Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an immigration checking service for Student Finance to check student eligibility similar to that of the employer checking service.

Where necessary, the Student Loans Company (SLC) seeks information from the Home Office to establish whether an individual meets the personal eligibility requirements for student support. The information that the SLC requires from the Home Office varies, but often includes the individual’s immigration status (including the date of the grant) and confirmation that they have been ordinarily (lawfully) resident in the UK and Islands during a specified period. In some circumstances, a more extensive immigration history is requested.