England confirmed the same funding package, as for 2018/19 and before, for EU students commencing study in 2019/20. This meant they will "be able to access financial support for the duration of their course on the same basis as is available today" and "continue to be eligible for 'home fee status', which means they will be charged the same tuition fees as UK students”. See England's published 2019/20 statement which was added to by a ministerial statement in parliament on the same day, in which it was indicated that family members are included in these provisions. New legislation, amending England's fees and student support regulations to the above effect, was laid before Parliament on 31 January 2019.
Scotland confirmed that it would "extend [its 2017/18 and 2018/19] commitment to the 2019/20 cohort [which] means that all eligible non-UK EU citizens who come to Scotland to study for an undergraduate higher education qualification in 2019/20 will benefit from free tuition". See Scotland's 2019/20 statement. Legislation amending Scotland's fees and student support regulations, to take effect on ‘exit day’, was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 25 February 2019.
Wales confirmed that "EU nationals who intend to study in Wales for the academic year 2019/20 [...] will be eligible to receive loans and/or grants from Student Finance Wales. This is a continuation of the Welsh Government’s current policy and means that students will be eligible to receive support until they finish their course". Additionally, "EU nationals who intend to study in Wales for the academic year 2019/20 will be eligible to pay the same tuition fees as Welsh students”. See Wales's 2019/20 statement. New legislation, amending Wales's fees and student support regulations to the above effect, was laid before the Welsh Assembly on 5 March 2019.
Northern Ireland confirmed that "EU nationals who are currently in receipt of student loans from Student Finance Northern Ireland, and EU students applying for university places in NI in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 academic years will continue to have access to student loans and certain grants, even if the course concludes after the UK’s exit from the EU". The statement is no longer publicly available. Northern Ireland also laid new legislation, amending its own fees and student support regulations, to the above effect on 1 March 2019.
The above legislation changes were designed to take effect on ‘exit day’, that is the day the UK leaves the EU. Whilst the UK has now left the EU, the UK and the EU remain in a transition period until 11pm on 31 December 2020. In this transition period, EU law provisions still apply in the UK and ‘exit day’ has been re-defined across a lot of legislation to mean ‘the end of the transition period’. This means that none of the legislation, referred to above, has yet come into effect.
