EU Students
Whether an EU student can get student finance depends on their:
- personal circumstances
- course
- university or college
Nationality and residency
EU students will be able to get student finance if all of the following apply:
- they’re an EU national or the family member of an EU national
- they’ve lived in the EEA or Switzerland for at least 3 years before the first day of the first academic year of their course
- they’re studying a course that qualifies for student finance
If they’re unable to be in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of their course, they’ll be considered as ‘temporarily absent’. They’ll still be eligible for student finance so long as they meet all other eligibility criteria.
This exception has only been put in place due to the restrictions caused by COVID-19, students should travel to the UK to attend their course once it is safe to do so.
Previous study
Students can usually only get student finance for their first higher-education qualification. If they’ve already studied a higher-education course in the UK, they might not get help for a second course.
They can have a maximum of 16 years of part-time funding. Anything over this amount will have to be self- funded by the student.
Course
The course they plan to study must be in Wales and one of the following:
- first degree, for example a BA, BSc or BEd
- Foundation Degree
- Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE)
- Higher National Certificate (HNC)
- Higher National Diploma (HND)
- Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE)
- Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE)
- Integrated Master’s
- Initial Teacher Education (ITE)
- Graduate Diploma
- Graduate Certificate
If they’re not sure whether their course qualifies for student finance, they should check with their university or college.
University or college
The university or college must be in Wales and either:
- publicly funded (paid for by the government)
- privately funded but running individual courses that are approved for funding by the Welsh Government
Tuition fees
EU students can get student finance to help towards their tuition fees.
How to apply
EU students should fill in a paper form and send it to us at the following address:
Student Finance Services
Student Loans Company
PO Box 89
Darlington
County Durham
United Kingdom
DL1 9AZ
The application forms can be downloaded from our form finder.
Evidence
When they apply, they’ll be asked to send us proof of their identity, usually their passport or National Identity card.
The evidence they send can be certified copies or original documents. A certified copy is a photocopy of an original document which has been stamped, signed and dated to confirm it’s a true copy of the original by a person of good standing in the community.
They should complete a Certifier Checklist form and return it to us with any certified copies they send.
The form can be downloaded from our form finder.
Changing their details
If any of their details change after they’ve applied for student finance, they should complete an EUCO1 form and send it to us.
The form can be downloaded from our form finder.
Find out more about change of circumstances