Form

Evidence fact sheet for tuition fee only students and sponsors

Updated 14 October 2024

Applies to England

You might need to send supporting evidence with your application for student finance. This fact sheet gives examples of what you’ll need to send. You can find further information in the notes for the form you’re completing.

1. About your documents

If you send a copy of any document it must be certified.

A certified copy is a photocopy of an original document which must have been stamped, signed and dated as being a true copy of the original by a person of good standing in the community.

Examples of a person of good standing include:

• Minister of religion
• Doctor
• Lawyer
• Civil servant
• Teacher/lecturer (not college or university administration staff)
• Police officer

The person certifying the copy must not be related to you and will need to give their name, job title, address and contact telephone number. You can find a certifier checklist to help you give the information we need at www.gov.uk/student-finance

If you decide to send original documents, these will be returned to you.

2. Personal details

All applicants must give us details or evidence of their identity and nationality. If you’re applying as the family member of an EU national, evidence will be needed to show your relationship to each other.

2.1 Evidence of your identity and nationality

You can give us details from your valid identity document when you apply. You can give us details from one of the following:

• Passport
• National identity card
• Biometric residence card
• Biometric residence permit

If you’re a UK national or Irish citizen, you need to send your original valid UK, ROI or EU passport.

2.2 Evidence of family member’s identity, nationality and relationship to you

You can give us details from your family member’s valid identity document when you apply. You can give us details from one of the following:

• Passport
• National identity card
• Biometric residence card
• Biometric residence permit

If you’re applying for student finance as the family member of:

• a UK national
• an Irish citizen
• a person of Northern Ireland

you need to send us your family member’s original valid passport or birth or adoption certificate.

You also need to send us proof of your relationship to your family member. You can send us one of the following:

• birth or adoption certificate
• marriage certificate

2.3 Evidence of marital status

• Marriage certificate
• Family registration form (students from Sweden only)
• Divorce certificate/papers
• Official document confirming divorce/dissolved civil partnership
• Official document confirming separation
• Husband/wife’s death certificate

3. Income

If you need to send confirmation of your income, you should send evidence for every income type you have told us about.

Your evidence needs to be for the tax year ending 31 Dec 2022 (or 5 April 2023 if your income is earned/received in the UK).

3.1 Evidence of income you can send

• Income tax forms/statements
• Month 12/week 53 wage slips
• Written confirmation of earnings from your employer
• Written confirmation of income from your accountant
• Official document confirming benefits received
• Official document confirming taxable benefits in kind
• Official document confirming income from savings and investments
• Official document confirming bursaries/scholarships received
• Written confirmation from your pension provider

3.2 Evidence of deductions you can send

• Official document confirming private pension payments made

4. Evidence of dependent children

• birth certificate