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Government maintenance loans for estranged young people

When a student is under 25 and is applying for a means-tested Maintenance Loan, the student is required to provide their parents’ income data to SFE. This is because SFE does not consider students who are under 25 as independent from their parents.

If you are estranged and therefore do not have access to your parent’s income data, you will not be able to be means-tested for the maintenance loan.

If the above applies to you, our dedicated Student Advice Service can help. To access support, you will need to demonstrate that:

1. you are estranged from your parents and

2. you have had no contact with both parents for a minimum of 12 months.

While you do not need to provide evidence of your estrangement, you will need to complete this Estrangement Declaration Form .

We recommend that you seek help at your earliest opportunity, preferably during your enrolment process.

Why accessing support is important

If you cannot be means-tested because of estrangement, it means that you will automatically get a lower maintenance loan, unless you have someone who can complete the estrangement declaration form as a third party to Student Finance England (SFE).

Key takeaways

  • Help is available for estranged students who are 25 and below, to access the full Maintenance Loan.
  • It is best to seek help at your earliest opportunity
  • You can contact us for more information and support.