At King’s College London we recognise that any legal background of involuntary immigration can have a significant impact on educational opportunities and outcomes, and therefore provide pre-entry and on-course support to forced migrant students.

We use the term 'forced migrant' as an umbrella term for the following immigration backgrounds.

• Asylum seeker is someone who has lodged an application for protection on the basis of the Refugee Convention or Article 3 of the ECHR
• Refugee is a former asylum seeker person who has been granted refuge in a country other than their home country. They have been able to prove that if they are returned home, they will be prosecuted because of their race, religion, nationality, social group or political opinion.
• Humanitarian Protection is given to people, if sent back, would face punishment due to a previously not mentioned case.
• Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Child status is given in unique cases for children arriving to the country separated from their parents, for a limited period of time, usually until they turn 17.5.
• Limited Leave to Remain (previously Discretionary Leave to Remain) is given for applicants with unique cases to remain in the UK for a limited period of time

Disclosing forced migrant status can provide context when making admissions decisions but also ensures we provide the right financial, academic, and personal support.  We do not need to know why a student is a forced migrant or any other detail.

To disclose their forced migrant status students should do the following if relevant: 

• Say they are a forced migrant student on their personal statement 

• Ensure the teacher reference gives additional information and provides context 

• If needed, fill in the Mitigating Circumstances form.

• Contact us directly at priority-groups@kcl.ac.uk 

If you are a forced migrant and applying to study at King’s, we strongly advise you to disclose this directly to us. This will allow admissions staff to take your circumstances into consideration and will not have a negative impact on your application. 

We use this data to holistically assess an applicant’s future potential to succeed and to differentiate between similar highly qualified candidates.

As a forced migrant , you will receive additional consideration. Examples of the ways in which additional consideration is given are described below:

• Students whose predicted grades are marginally lower than that required for the course may be given an offer.

• Students whose application is considered as being close to the standard required to gain an interview may be offered an interview.

• Students whose admissions test score is considered as being close to the required standard might be given an offer or interview.

• Students who narrowly fail to meet their conditional offer will be given additional consideration as to whether their place should be confirmed.

In order to receive this consideration, you must contact priority-groups@kcl.ac.uk directly

Additional admissions consideration for forced migrant applicants

If you are a forced migrant and applying to study at King’s, we strongly advise you to disclose this directly to us. This will allow admissions staff to take your circumstances into consideration and will not have a negative impact on your application. 

We use this data to holistically assess an applicant’s future potential to succeed and to differentiate between similar highly qualified candidates.

As a forced migrant, you will receive additional consideration. Examples of the ways in which additional consideration is given are described below:

• Students whose predicted grades are marginally lower than that required for the course may be given an offer.
• Students whose application is considered as being close to the standard required to gain an interview may be offered an interview.
• Students whose admissions test score is considered as being close to the required standard might be given an offer or interview.
• Students who narrowly fail to meet their conditional offer will be given additional consideration as to whether their place should be confirmed.

In order to receive this consideration, you must contact priority-groups@kcl.ac.uk directly

Application support

King's College London has a designated member of staff (pre-entry), who can assist forced migrant students with all aspects of the application process: you can talk about course choices, receive feedback on a draft personal statement, tips on interviews as well as guidance on King's other support services e.g. student funding or the disability services.

For more information please contact us on priority-groups@kcl.ac.uk.

King's College London recognises the challenges faced by forced migrant students. We offer extensive support before they start at university. 

Pre university events

Long term programmes

King’s College London Widening Participation department prioritised care-experienced learners on long-term pre-university programmes. To learn more about long-term programmes run by King's Widening Participation department, visit our projects for prospective students webpages.

One-off events

Campus Tours

Watch our campus tour videos online, led by current students, to get a feel for study spaces and explore the social spaces on campus to find out the best spots to relax, grab a bite to eat and meet friends! You can also sign up to be notified about visiting campus for a tour.

Open days

As an alternative to our undergraduate on campus open days, we've been running a series of online events. You can catch up with all sessions on demand at your leisure and book onto upcoming events, as well as find out the latest updates for on campus events.

Starting university is a very exciting time but it can also be a bit overwhelming.  King's College London recognises that it can be particularly daunting if you have come from a forced migrant background or if you have a challenging home situation so we have a support to help you make the move successfully.

First term opportunities

Officially King’s - Bespoke Induction 

We are hosting a social welcoming event at the beginning of September where you will have the opportunity to hear from different Support Services and connect with people in similar situations to you. 

The Buddy Scheme

The Buddy Scheme is organised by the King’s College London Students’ Union to help incoming Widening Participation students form friendships and find communities by matching them up with experienced undergraduates. Buddy Mentors are there to answer their questions and signpost to useful resources. Everyone on the scheme can choose whether or not they’d like to be matched based on shared interests and/or experiences. In built into the scheme are regular virtual events for Buddy Mentors and Mentees to connect with one another and meet others on the scheme.

For more information on the scheme email: outreach@kclsu.org

Support throughout duration of course

Academic support 

All students are allocated a Personal Tutor from within their Department or School.

Careers

Our Career Advisory team can help you with getting a part time job, internship and graduate opportunities, as well as gaining employability skills.  

Personal support 

The wellbeing team offers Counselling and Mental Health Support for all undergraduate students. Counselling offers a safe, confidential, and supportive space, to help you to explore your problems, share and gain insight into your feelings, thoughts and behaviour. The service is free and confidential

Sanctuary Scholars

We have a designated advisor for sanctuary scholars currently at King's. They can help with any queries about higher education, whether that be about accommodation, studying or finances.

If you are an on course student and what to contact our designated advisor, please contact advice@kcl.ac.uk

Financial support

We have a number of scholarships specifically for forced migrant students. Details of these scholarships are below.

Sanctuary Scholarships

Sanctuary Scholarships: King’s College London has created a support package to ensure students who are not eligible for student finance can access higher education. We are offering Sanctuary Scholarships for students seeking sanctuary in the UK. These comprise of full tuition fee support and help with living costs, for each academic year of an undergraduate programme.

You must also, by virtue of your immigration status, be unable to access the Tuition Fee Loan or Maintenance Loan from Student Finance England.

You can read more about our Sanctuary Scholarships

Dr Monica Malik Refugee Bursary

King's College London is delighted to offer the Dr Monica Malik Refugee Bursary. This bursary will support postgraduate students from a refugee or humanitarian protection background to study at King's. The scholarship is worth £10,000.

You can read more about our Dr Monica Malik Refugee Bursary.

Other scholarships

King's offers several other bursaries which depending on immigration and fee status, forced migrant students may be eligible for. 

We can offer support to forced migrant students in identifying whether they are eligible for student finance based on their immigration status. If students are not eligible, we can help explore other avenues of financial support. 

If you are working with a forced migrant child who is considering applying to university or you have a forced migrant background yourself, and you would like more information about the support available please contact our Designated Member of Staff, Jacqui Mujico at priority-groups@kcl.ac.uk.

Additionally, below you'll find a list of useful links where you can find more information about support and advice for forced migrants:

• Let us learn: The organisation provides advocacy, support and assistance to young people in difficulty; particularly those in trouble with the law and at risk of exclusion from school.
• Schwab & Westheimer Trust: The trust provide grants and scholarships for young asylum seekers and refugees in education. Their scholarship programme is now open: closing date is the 31st May. 
• Student Action for Refugees: STAR is a national charity of 26,000 students welcoming refugees to the UK. They volunteer at local refugee projects, campaign to improve the lives of refugees and educate people about refugees and asylum. They also maintain a list with universities currently offering scholarships for forced migrant students.
• Refugee Youth: Youth led organisation where young people work together to solve their problems through art workshops and events, eg. poetry, painting, drama and film making.

If you have any further queries at all, please don't hesitate to contact us via email at priority-groups@kcl.ac.uk.