Students: Finance

(asked on 13th September 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of changing student finance residency requirements to include UK nationals who have been resident in the UK for more than three years but have gaps in their Leave To Remain status.


Answered by
Michelle Donelan Portrait
Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This question was answered on 21st September 2021

Generally, to be eligible for student support a student must be resident in England and have ‘settled’ status or a recognised connection with the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course and must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) for the 3 years prior to that date.

To be ordinarily resident in the UK a person must be here lawfully in the UK throughout the required period. It would not be practical or desirable for Student Finance England to have to make individual decisions about why a particular individual may not be here lawfully. We will continue to be guided by Home Office grants of leave to remain in assessing eligibility for student finance.

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