• What an international sponsored student is
• What your sponsor letter needs to include
• How to submit your sponsor letter
• Sponsored student responsibilities
• Student status letters

What an international sponsored student is

You are an international sponsored student if you are an overseas fee payer who is funded by an organisation to attend the University of Bristol.

This does not include:

• University of Bristol scholarships
• UKRI scholarships
• US Federal Student loans
• a loan from a bank, unless it's part of a partnership with the university. 

Sponsorship could be to cover part or all of your course or programme fees and/or living costs from:

• your home government
• the British Council
• an international organisation or company
• an international university.

A sponsor is not a family member or friend who has agreed to pay your tuition fees.

What your sponsor letter needs to include

Your sponsor letter or Financial Guarantee letter confirms your sponsor's commitment for funding.

This letter must be on official headed paper from your sponsor’s organisation, and must include:

• your name
• your programme or course of study
• the name of the university
• the name and contact details of your official financial sponsor
• the official stamp of your official financial sponsor
• the date the letter was issued
  • this date should be within 12 months of the start of the course/programme
• the length of the sponsorship and which academic years it’s valid for
• either:
  • the amount of sponsorship and breakdown of what it is to be applied to, for example tuition fees and/or bench fees 
or
• that the sponsor will meet the full cost of tuition fees and any additional course/programme.

If no breakdown is provided, we will apply the full amount to tuition fees and any remaining to bench fees (if applicable). It is your responsibility to provide this breakdown from your sponsor.

How to submit your sponsor letter

Email your sponsor letter to International Partnerships and Relations at international-sponsors@bristol.ac.uk. You must provide your sponsor letter by the deadline or you will be invoiced for all tuition fees.

If you do not submit your letter by the deadline, we will consider you liable for all fees until we receive it. Submit your letter as soon as you receive it to avoid this.

Returning students

You must provide your sponsor letter by the given deadline at the beginning of each academic year. Send your sponsor letter to international-sponsors@bristol.ac.uk.

The deadline to submit your sponsor letter for the 2024/25 academic year is Sunday 1 September 2024.

If you cannot submit it by this date, email international-sponsors@bristol.ac.uk to explain your circumstances. Note that you will be considered liable for all fees until we receive your sponsor letter.

Sponsored student's responsibilities

• Submit your sponsor letter or Financial Guarantee letter (FGL) to international-sponsors@bristol.ac.uk at the beginning of each academic year before the given deadline. Failure to submit the letter will result in you being liable for the course/programme fees for that year.
• Comply with any requests made by your sponsor. This might include uploading a student status letter, uploading a copy of an invoice or uploading a document to specify other costs.
• We will only invoice your sponsor for costs explicitly mentioned on the FGL. If there are mistakes or corrections needed to your FGL, it is your responsibility to get this corrected and submit a new letter to international-sponsors@bristol.ac.uk as soon as possible.
• It is your responsibility that your fees are paid by you and/or your sponsor. If your sponsor fails to pay, the debt may be transferred to you and could prevent graduation.
• It is your responsibility to understand and follow the Terms and Conditions of your sponsor’s award to you. These may vary in some instances to the University’s own regulations, such as rules on suspensions and extensions.

Student status letters

You may need to submit a student status letter to your sponsor as proof of registration or to confirm your tuition fees (and bench fees if applicable) for the year. You can generate a letter online.

If you need your tuition fees to be included, you will need to ask for a bespoke letter.