Paying for a UK degree from the Gulf
Governments, employers and personal finance — three ways Gulf families pay for a UK degree.
On the cover: Downtown Dubai. Abu Dhabi's government scholarships fund Emirati students' degrees abroad, tuition and living costs included. Photo: Ahmed Aldaie / Unsplash.
The Bottom Line
For Gulf families, a UK degree can be fully funded. Governments in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi run scholarship schemes that pay for a full degree overseas, the UK included. The region's largest employers — Aramco, QatarEnergy, Qatar Airways, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Bapco Energies — sponsor degrees too, usually with a job waiting at the end.
We found 14 routes across the six Gulf states that can fund a complete UK undergraduate degree, read on each provider's own pages. Many cover tuition and living costs.
And there is a third route the scholarship lists leave out. Gulf banks rarely offer education loans built for study abroad, but their personal loans — open to residents, including many expatriates — can be used for education. In the UAE, a personal loan can reach 20 times a borrower's monthly salary.
What you absolutely need to know:
- Gulf governments fund UK degrees in full
- The region's largest employers sponsor degrees too — usually with a job waiting afterwards
- Personal loans from Gulf banks can be used for education, including by many expatriate residents
- Expatriate families have more options than they think
- Choose a route by what it asks of you afterwards, not only by what it pays
1. Gulf governments fund UK degrees in full
Four Gulf governments run scholarship schemes that fund a full undergraduate degree abroad, with the UK among the destinations.
| Country | Scheme | What it offers | Who can apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program | A scholarship for an undergraduate degree at a university the Ministry of Education recognises, within its subject tracks | Saudi students with unconditional admission |
| Qatar | Government Scholarship Program for Students | Scholarships for study abroad after high school, at universities on the ministry's approved list; the Emiri Scholarship covers the world's most selective universities, including Oxford | Qatari students |
| Kuwait | Merit Scholarships | A bachelor's degree at leading universities in the UK, US, Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand | Kuwaiti students admitted to a merit university |
| United Arab Emirates | Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge | Scholarships covering tuition and living costs | Emirati nationals |
| United Arab Emirates | Al Qasimi Foundation | A monthly living allowance of AED 3,000 for an overseas bachelor's degree | Emiratis from Ras Al Khaimah |
| Bahrain | Crown Prince's International Scholarship Program | A scholarship with no obligation to return or to work for any organisation | Bahraini citizens in Grade 11 |
Each provider's own pages. Source: Telariq data.
Oman's Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation also runs external scholarships; its terms couldn't be read in enough detail to confirm UK undergraduate study, so ask the ministry directly.
What this means for you: if you are a Gulf citizen, your government's scheme is the first place to look. Most work from an approved list of universities and subjects, so check that your course is on it before you apply.
2. The region's largest employers sponsor degrees too — usually with a job waiting afterwards
| Country | Sponsor | What it offers | What it asks afterwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | Aramco | College Degree Program — tuition and living costs | Graduates are targeted for professional roles at Aramco |
| Saudi Arabia | Aramco Gulf Operations Company | College Degree Program — tuition and living costs, for Saudi students at high schools in Khafji | No employment bond stated |
| Qatar | Qatar Airways | University scholarship | At least five years with the airline |
| Qatar | QatarEnergy | University scholarship | Employment depending on the company assigned |
| Qatar | QAPCO | Scholarship | Scholars join the company as staff |
| Kuwait | Kuwait Petroleum Corporation | KPC scholarship, for Kuwaiti employees in the oil sector | Set by the scheme |
| Bahrain | Bapco Energies | Future Energy Leaders scholarship, covering tuition | Employment at Bapco for a period set by its rules |
| Oman | Al Manahil | A loan for study abroad of up to OMR 2,000 a year | Repaid over twice the length of the course |
Each provider's own pages. Source: Telariq data.
These are some of the most valuable awards in the region, and they come from the employers many graduates hope to join anyway. The trade is time: most expect scholars to work for them after graduating.
What this means for you: if a sponsor's industry is where you want to work, its scholarship can pay for the degree and secure the first job. The scholarship that comes with a job compares the commitments.
3. Personal loans from Gulf banks can be used for education, including by many expatriate residents
Gulf banks rarely offer education loans designed for study abroad — of the 64 we checked across the six states, none publishes one that confirms it covers a UK degree. But many offer personal loans, which borrowers can use for any purpose, education included.
In the UAE, the Central Bank sets the limits: a personal loan can be up to 20 times the borrower's monthly salary or income, repaid within 48 months. UAE banks offer them to expatriate residents as well as nationals, usually against a salary transfer to the bank. Islamic banks offer Shariah-compliant personal finance within the same limits.
Two things to weigh. A personal loan is repaid over four years at most, so repayments fall during the degree itself, not after it, as a student loan's would. And the amount depends on the borrower's salary, so it is usually a parent who borrows.
What this means for you: for many families — and especially expatriate families — a personal loan can fill the gap between savings and the full cost. Compare the monthly repayment with the family's income before relying on it.
4. Expatriate families have more options than they think
The scholarships and sponsorships in this guide are for citizens. But expatriate families in the Gulf have three routes of their own.
Personal finance in the Gulf, as section 3 describes, is generally open to salaried residents.
Funding in their country of citizenship. An Indian family in Dubai can look to India, which has more ways to fund a UK degree than any other country we researched — 21. Some Indian banks' education loans exclude non-resident Indians, so the terms need reading carefully; Who will fund a UK degree from your country? sets out the routes for 37 countries.
UK university scholarships, most of which are not restricted to particular countries: of 1,086 we hold, 743 are open regardless of nationality or don't restrict it.
What this means for you: an expatriate family can combine all three — and should look at each before deciding a UK degree is out of reach.
5. Choose a route by what it asks of you afterwards, not only by what it pays
The routes in this guide differ less in what they pay — most cover the degree — than in what they ask in return.
| Government scholarship | Employer sponsorship | Personal loan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | Citizens, at approved universities and subjects | Citizens, usually through a competitive selection | Salaried residents, including many expatriates |
| What it covers | Usually tuition and living costs | Usually tuition and living costs | Whatever the family borrows, up to the bank's limit |
| What it asks afterwards | Varies; some none at all | Usually years of work for the sponsor | Repayment within the loan's term |
Source: Telariq data; Central Bank of the UAE.
What this means for you: a government scholarship with no service commitment, a sponsorship with a job attached, and a loan the family repays are very different choices. Decide which suits your child's plans before you apply.
Our advice
If you are a citizen, apply to your government's scheme first, and check that your university and subject are on its approved list.
Look at the national employers' scholarships in the industry your child wants to join — and read the service commitment before accepting.
If you are an expatriate family, combine routes: personal finance where you live, funding in your country of citizenship, and UK university scholarships.
Before taking a personal loan, check the monthly repayment against the family's income, since it falls due during the degree.
Confirm every scholarship's terms, eligibility and deadlines with the provider before you rely on it.
The not so fine print: what was excluded in this report
- Interest and profit rates, and the cost of borrowing
- The names of individual banks, which sit in Telariq's records
- Personal-loan rules outside the UAE, which each Gulf state's central bank sets
- Postgraduate scholarships, and scholarships for study inside the Gulf
- Sources found only on agent or aggregator sites — every route was read on the provider's own pages
A note on this guide. This is what we found when we read each provider's own pages. Its purpose is to show you that options exist and where to start looking. There will be routes we haven't found yet, and some here may have changed since we checked — so treat it as a starting point, not a complete list, and confirm everything with the provider before you rely on it.
Have a question? We'd love to hear from you — admin@telariq.com