International sponsored students

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.

Sponsors may cover part or all of your:

• course or programme fees
  and/or
• living costs.

Sponsors may be:

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

Sponsors are not:

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

What your sponsor letter needs to include

Your sponsor letter or Financial Guarantee letter (FGL) 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 you are attending 
• the name and contact details of your official financial sponsor
• the official stamp of your sponsor
• the date the letter was issued
  • this date should be within 12 months of the start of the course/programme, unless the letter states that the funding is valid for longer
• the length of the sponsorship and which academic year(s) 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 the International Sponsors Team 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 cannot submit your letter by the deadline, you will be considered liable for all fees until we receive your sponsor letter.

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.

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 each year. 

Sponsored students' responsibilities

• Read all of the International Sponsored Student Policy (PDF, 178kB).
• Submit your sponsor letter or FGL to international-sponsors@bristol.ac.uk at the beginning of each academic year by 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, a copy of an invoice or 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.
• Make sure your sponsor pays the agreed fees outlined in your FGL. If your sponsor fails to pay, the debt may be transferred to you and could prevent graduation.
• Understand the terms and conditions of your sponsor agreement and tell the university if it conflicts with the university's own regulations. For more detail, see the Sponsored Student Policy. 

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 course/programme tuition fees to be included, you will need to contact student services about including extra information.