Handbook

Financial allowances

Concurrent awards

Your Commonwealth Scholarship covers fares, fees, and a living allowance whilst you are in UK. PhD and Split-site scholarships also cover approved research costs. PhD scholarships additionally cover certain approved fieldwork costs.

It is important to be aware that other scholarships, awards, or bursaries that cover the same costs as those provided by the CSC may not be held concurrently. If you are offered a concurrent award, you should seek advice from your Programme Officer. If you accept another award without declaring it to the CSC, the CSC reserves the right to withdraw your Commonwealth Scholarship.

Bank accounts

If the duration of your scholarship is more than six months, you must open a UK bank account in order to receive your allowances and to minimise bank charges.

The information and documentation you need to open a bank account may vary between different banks, and some banks can take longer than others to process new accounts, so it’s worth considering these factors and checking with banking providers about what’s required before you decide to open an account with them.

You can open a bank account with an approved ‘high street’ bank or an approved online/mobile bank. For further information, visit the UKCISA page on Opening a bank account.

You must submit your bank details to the CSC using the bank account form available on the Policies and Forms page. You should follow the instructions on this form carefully and never share your bank account details in an email. Please be aware that the CSC cannot accept bank account details provided in a name other than your own.

If you do not provide the CSC with your UK bank account details within the first six weeks of arriving in the UK, you risk having your stipend suspended.

You must ensure that all funds are removed from your cash card within 6 months.

It is very important that you inform your Programme Officer about any changes to your bank account details. If you decide to change your bank account, you must provide the new details to your Programme Officer as soon as possible using the form on the CSC website and following the instructions carefully. You must keep your old account open until your stipend is credited to your new account. If you do not keep your old account open, there may be a delay in receiving any allowances paid during this period.

Warm clothing allowance

Where applicable, you will receive a warm clothing allowance when you first arrive in the UK. This payment will be transferred automatically onto your cash card upon arrival.

Stipend (living allowance)

Your stipend or living allowance is calculated to cover your basic living expenses, such as accommodation, meals, personal expenses, daily travel costs, and for selective study materials such as course books and other sundry items whilst you are on award in the UK. The stipend is not sufficient to fund extensive social activities, holidays, or activities such as running a car or supporting family members and dependants either in the UK or abroad.

If you are studying at a university and are residing in London, your stipend will include a London living weighting.

The CSC will inform you of any changes to your stipend rate as and when they occur. If a period of study outside the UK is exceptionally approved during your scholarship, your stipend will be paid at your home country’s ‘local’ rate.

If you have declared a disability, the CSC will undertake an assessment of your needs and eligibility for any additional financial support you may be eligible for whilst you are undertaking your scholarship in the UK.

Your stipend will be paid from the day that you arrive in the UK. Your stipend will stop on the last day of your award, as stated on your Notification of Award, or the day that you leave the UK, whichever is earlier.

Payment dates

Your stipend will be paid quarterly, and you will usually receive this as a regular payment in your bank account ahead of the first day of each quarter. Although the money will often reach your account a few days prior to this date, you should make sure that any direct debits are paid from your account after the first day of the quarter.

Please note that stipends cannot be paid before the quarterly payment date. The payment of your stipend is initiated fourteen working days before your bank account is credited, so if you change your bank account, you must inform your Programme Officer well in advance of the payment date.

It is important to remember that your final quarter’s stipend will be suspended and will not be released until your departure arrangements are confirmed. Your stipend and allowances will be released only after you confirm your homeward flight booking, or for PhD Scholars, once your request to defer your homeward airfare is approved.

Tuition fees

Your university will send invoices for approved fees to the CSC. If you receive an invoice for these fees, you should inform your university that you are a Commonwealth Scholar and provide a copy of your Notification of Award as evidence of your sponsorship, so that your university can invoice the CSC.

Approved fees usually include fees for tuition, and, for PhD and Split-site Scholars, a Research Support Grant if applicable. However, you must pay subscriptions to any university or college clubs or societies that you join yourself.

Study Travel Grant

Your scholarship allowances include a Study Travel Grant which can be used to fund certain events and activities related to your academic studies. The amount of Study Travel Grant available to you can be found on your Notification of Award. Your Study Travel Grant can be used to cover travel to academic events, conference fees, and accommodation related to your studies.

You will receive your Study Travel Grant payment in your December stipend payment following the start of your award, or in your next stipend payment if your award begins after December.

You no longer need to apply for the Study Travel Grant via the forms on our website because this grant will be paid to you automatically.

Thesis Grant

Master’s Scholars: If you are a Master’s Scholar you will receive £225 per year as a Thesis Grant to assist with the costs of working on your thesis submission.

This will be paid automatically in the December stipend as part of the Supplementary Allowance.

Reimbursements

You can claim reimbursement for certain costs incurred either before the start of your scholarship, or during your scholarship. However, before incurring any costs, you should confirm with your Programme Officer that they will be reimbursed.

For costs incurred before your scholarship, you must submit all claims for reimbursement within three months of your arrival in the UK. For costs incurred during your scholarship, you must submit all claims for reimbursement within three months of incurring the cost.

Please note that any costs claimed for reimbursements must be of benefit to your scholarship. You should consider this carefully before submitting any costs for reimbursement and be aware that reimbursement claims submitted towards the end of your scholarship may not be approved if they are deemed by the CSC not to benefit your scholarship.

You can find the Claim for Reimbursement form on the Policies and Forms page. You will need to submit this form with original receipts to your Programme Officer. The CSC aims to process all claims within 15 working days of submission.

Overpayments

You must inform your Programme Officer any time you travel outside the UK to ensure that you receive the stipend that you are entitled to. You should be aware that the CSC takes incidences of overpayments or payment of stipend you are not entitled to very seriously and if you believe that you have been overpaid any amount of money or have been paid money you are not entitled to, you must contact your Programme Officer immediately. Your Programme Officer will advise on how to repay any overpayment made to you.

Any cases where a Scholar is found to have falsely claimed expenses, not declared their absence from the UK, or failed to repay a stipend advance or an overpayment of stipend or allowances to which they were not otherwise entitled will be considered under the CSC Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy.

Family allowances

You may be eligible to receive an allowance for additional support based on your family circumstances.

PhD Scholars: If you are a PhD Scholar and your spouse and/or child/children are, or will be, living with you in the UK, you may be eligible to claim family allowances.

 

Please note that if you receive spouse or child allowances, you will not be eligible for a mid-term visit to your home country.

Master’s and Split-Site Scholars: If you are a Master’s or Split-Site Scholar and a single parent (i.e. you do not have a second parent supporting your child/children in the UK or your home country), you are eligible to claim child allowance for up to three of your accompanying children, provided that they are living with you in the UK for a continuous period of at least three months. You can also claim child allowance for children between the ages of 16 and 18 who remain in full-time education in the UK during your scholarship.

 

The immigration rules expect that both parents of a child dependant will be in, or coming to, the UK with them. The only exceptions to this are:

 

• When the child’s other parent is deceased.
• If you have sole responsibility for the child’s upbringing.
• If there are other serious or compelling considerations that mean the child should be with you in the UK and you have make suitable arrangements for the child’s care.

Please note that the threshold for the last two exceptions is very high and UKVI will not usually consider the exception to be met where the situation put forward is one that merely inconveniences the family. If you are bringing your children to the UK without your partner please seek immigration advice.

You should be aware that family allowances are only intended to be a contribution towards the cost of maintaining your family in the UK. Unfortunately, the true costs are likely to be considerably higher, and you should bear this in mind when you are deciding whether to bring your family to the UK.

Please note that family allowances are paid only from the date your family members arrive in the UK. If you are receiving a grant or allowances to support your family from another source, you are not eligible to claim family allowances from the CSC and you must notify your Programme Officer.

At any time during your award, you may be required to provide proof that your spouse, child, or children are still living with you in the UK. It is important to remember that eligibility for family allowance does not guarantee that your family members will be eligible for a UK visa.

You should also be aware that Visa and Immigration Health Surcharge fees are very high for dependants and are not reimbursed by the CSC. You should read the current immigration requirements carefully before deciding to apply for a visa for your spouse, child or children. For further guidance about this, please visit the UKCISA page on dependants. There is a dependants guidance on the pre-award section of the CSC website. This also includes information about how the family allowance letter can help your family members meet the financial requirements of the student dependant visa.

PhD Scholars accompanied by spouse only

PhD Scholars: Spouse allowance is payable only in respect of a legally recognised marriage or civil partnership. If you are accompanied by your spouse, you are eligible to claim spouse allowance for the first nine months of their stay only, provided that they are living with you in the UK for a continuous period of at least three months. You are not eligible to claim spouse allowance if your spouse is also in receipt of a scholarship, a citizen or permanent resident in the UK or a country in the European Union (EU) or residing in the UK on a working visa.

 

PhD Scholars accompanied by children and spouse

If you are accompanied by your spouse and children, you are eligible to claim spouse allowance and child allowance for the first, second, and third child under the age of 16, provided that they are living with you in the UK for a continuous period of at least three months. You can also claim child allowance for children between the ages of 16 and 18 who remain in full-time education in the UK during your award. You are not eligible to claim spouse allowance if your spouse is also in receipt of a scholarship, a citizen or permanent resident in the UK or a country in the European Union (EU) or residing in the UK on a working visa.

 

Given the full-time commitment of undertaking a Commonwealth Scholarship, in most cases, the CSC assumes that your spouse will be primarily responsible for childcare. However, if this is not the case, you should contact your university as soon as possible to determine whether there are childcare facilities available to support you.

 

PhD Scholars accompanied by children only

You are eligible to claim child allowance for up to three of your accompanying children, provided that they are living with you in the UK for a continuous period of at least three months. You can also claim child allowance for children between the ages of 16 and 18 who remain in full-time education in the UK during your award.

 

The immigration rules expect that both parents of a child dependant will be in, or coming to, the UK with them. The only exceptions to this are:

 

• When the child’s other parent is deceased.
• If you have sole responsibility for the child’s upbringing.
• If there are other serious or compelling considerations that mean the child should be with you in the UK and you have make suitable arrangements for the child’s care.

Please note that the threshold for the last two exceptions is very high and UKVI will not usually consider the exception to be met where the situation put forward is one that merely inconveniences the family. If you are bringing your children to the UK without your partner please seek immigration advice.

 

Claiming family allowances

To claim for child allowance for children under 16, you should send a completed Family Record Form to your Programme Officer with copies of each child’s birth certificate, passport, and visa along with a copy of the entry date stamp (with certified translations, where necessary) and, in the case of Master’s and Split-Site Scholars, evidence of your single parent status.

To claim child allowance for children between the ages of 16 and 18, you must additionally provide documentary evidence that they are still in full-time education.

If any children join you in the UK at a later date or are born in the UK, you will need to provide proof of their arrival or birth before any child allowances can be paid.

PhD Scholars: If you are eligible for spouse allowance you should send a completed family record form to your Programme Officer along with a copy of your valid marriage/civil partnership certificate or proof of legal status of relationship (with certified English translation, where necessary) and copies of your spouse’s passport pages showing their photograph, entry stamp, and leave to remain stamp.

You must inform your Programme Officer in advance of any expected change in your family circumstances (for example, the arrival or departure of your family in the UK, any change in the number of children who qualify for child allowance), as this will affect your entitlement.

You can find the Family Record Form on the Policies and Forms page.

Council Tax

Council Tax is a charge for the services provided by local councils.

You must never ignore any bills you receive for Council Tax, even if you believe that the amount is incorrect or that you should not be paying the charge. If you are in any doubt, you should contact your local council immediately.

If you are living in university halls of residence, a hostel owned by a charity, or a house shared with other full-time students or with their family, then you should not have to pay Council Tax.

If you receive a demand for Council Tax and you are not living in student accommodation, you may be able to obtain a Certificate of Student Status from your university, which can entitle you to exemption or a reduction.

Split-Site Scholars: If you are a Split-Site Scholar in the UK for a period of six months or less and you are not eligible for an exemption, you may be eligible to claim reimbursement of Council Tax charges from the CSC for the period of your scholarship only.

You should send a Claim for Reimbursement form with a copy of the bill and original receipts to your Programme Officer. You must make your claim within 3 months of paying for your Council tax. You can find the Claim for Reimbursement form on the Policies and Forms page.

For further information, visit the UKCISA page on Council Tax.