Applying in Wales: Who is entitled?

If you satisfy all the conditions under this category, you will be eligible for full Student Support. To be eligible:

(a) you must be settled in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(b) on the first day of the first academic year of the course you must be ordinarily resident in Wales; and

(c) you must also have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the full three-year period before the first day of the first academic year of the course, for example, if your course begins in October 2015 you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands from 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2015; and

(d) the main purpose for your residence in the UK and Islands must not have been to receive full-time education during any part of the three-year period.

Students from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man

If you are in receipt of an award from your Island authority, you are treated differently as there is an agreement between the Island authorities and UK higher education institutions. If you are self-financing, seek advice.

If you satisfy the conditions under this category, you are eligible only for a loan to pay your tuition fees. To be eligible:

(a) on the first day of the first academic year of the course, you must be:

• an non-UK EU national; or
• a UK national who has exercised a right of residence elsewhere in the EEA/Switzerland as a self-sufficient person or as a student, or as a family member accompanying one of these types of people; or 
• the relevant family member of a non-UK EU national, and that non-UK EU national is in the UK as a self-sufficient person or as a student; or
• the relevant family member of a UK national, and that UK national has exercised a right of residence elsewhere in the EEA/Switzerland as a self-sufficient person or as a student;

and

(b) you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland for three years before the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(c) the main purpose for your residence in the EEA and/or Switzerland must not have been to receive full-time education during any part of the three year period.

Notes:

• If you become an EU national because your country joins the EU, you are treated as if you were an EU national on the first day of the first academic year of the course, even if you started the course before your country joined the EU. The same applies if you are the family member of someone whose country of nationality joins the EU. For the purposes of the residence conditions, any country that joins the EU is considered always to have been part of the EEA.
• You do not have to be the family member of an EU national on the first day of the first academic year of the course, although the EU national in your family must be an EU national on that date (unless the EU national's country joins the EU). If you become, or a relevant family member becomes, an EU national after the course has started, seek advice.

If you satisfy all the conditions under this category, you will be eligible for full Student Support. To be eligible:

(a) you must be a non-UK EU national on the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(b) you must be ordinarily resident in Wales on the first day of the first academic year of your course; and

(c) you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the three-year period before the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(d) if, during any part of the three year period, the main purpose for your residence was to receive full-time education, you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK or elsewhere in the EEA and/or Switzerland immediately prior to the 3-year period of ordinary residence in the UK and Islands. It does not matter if you were in the EEA and/or Switzerland mainly in order to receive full-time education during this earlier period.

If you satisfy all the conditions under this category, you will be eligible for full Student Support. To be eligible:

(a) you have the right of permanent residence in the UK; and

(b) you are ordinarily resident in Wales on the first day of the first academic year of your course; and

(c) you were ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for three years before the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(d) if your three-year residence in the UK and Islands was at any time mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education, you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK or elsewhere in the EEA and/or Switzerland immediately prior to the three-year period of ordinary residence in the UK and Islands. It does not matter if you were in the EEA and/or Switzerland mainly in order to receive full-time education during this earlier period.

Note: If you acquire the right of permanent residence after the start of your course, seek advice about whether you will become eligible for Student Support.

If you satisfy all the conditions under this category, you will be eligible for full Student Support. To be eligible:

(a) you must be a non-UK EEA/Swiss worker, or you must be the relevant family member of such a worker; and

(b) you must be ordinarily resident in Wales on the first day of the first academic year of the course (unless you are an EEA or Swiss frontier worker or relevant family member of a frontier worker); and

(c) you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK or elsewhere in the EEA and/or Switzerland for three years before the first day of the first academic year of the course.

Notes:

• If you are the child of an EEA worker who is no longer working or living in the UK, you may still be entitled to Student Support if you have, at some point, lived in the UK as the child of that person whilst he/she exercised his/her right to reside as a worker (but not a self-employed worker). It does not matter if you are now over 21 and are no longer dependent on him/her. You should seek advice from your institution, from your Students' Union, or by telephoning our Students' Advice Line, if you would like to explore this option.
• If you or a relevant family member become an EEA or Swiss migrant worker part-way through your course, you might become entitled to Student Support. You should seek advice on this, as above.

If you satisfy all the conditions under this category, you will be eligible for full Student Support. To be eligible:

(a) you must be settled in the UK; and

(b) you must be ordinarily resident in the UK on the day on which the first term of the first academic year of your course actually begins; and

(c) you must have been ordinarily resident in Wales and settled in the UK immediately before leaving the UK and exercising a right of residence

Note: This means that, before leaving the UK, you must be either a UK national, or the family member of a UK national and you have settled status, or a person with the right of permanent residence, and you or your family member has been a worker or self-employed person, or a student or self-sufficient person somewhere in the EEA or Switzerland, other than the UK;

and

(d) you have been ordinarily resident in the EEA or Switzerland for the three-year period before the first day of the first academic year of your course; and

(e) if, during that three-year period, you were ordinarily resident in the EEA or Switzerland mainly in order to receive full-time education, you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland immediately before that three-year period.

If you satisfy all the conditions under this category, you will be eligible for full Student Support. To be eligible:

(a) you must be the child of a Swiss national. If you started your course on or after 1 August 2013, your Swiss parent(s) must be exercising their free movement rights in the UK (for example as a self-sufficient person, a worker, or a student);

and

(b) you must be ordinarily resident in Wales on the first day of the first academic year of your course; and

(c) you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK or elsewhere in the EEA and/or Switzerland for the three-year period before the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(d) if the main purpose for your residence in the EEA and/or Switzerland was wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education, you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland immediately before that three-year period. It does not matter if your main reason for being there before that three-year period was in order to receive full-time education.

Note: Seek advice about whether you will become eligible for Student Support if you become the child of a Swiss national after the start of your course, for example if:

• you have a non-Swiss parent who marries or enters into a civil partnership with a Swiss national; or
• your parent is granted Swiss nationality.

If you satisfy all the conditions under this category, you will be eligible for full Student Support. To be eligible:

(a) you must be the child of a Turkish national who is ordinarily resident in the UK and who is, or has been lawfully employed in the UK; and

(b) you must be ordinarily resident in Wales on the first day of the first academic year of your course; and

(c) you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK or elsewhere in the EEA and/or Switzerland and/or Turkey for the three-year period before the first day of the first academic year of the course.

Note: If you become the child of a Turkish worker after the start of your course, for example, if you have a parent who marries or enters into a civil partnership with a Turkish worker, seek advice about whether you will become eligible for Student Support.

If you satisfy all the conditions under this category, you will be eligible for full Student Support. To be eligible:

(a) you must be ordinarily resident in Wales on the first day of the first academic year of your course; and

(b)

• have been recognised as a refugee by the UK Government and have remained ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands since then; or
• be the spouse / civil partner of such a refugee and have been in that relationship on the date on which he/she made his/her application for asylum; or
• be the child of such a refugee, or the child of such a refugee's spouse / civil partner, and be able to show that on the date that refugee made his/her application for asylum, you were:
  • under 18 years of age; and
  • the refugee was your parent, or your parent's spouse / civil partner.

Notes:

• If your permission to be in the UK has run out, you are still eligible for Student Support if you can show that you applied to extend or change your immigration status before your permission to be here expired, and you are still waiting for a decision on that application, or that you are in the process of appealing against a Home Office decision to refuse you further immigration permission.
• If you are granted refugee status, or if your spouse or civil partner or parent is granted refugee status, after the start of your course, seek advice about whether you will become eligible for Student Support.

If you satisfy all the conditions under this category, you will be eligible for full Student Support. To be eligible:

(a) you must be ordinarily resident in Wales on the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(b) you must be:

1. a "person with leave to enter or remain", which means a person:
• who has -
• applied for refugee status but has, as a result of that application, been informed by the Home Office that, although he/she is considered not to qualify for recognition as a refugee, it is thought right to allow him/her to enter or remain in the UK on the grounds of humanitarian protection or discretionary leave, or
• not applied for refugee status but has been informed by the Home Office that it is thought right to allow him/her to enter or remain in the UK on the grounds of discretionary leave; and
• who has been granted leave to enter or to remain accordingly; and
• whose period of leave to enter or remain has not expired, or has been renewed and the period for which it was renewed has not expired, or in respect of whose leave to enter or remain an appeal is pending;
• who has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since he/she was granted leave to enter or remain;   

or

2. the spouse or civil partner of a "person with leave to enter or remain" (as above), and you must have been the spouse or civil partner of that person on the date on which they applied for asylum or discretionary leave;

or

3. the child of a "person with leave to enter or remain" (as above), or a child of that person's spouse or civil partner, and, at the time the person with leave to enter or remain applied for asylum or discretionary leave, you must have been under 18 years old and the child of that person or of someone who was the spouse or civil partner of that person on that date;

and

(c) you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for three years before the first day of the first academic year of your course.

Notes:

• If the immigration permission of the "person with leave to enter or remain" has run out, he/she (or an appropriate family member of that person, as in (b)2. and (b)3. above) will still eligible for Student Support if that person:
  • applied to extend/change his/her immigration status before his/her permission to be here expired and a decision is still awaited on that application; or
  • is in the process of appealing against a Home Office decision to refuse further immigration permission.
• If you are, or if your parent (or your parent's spouse or civil partner), or your own spouse or civil partner, is granted humanitarian protection or discretionary leave after the start of the course, seek advice about whether you will become eligible for Student Support.