightforward and involves completing a declaration form, which SFE should send to your online account. To complete the form, you will need to ask someone who knows you to confirm that you are still estranged. You can contact the Student Welfare Team, who can usually assist you in completing this.  

If you become estranged from your family during your course, or if you are thinking of estranging yourself, please contact the Student Welfare Team as soon as you can. The Student Welfare Team can discuss estrangement with you and support you with practical issues such as accessing funding and housing options to help minimise the impact on your studies. We can also offer emotional support if you are finding it difficult to decide what to do.

The Estranged and Care Experienced Students (EaCES) website and handbook.

Stand Alone, a charity supporting people that are estranged, is now closed but their helpful guides and templates are still accessible.