University of Sanctuary

The University of Liverpool is committed to supporting sanctuary seeking students from all backgrounds, through dedicated work across our Faculties and Professional Services teams.

We are a recognised University of Sanctuary, a member of the Council for At Risk Academics (CARA), as well as a signatory of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) Global Pledge for expanding refugee access to Higher Education. Our support for sanctuary seeking students is human-centred, multifaceted, and ever changing, this page highlights some key areas of work and is regularly updated. 

Our support offer for prospective students and applicants

For prospective students we offer support through our Disrupted Education project, providing sanctuary seeking students with information, advice and guidance on their university choices bespoke campus visits and a named contact to provide 1-2-1, holistic support with their application. 

We also offer the Asylum Seekers Scholarship for undergraduate programmes and Humanitarian Scholarship for postgraduate programmes, recognising the financial barriers that sanctuary seeking students face when accessing higher education. You can hear from our current and past scholarship holders here.

Our support offer for current students

To support our sanctuary seeking students to effectively transition to and navigate University, we offer support through the Liverpool Plus programme. More broadly, welcoming practices are embedded throughout the University at institutional and departmental levels, with additional cohort-building activities provided at School level to support students who may face additional barriers to entering university. 

Our Student Services provision includes support with mental health, wellbeing, visas and immigration and finance, with staff who are fully aware of the barriers and challenges sanctuary seeking students may face, and tailor their support accordingly. 

The University has a proactive and engaging Student Union (The Liverpool Guild of Students), which provides a safe space for students and a range of student societies, including Student Action for Refugees and the Amnesty Society, giving sanctuary students the opportunity to engage with a community of their peers.

If you are a student who is interested in supporting our sanctuary work through your academic studies or personal endeavours, we'd love to hear from you! Please get in touch: sanctuary@liverpool.ac.uk

Law Clinic 

The Liverpool Law Clinic, supported by qualified solicitors and expert solicitors, offers free legal advice to members of the public who would otherwise be unable to afford it. Alongside work in family and education law, the Law Clinic has a focus on immigration, offering advice only and some full representation on issues of statelessness, naturalisation as British for adult refugees and stateless people, child registration as British and some other immigration applications. 

Alongside supporting individuals in need of legal aid, the Law Clinic offers current students practical ways of learning about the real lived impact of current UK immigration policy. Over 350 students per year benefit from experience at the Law Clinic. 

While the focus of the Law Clinic is primarily providing free legal advice, they also partner with agencies across the Liverpool City Region to deliver outreach projects and provide education about legal issues. 

English Language Centre

The English Language Centre offers free language classes to refugees and asylum seekers in the Liverpool City Region. The small group classes focus on building confidence when communicating in English, improving knowledge of grammar and vocabulary and practising speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. The classes support new arrivals with employment and education transitions, and a wraparound programme of pastoral and well-being activities is available to all students. 

Research and Teaching

Knowledge and understanding of sanctuary-seeking is a cross-cutting theme at the University, reflected not only in teaching and research by academic staff but also in the institution’s daily practices and its commitment to creating a safe, inclusive environment where colleagues and students can learn together. You can read more here.