Student eligibility for student finance

Existing eligibility regulations, which apply across the UK, stipulate that only certain categories of students are eligible for “home” fees. In general terms these are:

• Persons who have permanent residence (settled) status in the UK and have been “ordinarily resident” in the UK for three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of the course and also ordinarily resident in Wales by the first day of the first academic year of the course;
• EEA and Swiss workers and their spouses/civil partners and children in the UK who have been resident in the EEA or Switzerland for three years;
• EU nationals and their spouses / civil partners and children who have been resident in the EEA or Switzerland for three years;
• Refugees (recognised by the UK government) and their spouses / civil partners and children;
• Children of Swiss nationals who meet certain residence criteria;
• Persons who have applied for asylum and have been granted Exceptional Leave, Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave, and their families.

Students from non-EU countries who gain indefinite leave to remain (ILR) status fall under Category 2 (Persons who are settled in the United Kingdom) of Schedule 1 of the Fees and Awards Regulations.

Generally speaking, students need to have lived in the UK for 5 years before being eligible to apply for ILR. However, students must meet all the criteria in this category to be eligible for ‘home’ fees. The criteria are as follows:

A person who on the first day of the first academic year of the course:

• is settled in the United Kingdom other than by reason of having acquired the right of permanent residence;
• is ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom;
• has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands throughout the three year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
• subject to sub-paragraph (2), whose residence in the United Kingdom and Islands has not during any part of the period referred to in paragraph (c) been wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education

As an EU national, or a family member of an EU national, you can generally apply for financial help to cover the cost of tuition fees when studying in Wales, England or Northern Ireland if:

• you have been living within the EEA and Switzerland for the three years immediately before the start of your course;
• your main reason for being in the EEA and Switzerland was not to receive full-time education;
• if you or your parent, guardian or partner were temporarily employed outside the EEA and Switzerland for all or part of the three-year period, you may still qualify for help.

New Welsh and EU students commencing their studies on or after 1 September 2012 will be eligible for the new tuition fee grant to cover part of the higher fees being charged. Form EU13N needs to be completed for 2013/14. The maximum fee grant in 13/14 will be £5,425

EU students who can also demonstrate a 'genuine link' with the UK may also be eligible to receive both tuition fee support and living cost support. If studying in Wales, they can apply for both the tuition fee and living costs loan.

If you are an EU national (or a family member of an EU national) and wish to study in Wales, you may get a tuition fee support (including a tuition fee loan and tuition fee grant) on a similar basis to UK students.

If you are an EU student, and applying through UCAS, they will send you an application form when you are offered a place on a course. If you do not apply through UCAS, you will be able to get an application form and further details about the support available from the EU Team:

European Team
PO box 89
Darlington
Staindrop Road
DL1 9AZ
United Kingdom
Phone: 0141 243 3570 (Monday to Friday - 9am to 5:30pm)
Email: EU_Team@slc.co.uk

You may also be eligible for financial help with tuition fees if you are an EEA or Swiss migrant worker or self-employed person in the UK. A migrant worker means someone who is working in a different country from their own. Usually, you'll qualify for EEA or Swiss migrant worker status if all the following apply:

• you are a national of an EEA country or Switzerland;
• you are working in the UK;
• you were ‘ordinarily resident’ in the EEA and Switzerland for three years before starting your course;
• you may also qualify if you are a family member of a migrant worker in the UK

You can generally qualify for extra help with your living costs - in addition to help with your tuition fees - if:

• you have lived in ‘the UK or Islands’ (the UK plus the Channel Islands and Isle of Man) for more than three years; or
• you qualify for financial help in the UK through EEA or Swiss migrant worker status, or as the child of someone who has Turkish worker status.

There are some exceptions to these rules. If you are unsure about whether you qualify, contact your Local Authority to discuss it.

You can generally apply for help with living costs, as well as finance for tuition fees, if all the following apply:

• you are an EU national yourself (having a parent who’s an EU national isn’t enough to qualify);
• you have lived in the UK and Islands for the three years prior to the start of your course;
• you are living in Wales, England or Northern Ireland at the time when your course starts (this is 1 September for a course that starts in the autumn).

If you intend to study in Wales, England, Northern Ireland, you may qualify for help with living costs even if your main reason for being in the UK for the previous three years was to receive full-time education.

However, to qualify you must also have been 'ordinarily resident' within the EEA and Switzerland immediately before the three-year qualifying period in the UK and Islands before the start of your course (you’re 'ordinarily resident' somewhere if it’s where you usually live).

You may be eligible for financial help with living costs as well and tuition fees if you:

• have EEA or Swiss migrant worker status - or you’re a family member of someone who does;
• are the child of someone who has Turkish worker status.
• are the child of a Swiss national and meet certain residency criteria.

If you fit one set of the above criteria and qualify for help with your living costs as well as fees, you will be entitled to the same level of support as students who normally live in Wales.

In order to qualify for student support, students have to meet residency criteria as prescribed in the Education (Student Support) (Wales) Regulations (formerly Assembly Learning Grants and Loans (Higher Education) (Wales) Regulations made each year. If you have ‘settled status’ you fall under Category 2 (Persons who are settled in the United Kingdom) of Schedule 1 of the Regulations. However, students must meet all criteria to qualify for student support. The criteria are as follows:

2. (1) A person on the first day of the first academic year of the course -
(a) is settled in the United Kingdom other than by reason of having acquired the right of permanent residence;
(b) is ordinarily resident in Wales;
(c) has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands throughout the three-year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
(d) subject to sub-paragraph (2), whose residence in the United Kingdom and Islands has not during any part of the period been wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education.

A three year ordinary residence requirement was introduced in the 1962 Education Act. The three-year rule is a long-established feature of the student support system. It applies irrespective of nationality or country of origin.