Financially-sponsored international students
If an organisation has offered to fund your studies at the University of York, we need to approve them as a financial sponsor first.
You are a financially-sponsored student if:
- you're a current York student, or you hold an offer to study with us in the future
and
- an organisation (your financial sponsor) is paying some or all of your tuition fees and living costs.
Who can be a financial sponsor?
Financial sponsors can be organisations such as:
- government bodies (such as a ministry, embassy, or other government department)
- UK-funded government scholarship programmes (such as Chevening)
- overseas universities
- employers and companies (such as one you currently work for, or may work for after completing your studies).
Financial sponsors must also be:
- known and contactable
- able to verify and confirm that they are financially sponsoring you
- verified by the University of York as an approved financial sponsor.
To become a financial sponsor, a formal agreement must be in place between the organisation and the University.
We cannot accept financial sponsorships that we have not approved in advance. Any payments made prior to a financial sponsorship being approved will not be refunded to either the sponsor or you.
Your responsibilities
Deadline: you must complete the following steps before 11.59pm BST, 3 September 2025.
Please remember to state your student number or UCAS ID in any correspondence.
Contact us
If you have queries about your financial sponsorship, please contact your financial sponsor.
If you cannot resolve your query with your financial sponsor and require support from the University regarding your sponsorship, please email international@york.ac.uk.
Financial sponsors can send email queries regarding a student’s progression or status to international@york.ac.uk.
Your financial sponsor must confirm your sponsorship in writing. This is in the form of a financial sponsorship letter.
This letter must be on the organisation's official headed paper and include:
- your name, student/UCAS ID, course title and academic year of study
- the financial sponsor's business address, website, valid business email address (not a personal email address) and business contact telephone number
- Please ensure your sponsor's contact details are up to date. We must be able to contact your financial sponsor before their sponsorship can be approved.
- the amount of funding and duration of your studies
- the financial sponsor's company registration number
- For sponsors based in the UK, this is a VAT number.
- the financial sponsor’s organisation purchase order (PO) number or reference number (applicable to organisations who pay by invoice)
- State where the invoice should be sent if this is different to the address on the letter.
Upload your sponsor's financial sponsorship letter to the Sponsorship section in You@York. You must do this before your financial sponsor makes any payments to the University.
If you cannot provide a financial sponsorship letter by the above deadline, please email the Fees Office (fees-office@york.ac.uk) with an explanation of your situation.
The University will verify your financial sponsorship and ensure that your financial sponsor can be held liable for payment of the agreed fees.
If your financial sponsorship cannot be verified, responsibility for paying your fees will fall to you.
If your financial sponsorship is formally agreed, the details will be added to your student record. Once they have appeared you can continue with your enrolment online.
If the details do not appear on your student record, please email the Fees Office (fees-office@york.ac.uk) before proceeding with your enrolment. Do not select another payment method: fees paid in error or as a placeholder cannot be refunded.
After you enrol online
Once we have approved your financial sponsorship and you have enrolled as a student, your financial sponsor will be invoiced for the total of the agreed fees for that academic year.
Renewing your sponsorship
If your sponsorship is confirmed on an annual basis, you must obtain and submit an up-to-date sponsorship letter for each year of funding (normally before the start of each academic year).
Paying fees
Invoices are issued directly to your financial sponsor by email at the start of the academic year. Fees for each academic year must be paid in one instalment within 28 days of the invoice date. Financial sponsors cannot pay fees in multiple instalments.
Unpaid fees
If your financial sponsor does not pay your fees, or only partially pays, we will send them a number of reminder letters asking for payment. If the fees remain unpaid you will be informed and the outstanding fees will be transferred to your student account. It is then your responsibility to pay your fees, which will become payable immediately.
If any fees remain outstanding at the end of the academic year, you may be prevented from re-enrolling for the next academic year or graduating.
Failure to pay your tuition fees may ultimately result in your suspension from your course.
Contact us
If you have queries about your financial sponsorship, please contact your financial sponsor.
If you cannot resolve your query with your financial sponsor and require support from the University regarding your sponsorship, please email international@york.ac.uk.
Financial sponsors can send email queries regarding a student’s progression or status to international@york.ac.uk.