Common Mistakes in BDGS Applications
The ten errors that disqualify applications, create confusion or lead to disappointment — and how to avoid every one of them.
ScholarshipUnion Editorial
4 min read
Updated Oct 6, 2026
1. Skipping the separate institution portal
Completing only the MFA form is an easy procedural mistake. The MFA portal is the scholarship application. In the 2026/2027 call, all five institutions also required their own online admission application (earlier calls named only UBD and UTB). If you only submit the MFA form, your application to the institution is incomplete, however strong your MFA submission is.
UBD: apply.ubd.edu.bn. UNISSA: unissa.edu.bn/application/apply. UTB: apply.utb.edu.bn. KUPU SB: kupu-sb.edu.bn. Politeknik Brunei: pbas.pb.edu.bn. Submit the institution application in parallel with the MFA form.
2. Working from an outdated document list
Many third-party guides still tell you to get a government endorsement, a police certificate and a statement of purpose. None of these was on the document lists of the 2024/2025, 2025/2026 or 2026/2027 calls. Applicants who follow old lists can lose weeks chasing paperwork the MFA did not ask for, and miss items it did ask for, such as proof of employment or a research proposal.
Work from the upload list in the current MFA call. See the Required Documents page for the 2026/2027 list, and recheck it when the 2027/2028 call opens.
3. Applying for a PhD under the BDGS
The BDGS does not offer PhD funding. It covers Diploma, Undergraduate and Postgraduate Master’s only. Applicants who read third-party scholarship guides — many of which incorrectly state that PhD is available, or confuse the BDGS with the separate UBD Graduate Research Scholarship — waste time on an application path that does not exist.
For PhD funding at UBD, contact UBD directly about the UBD Graduate Research Scholarship, a separate programme entirely (BND 1,200 a month for 36 months under its terms for the September 2026 intake onwards).
4. Assuming IELTS is required
Some students abandon their application because they do not have an IELTS certificate. Others pay for a last-minute IELTS sitting unnecessarily, or never prepare any alternative proof. GCE O-Level English Credit 6, IGCSE Grade C and TOEFL 550 are all equally accepted. The 2026/2027 checklist also marked the English certificate “if applicable”, and institutions may test your English themselves. Read the eligibility requirements; do not assume IELTS is mandatory.
5. Sending a reference that is not on the official form
The MFA provides its own reference letter form, with two copies marked C1 and C2. A general letter of recommendation may not cover what the form asks: ratings on ten qualities, a comment on your English, an overall assessment of your academic ability, and the referee’s contact details and signature.
Download the C1 and C2 form from the MFA portal and send it to your referees with a short note on your chosen programme. A typed, signed and stamped form is easiest to read once scanned.
6. Leaving references and certified copies to the last week
The application window runs over the December–January holidays, when teachers, employers and certifying offices are often away. Getting two signed reference letters, certified copies and certified translations can take several weeks. Starting in late January for a mid-February deadline (15 February in recent cycles) is cutting it dangerously close. Do not count on an extension.
7. Treating an interview invitation as an award
Being contacted for an interview means you have been shortlisted by the institution — it is a positive signal, but not a scholarship offer. Not every interviewed candidate is awarded. The scholarship offer is a separate, formal notification that comes after the institution’s selection process is complete.
8. Expecting family support or concurrent funding
The BDGS has no family allowances and no marriage or child support provisions. It also explicitly prohibits holding any other scholarship, fellowship, grant or loan concurrently without written Ministry approval. Discovering either of these realities after accepting an offer — with a spouse waiting to join or another scholarship already accepted — creates a very difficult situation.
9. Misreading the age cut-off
You must not be older than 25 (Diploma and Undergraduate) or 35 (Master’s) on 1 July of the year your programme starts. That date is later than the application deadline, so an applicant who is 25 in February but turns 26 before 1 July 2027 is too old for a 2027/2028 undergraduate place. The MFA says ineligible applicants will not be considered.
10. Applying after any earlier study in Brunei
The 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 calls said international students who are studying, or have studied, in Brunei tertiary institutions are not eligible. The 2026/2027 call worded this more softly: the scholarship is “intended primarily for international students studying for the first time in Brunei Darussalam”. Either way, earlier study at any Brunei tertiary institution counts against you. If this applies to you, ask the MFA before applying.
Still unsure about something? The FAQ answers the questions applicants ask most.