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When someone with a student loan travels overseas for more than 6 months, they are charged interest. Your charity or non-profit can get approval so that people who volunteer for you overseas can apply to keep their student loans interest-free.

To apply for this, the work they do must be:

  • as a volunteer, or for token payment
  • for no more than 24 months.

Their work must do one of the following.

  • Relieve poverty, hunger, sickness, or the impacts of war or natural disaster.
  • Improve the economy or raise educational standards in a country that’s on the OECD list of countries receiving development assistance.

Volunteering overseas when I have a student loan
Working for a charity overseas when you have a student loan

Approved charities

We keep a list of approved charities whose overseas volunteers can apply to keep their loans interest-free. If you want to be added to this list, you must:

  • have been established for charitable purposes
  • be carrying out charitable activities.

List of approved charities

Last updated: 15 Nov 2022
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