Returning students


If you got EMA last year, you do not need to re-apply. In June 2023, we will send you an EMA Award letter for academic year 2023 to 2024.

Once you have got this letter, check that all the details are correct. If there are any changes, you should contact us immediately. If we’ve asked you to fill out a form or provide us with more information, you should post it to us as soon as you can.

If all the information on your letter is correct, the next thing you need to do is sign your EMA Agreement when you return to school or college. Sign this within 13 weeks of returning to get payments backdated to the start of your course.

If you have not got a letter from us by 30 June 2023, contact us.

Household income

As with last year, your eligibility for EMA is dependent on your household income and family circumstance. The table shows how much you could get.

Household income Number of dependent children (including the student) Award
£0 - £20,817 1 £40
£20,818 + 1 £0
£0 - £23,077 2+ £40
£23,078 + 1+ £0

Financial evidence checks

If your application for the previous academic year was approved, we may write to your parent(s), guardian(s) or partner and ask them to prove the information they gave on your application. They can do this by completing the Financial Details Form and sending photocopies of any evidence we ask for.

We may ask for evidence when:

  • your eligibility for EMA last year was based on you having a brother or sister aged 16 to 20 living with you, who remains eligible for child benefit.
  • we need to do both a financial and sibling check.

Your parent(s) or guardian(s) must return the form and any evidence by 31 August for you to get payments in the new academic year.