Student Finance Information For Existing & New Students 2024-25

Source: www.practitioners.slc.co.uk

When establishing the eligibility of persons who may come within scope of a dependent direct relative in the ascending line of an EEA migrant worker, ‘dependent’ will often mean financially dependent. In order to determine financial dependency, SFE may consider the following: can the applicant meet all of their essential needs (such as food, utilities and accommodation) with or without their family’s support. If they would not be able to meet all of their essential needs without the financial support, they are dependent. Dependency for other reasons, such as health, will also be considered. Dependency must be over a sustained period.

Source: www.practitioners.slc.co.uk

From AY 22/23, fee support only will be available to students in this category where they have been ordinarily resident in the territory comprising the UK, the EEA, Switzerland and the overseas territories throughout the three-year period preceding the first day of the first AY of the course, and where at least part of that ordinary residence was in an overseas territory other than Gibraltar where the residency conditions for full support are met

Examples of students who may be eligible:

• Rafael is a Spanish national who arrived in the UK in April 2020. Prior to that he lived in France for five years. He is granted pre-settled status under the EUSS. He starts a course in September 2023 and continues to work while studying. He is eligible for full support as:
  • He is a migrant worker whose work continues during his course.
  • He has pre-settled status in the UK.
  • He is ordinarily resident in England on the first day of the first AY of the course.
  • He was ordinarily resident in the UK, Gibraltar, the EEA and Switzerland for the three years prior to the first day of the first AY of the course.
• Marco is a Dutch national who works in England and returns to his home in Belgium at weekends. He is awarded a frontier worker permit under the Withdrawal Agreement as he has been working in the UK by 31 December 2020. He starts a course in September 2023 and continues to work while studying. He is eligible for full support as:
  • He is a frontier worker whose work continues during his course.
  • He was ordinarily resident in the UK, Gibraltar, the EEA and Switzerland for the three years prior to the first day of the first AY of the course.

As a frontier worker, he is not required to be ordinarily resident in England on the first day of the first AY of the course.

Source: www.practitioners.slc.co.uk

Note that in AY 21/22, this category was available to family members of UK nationals only.

For those starting a course from AY 22/23, this category is available to family members of all settled persons in the UK (to be considered as ‘settled’ in the UK, the settled person must be ordinarily resident in the UK on the specified date).

Fee support will be available to non-settled family members of persons settled in the UK, where the family member was ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the three years prior to the first day of the first AY of the course.

Note that where the settled person is a UK national, and the non-UK national family member of the UK national was living with that UK national in the EEA or Switzerland on 31 December 2020 or moved with their family member from the EEA or Switzerland to the UK on or after 1 January 2018, they may be eligible for full support under paragraph 9B.

The family member must be:

• the person’s spouse or civil partner, or
• a direct descendant of the person or of the person’s spouse or civil partner who is
  • under the age of 21, or
  • a dependant of the person or the person’s spouse or civil partner.

Eligibility on these grounds is not subject to a time limit.

Example of a student eligible:

• Hector is a Costa Rican national who is married to a person settled in the UK and has been living in the UK since 1 August 2018. Prior to that he lived in Costa Rica. He starts a course in England in September 2023. He is eligible for fee support only as:
  • He is the non-settled family member of a settled person.
  • He has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for three years prior to the first day of the first AY of the course.

Source: www.practitioners.slc.co.uk

EU Nationals with protected rights with a ‘genuine link’ with the UK may be eligible for tuition fee support if on the first day of the first academic year of the course they satisfy the following:

• they have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the three-year period immediately preceding the first day of the first academic year (applicants applying under this category will be asked to submit evidence to prove their three-year residency);
• they are ordinarily resident in England; and
• where the period of ordinary residence referred to above was wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving FT education, the person was ordinarily resident in the UK, the EEA, Switzerland and the overseas territories immediately preceding the three-year period referred to above.

Note that from AY 22/23, where the three-year period of ordinary residence was wholly or mainly for the purposes of receiving FT education, the preceding ordinary residence area has been extended from the UK, Gibraltar, the EEA, and Switzerland (as it was for AY 21/22) to the UK, the EEA, Switzerland and the overseas territories.

To be eligible for support, a person must be an EU national on the first day of the first academic year of the course.

Source: www.practitioners.slc.co.uk

Effective from 6 June 2016, DfE introduced a new eligibility category for student support for those with long residence in the UK. This category extends eligibility for student support to those persons who are:

• under 18 years of age and who have lived in the UK throughout the seven-year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of their course, or
• aged 18 years or above and who, preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course, have either lived at least half their life in the UK or lived for at least 20 years in the UK. Students cannot amalgamate periods of residency to meet long residency criteria.

To be eligible for support under this category the student must also:

• be ordinarily resident in England on the first day of the first academic year of the course and have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the three year period immediately preceding the first day of the first academic year of their course, and
• not have been resident in the UK and Islands for the three-year period referred to above wholly or mainly for the purposes of receiving FT education.

Ordinary residence means lawful residence and the student must hold some form of leave to remain issued by HO (Limited Leave or Discretionary Leave to Remain or another form of leave). If a student has moved from one period of leave to another during the three years preceding the first day of the first academic year their leave must run concurrently, i.e. the application for the second period of leave was made in time before the first period elapsed. A break in leave will mean that the student was here unlawfully, and they will not satisfy the ordinary residence requirement. It should be noted, however, that SLC relies on information from HO in relation to residency matters, and that HO does have the power to disregard a period of overstaying. For further information on this please see section 2.1 (Ordinary lawful residence).

For example:

• Yann is a Congolese national who starts a degree course in England in September 2023. He has the following residence history:
  • resident in the UK from 1 June 1996 to 15 July 2023 ordinarily resident in Scotland from 16 July 2018 to 1 November 2021
  • ordinarily resident in England from 2 November 2021 to 1 September 2023.

As Yann has been resident in the UK for at least 20 years, is ordinarily resident in England on the first day of the first academic year of the course and has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the three-year period immediately preceding the first day of the first academic year of their course, he is eligible for student support under the long residence category.

Students need to meet the eligibility criteria before the first day of the first academic year of the course. Students who only meet the criteria after the first day of the first academic year of their course are not eligible for any support. The student’s cohort will be determined based on the first academic year of the student’s course, and this defines the support package available.

The onus is on the student to demonstrate that they meet the long residence requirements. Whilst only a confirmed entry date from Immigration Control and verified by HO would be evidence of entry to the UK, the student may provide evidence to SFE that they have been living in the UK. This evidence is considered on a case-by-case basis and may include (but is not limited to):

• a school letter and records on headed paper, signed by someone in authority (Deputy Head, Head etc) within the school, stating the dates each year the student was in attendance,
• a letter from a GP,
• confirmation of university / college attendance,
• a council tax bill,
• wage slips / P60 / P45 / Self-Assessment Tax Return, or
• a confirmation of employment from employer on company headed paper signed by a senior member of staff with contact details provided.

Please note that this evidence can also be considered when a Home Office check/documentation does not provide a definitive date of entry into the UK.

It should also be noted that a valid entry clearance visa, such as a visitor visa, is not in itself confirmation that the student entered the UK at that time. Individuals usually receive an entry clearance for a six-month period.

SFE should establish the student’s three-year ordinary residence period in the UK and Islands preceding the first day of the first academic year before requesting evidence to satisfy the long residence requirements.

The calculation for long residence is determined by the student’s age as of the first day of the first academic year of their course, and their entry date to the UK (or relevant other evidence demonstrating they were living in the UK throughout the required period). This will mean that the seven-year, half-life or 20-year calculation can be determined by the first day of the first academic year of the course.

It should be noted that a similar category is present in the NHS Bursary rules. Even if the student is assessed as meeting the rules of the NHS Bursary scheme the checks should still be carried out by SFE if the student applies for a reduced level maintenance loan.

Consideration should be given as to whether the student may qualify under another category. In some cases a student may not meet the terms of the new long residence category but if they are a non-EEA national and related to a British or EU citizen they may qualify for a tuition fee loan.

Source: www.practitioners.slc.co.uk

From AY 22/23 individuals with leave under the ARAP or the ACRS are eligible for funding on the same basis as the protection-based categories (those with refugee status, Humanitarian Protection leave, Calais leave, Section 67 leave and stateless persons).

This is for the following individuals:

• A person who has been granted leave under the ARAP or the ACRS who:
  • is ordinarily resident in England on the course start date. (Where a student qualifies under this category as an ‘event’, they will be treated as being lawfully resident on the course start date even where they did not hold valid leave to enter or remain on that date.

and

• • has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands from the date their most recent leave was granted. (Note that where the student has been granted leave to enter the UK (i.e. where leave is granted either prior to arrival in the UK or at the UK border), the leave start date should be taken as the date of arrival in the UK.).

and

• • From AY 23/24*, a family member of a person who has been granted leave under the ARAP or the ACRS, where the family member:
    • is ordinarily resident in England on the first day of the course; and
    • has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands from the date their most recent leave was granted.

*Prior to AY 23/24, the family member had to have ‘leave in line’ with the ARAP or ACRS leave holder.

Eligible family members are defined as follows:

• spouse or civil partner of a person who has been granted leave under the ARAP or the ACRS,
• child/step-child of a person who has been granted leave under the ARAP or the ACRS. Leave under the ARAP is granted to Afghan nationals who are aged 18 or over and their relevant family members.

Leave under the ACRS may be granted to Afghan nationals and nationals of other countries (for example in mixed nationality families), although it is expected that the majority will be Afghan. SLC will require proof of leave under the relevant scheme, regardless of the nationality of the applicant or the applicant’s family member.

Those who were granted limited leave to enter are eligible for student funding under the ARAP whether or not they have transferred their limited leave into indefinite leave.

Example of a student eligible:

Amina is an Afghan national who worked for the British government in Afghanistan. Amina is relocated to the UK under the ARAP and arrives in the UK in September 2022. Amina starts a UG degree course in AY 23/24.

As Amina has leave under the ARAP, is resident in England on the first day of the course and has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands since being awarded leave under the ARAP, she is eligible for full funding from SFE.

Operation Pitting was a British military operation, the purpose of which was to evacuate British nationals and eligible Afghan nationals from Afghanistan between 14 and 28 August 2021, following the Taliban offensive. Assistance was also provided to British nationals and eligible Afghan nationals by the UK Government to leave Afghanistan after Operation Pitting (with assistance starting before 6 January 2022)

British nationals evacuated from or assisted in leaving Afghanistan under Operation Pitting will be eligible for home fee status and student finance (fee and maintenance support) without being subject to a three-year ordinary residence requirement. In order to be eligible under this category they must:

• be ordinarily resident in England on the course start date,
• have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands since they were evacuated from or assisted in leaving Afghanistan, and
• meet all other personal and course eligibility requirements.

Afghan nationals and any other non-British nationals who were evacuated from or assisted in leaving Afghanistan under Operation Pitting are not eligible for funding under this category but may be eligible under paragraph 14 of the Regulations if they have leave under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme. For example:

• Olive is a British national who was evacuated from Afghanistan to the UK under Operation Pitting. Olive starts a UG degree course in AY 23/24 and applies to SFE for funding.

As Olive is a British national, is ordinarily resident in England on the first day of the course and has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands since being evacuated from Afghanistan under Operation Pitting, she is eligible for full funding from SFE.

Family members There is no ‘eligible family member’ definition for this category. British nationals will apply for student support in their own right, rather than as the family member of another person. Note that this also applies where the person who was evacuated from or assisted in leaving Afghanistan under Operation Pitting is a British child.

Non-British national family members of eligible British nationals who were evacuated from or assisted in leaving Afghanistan under Operation Pitting are not eligible under this category. Non-British nationals evacuated from or assisted in leaving Afghanistan under Operation Pitting may instead be eligible for leave under the ACRS. Family members of British nationals in this scenario, if awarded leave under the ACRS, will be granted leave in their own right rather than leave in line as a family member.

Eligibility as an event The time period for individuals to be evacuated or assisted from Afghanistan to the UK is now complete. As assistance in leaving Afghanistan under Operation Pitting had to commence before 6 January 2022, it will not be possible to become eligible as an event by becoming a person in this category after the start of AY 22/23 or in future academic years.

Source: www.practitioners.slc.co.uk

A category has been added to regulations from AY 22/23 which provides support to individuals who have been granted leave in the UK under one of the following schemes, referred to collectively as the ‘Ukraine Schemes’:

• The “Ukraine Family Scheme” (launched on 4 March 2022), which allows Ukrainian nationals and their family members to come to the UK or extend their stay in the UK if they have family members who already have leave to remain in the UK.
• The “Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme” (launched on 18 March 2022), which allows Ukrainian nationals and their family members to come to the UK if they have an approved sponsor under this scheme.
• The “Ukraine Extension Scheme” (launched on 3 May 2022), which allows Ukrainian nationals and their family members who already have leave to remain in the UK to extend their leave in the UK because they cannot return to Ukraine.

Those who are granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes will be eligible for home fee status, the home student undergraduate tuition fee cap, and student finance (HE UG fee and maintenance support) without being subject to a three-year ordinary residence requirement, as long as they:

• are ordinarily resident in England on the course start date. (Where a student qualifies under this category as an ‘event’, they will be treated as being lawfully resident on the course start date even where they did not hold valid leave to enter or remain on that date. See section 3.37 for further details.)
• are ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands and have not ceased to be so resident since being granted such leave, and
• meet all other personal and course eligibility requirements.

All those who are granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes are granted up to three years of limited leave to enter or remain in the UK. They will fall into one of the following groups:

• Those who have been granted leave for three years under a Ukraine scheme.
• Those who have been granted leave for six months outside the immigration rules, having either:
  • arrived at the UK border with a permission to travel document on the basis they fall within one of the Ukraine Schemes, or
  • arrived at the UK border with another form of leave, which is transferred thereafter to six months of leave on the basis they will fall within one of the Ukraine Schemes.

For example:

• Galina is a Ukrainian national who is granted three years of leave in the UK on 1 May 2022 under the Ukraine Family Scheme. Galina starts a four-year UG degree course in AY 23/24 and applies to SFE for funding as she is living in England.As Galina is ordinarily resident in England on the first day of the course (1 September 2023) and has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands since being granted leave under a Ukraine Scheme, she is eligible for full UG funding from SFE for AY 23/24.Galina’s period of leave in the UK expires on 30 April 2025. As her leave expires during AY 24/25, support will be awarded for the whole of AY 24/25 but will only be awarded for AY 25/26 if she provides proof that her leave has been extended by the end of AY 24/25, or she is granted another valid form of leave by the end of AY 24/25.

Family members

From AY 23/24, eligible family members of persons who are granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes will be eligible for the full package of support (in AY 22/23, family members of persons granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes would need to have been granted leave under the scheme in their own right to qualify under this category). SLC will request details of the family relationship and proof of the relationship.

Eligible family members are defined as follows:

• spouse or civil partner of a person who has been granted Ukraine Scheme leave,
• child/step-child of a person who has been granted Ukraine Scheme leave.

Note that:

• persons of any nationality may be granted leave under a Ukraine Scheme. Any undergraduate student who is eligible for student support under the Ukraine Schemes category would be assessed for full fee and maintenance support, even if the applicant happens to be an EU national, rather than EU student ‘fees only’ support.
• family members of EEA/ Swiss nationals may be eligible for the EUSS as a joining family member, if the EEA/ Swiss national already has either settled or pre-settled status in the UK under the EUSS. Individuals in this scenario can choose which scheme they want to apply for, but Home Office advice is that they should not apply to both the EUSS and a Ukraine Scheme.

Note that Ukrainian nationals and their family members, who in either case do not meet the eligibility criteria for any of the Ukraine Schemes, may potentially be granted refugee status or humanitarian protection leave instead, so may be eligible to apply for support under those categories.

Source: www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/estrangement

Generally, estrangement means you have little or no contact with your parents and this is unlikely to change.

How do I know if I qualify as an estranged student?

You could apply for student finance as an estranged student if:

• You haven’t had any contact with either of your parents for 12 months or more; or
• Your relationship with your parents has broken down within the last 12 months and you don’t expect this to change in the near future.

If you are irreconcilably estranged from your parents, you will not be asked to provide any of your parent’s financial details. We know that it may not be possible or safe for some students to ask their parents for their income details. If this applies to you, then you will be assessed as being an independent student. This means that once you send us evidence, we will award you the maximum amount of

Maintenance Loan available.

Common examples of estrangement can include students that are living with friends, living in supported accommodation, or living with other family members such as aunts, uncles or grandparents. Each application for estrangement is reviewed on your own unique circumstances. And remember, you should always apply for student finance as soon as possible.

How do I apply as an estranged student?

If you already have evidence of your estrangement, sending us a copy is usually the fastest way to demonstrate estrangement (for example, a letter from your teacher, doctor, support worker or local authority etc. which confirms that you are not in contact with your parents). However, if you do not have any evidence, you can complete and digitally upload

a Confirmation of Estrangement Form which can be found in your online account. This form also allows you to confirm the information we need to assess you as an estranged student.

What else do I need to know?

If you qualify as an estranged student, you will usually be assessed as estranged for the full duration of your course. However, if the estrangement is recent (usually within the last 12 months) or reconciliation with your parents seems possible, you may be asked to provide evidence of your continued estrangement when you apply for student finance in later years of your course. Universities and Colleges can also provide estranged student support and you can talk with advisers who are usually found within the Student Services, Student Wellbeing or Student Union Teams at your uni or college. There is also independent support available from Stand Alone and you can write to The Student Loans Company’s specialist team at estranged@slc.co.uk

Important links

Stand Alone – www.standalone.org

https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/media/1896/sfe_important_information_for_estranged-_students_o.pdf

Source: www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/care-leavers

What is a care leaver?
You can apply for student finance as a care leaver if you meet all of the criteria listed below:

• You’ve been in the care of, or given accommodation by, your local authority
• You were in care for at least 13 weeks
• Your time in care ended after you turned 16
• You have not returned to the care of your parent(s) before the first day of the first academic year of your course.

What do I need to send to prove that I’m a care leaver?
You can provide evidence of being a care leaver by sending us:

• A letter from your local authority; or
• A letter from your case worker or social worker.

This letter must confirm:

• That you were looked after by a local authority (this includes being placed in foster care by your local authority)
• The dates that you were in care
• That you have not returned to the care of your parent(s) prior to the first day of the first academic year of your course.

You only have to send evidence of your care leaver status when you first apply for student finance for your course. For any years of your course after that, you’ll be awarded the maximum amount of Maintenance Loan you’re entitled to (if you want it).

What does this mean for my student finance application?
If you get student finance as a care leaver, you won’t be asked to provide any of your parent’s financial details. You’ll be assessed as an independent student and will be awarded the maximum amount of Maintenance Loan you’re entitled to. Remember to always apply for student finance as soon as possible. Universities and colleges also provide care leaver support. You can talk to advisers within Student Services / Wellbeing or the Student Union.

You can also visit the following care leaver advice services:

• The Become Trust – org.uk
• Brightside – www.brightside.org.uk
• National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL) – www.nnecl.org
• The Care Leavers’ Association – www.careleavers.com

And remember, your Care Leaver Team at your local authority can help support you
with your student finance information and any additional support available.
https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/media/1897/sfe_important-_information_for_students_who_qualify-as_care_leavers_o.pdf

Source: www.ucas.com/finance

In the UK, a refugee is a person who has fled their country, and is seeking protection because of a fear of being persecuted due to their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion and you have been given permission to stay in the UK, and granted official ‘refugee’ status. You have a letter from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to confirm this.

An asylum seeker is someone who has applied for refugee status and is waiting to find out if it has been granted.

If you are an asylum seeker:

Asylum seekers are not usually eligible for either the ‘home’ rate of tuition fees or student finance.

 Refugees and family

In order to qualify for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:

(a) you must be ordinarily resident in the UK on the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins (note this is a different date from the first day of the first academic year of the course);

Note: Usually you do not count as ‘ordinarily resident’ in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for requirement (a) in category 2a. They say that if you (or your parent, spouse or civil partner) is recognised by the UK Government as a refugee after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as ‘ordinary residence’ for the purpose of requirement (a).

and

(b) on the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for (unless you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, in which case use instead the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins) you must be:

• a refugee recognised by the UK Government; or
• the spouse / civil partner of such a refugee and you must have been the spouse or civil partner of that person on the date on which their asylum application was made; or
• the child of such a refugee or of a refugee’s spouse or civil partner and at the time the refugee made the asylum application you must have been the under-18-year-old child of the refugee or of the refugee’s spouse or civil partner;

and

(c) you have not ceased to be ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands:

• since you were recognised as a refugee; or
• if you are a spouse / civil partner, or child, of a refugee, since you were given leave to remain in the UK.

Expiry date for refugee permission to stay

The refugee permission to stay might have an expiry date. If the person makes an application to extend or change their leave before it expires, and that application is not decided before the expiry date, then immigration law dictates that they carry on being treated as a refugee while they wait for a decision to be made (and if their application is refused, then also while they wait for an appeal or administrative review of the decision). They count as a ‘refugee recognised by the UK Government’ for fee assessment purposes during all of that time.

Becoming eligible:

If you are, or if your parent or spouse or civil partner is, recognised as a refugee after the start of the course, you will be entitled to ‘home’ fees from the start of the next academic year if you meet the requirements above.

Refugee Status: where someone gains British citizenship

The Immigration Rules revoke someone’s Refugee Status once s/he subsequently obtains a new nationality, eg when a refugee gains British citizenship. If you have, or a relevant family member has, Refugee Status and you are, or the person with that status is, considering applying for British (or any other) citizenship, you should be aware that such an application could have an effect on your fees status or your eligibility for Student Support.

 Asylum Seekers:

As an asylum seeker you can’t access student finance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so you have to arrange another way to pay for university/college. You will be charged tuition fees at an ‘international/overseas’ rate and will not be eligible for student finance (the loans from the government that other students can apply for).

(https://www.reuk.org/hefaq-asylumseeker)

https://www.ucas.com/finance/additional-funding/student-finance-refugees-asylum-seekers-and-those-limited-leave-remain

https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/Information–Advice/Fees-and-Money/England-HE-fee-status