On 24th June 2016, the result of a referendum in the UK as to whether it should remain part of the European Union was declared. The decision was that the UK should leave the EU.

Once the UK triggered Article 50, this started a minimum 2-year exit period from the EU. In fact, however, it has actually taken more than 3 years so far to decide on the initial Withdrawal Agreement, which is Stage 1 of the process. Once this has been agreed, the UK government and the EU will then negotiate on matters such as trade and free movement of people, workers and students. This stage is expected to take 1 more year.

Whilst the results of those future negotiations are obviously unknown as yet, the UK Government and the Student Loans Company have confirmed that current students and prospective 2020 starter students will be allowed to study and receive support from the EU for the duration of their course. 

The UK Government have set up a web-page giving further advice on this - including what you need to do if you are planning on staying in the UK after you finish your course. 

The important facts:

• The UK's exit from the EU will take at least 1 more year, within which time the UK is still bound by EU regulations. The SLC has confirmed that current students will continue to be funded in the normal way, including 2020/21 starters, for their full course.
• The UK Government historically protects students' rights under the same regulations under which they started their course, allowing them to complete their courses. The UK Government's statements have also now confirmed this, so as long as you progress through your course, you will continue to be funded.
• Universities UK are working on behalf of all universities to convince the Government to take steps to ensure that students (and staff) from EU countries can continue to work and study at British Universities following the UK's exit from the EU after the negotiating period has lapsed. The University of Sunderland is working with Universities UK on behalf of our EU students (and staff).

The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.

The EEA is made up of all the countries in the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

UK universities charge two rates of fee: ‘Home’ fees, charged to students who meet certain eligibility criteria, and ‘International’ fees (which are usually higher). 

EU students usually attract the ‘Home’ fees rates, which for most University of Sunderland undergraduate courses will be £9,250 in 2020/21.

Students who are EU nationals qualify for ‘Home’ fees if you have been ‘ordinarily resident’ anywhere in the EEA for the 3 years immediately preceding 1st September (for courses starting in the Autumn) and the main purpose of your residence in the EEA was not to receive full-time education.  If you have been absent from the EEA for part or all of the 3 year period, you may still qualify if the reason for your absence was that you, your parent/guardian or spouse were temporarily employed outside the EEA.

If you meet the requirements for ‘Home’ fees and you are studying on a designated course (the majority of UK undergraduate Degrees, Foundation Degrees and Higher National Diplomas are ‘designated’) you will normally be eligible to apply for help with paying your fees. This is in the form of a Tuition Fee Loan from the UK Government.

Application forms for Sept 2020 starters are available from April 2020. You will need to apply to the Student Finance Services Team, based at Student Finance England in Darlington UK, who can be contacted by telephone on 0141 243 3570.  You can also obtain an application form from the following website: www.gov.uk/student-finance .

The Tuition Fee Loan is available to eligible full-time EU students - both new and continuing - and is not income-assessed. The Loan will cover the cost of your full annual tuition fee.

Once you have applied, the Student Finance Services Team arrange for the Student Loans Company to pay the University the fees – and you start to repay the loan after you have left the course and are earning above a specified amount called the ‘repayment threshold’.

The Student Loans Company will work out your monthly repayment schedule using the same principles as those students who stay in the UK. You will repay 9% of your earnings over the repayment threshold. To take account of differences in living costs in other EU countries, the repayment schedule may not be the same as the UK. Find out more on the ‘Repaying from Overseas’ link on the SLC website - www.studentloanrepayment.co.uk

When you apply for the Tuition Fee Loan it can take several weeks for your application to be considered.  You will have to re-apply each year for tuition fee assistance. 

For each year of study, you must apply within 9 months of the start of the academic year.  For courses starting in the Autumn 2020, this effectively means that you must apply by the end of May 2021 at the very latest, otherwise the Fees Loan may not be paid.  It is advisable to apply as soon as possible, preferably before you start your course, so that you know in advance that your tuition fees will be paid for you by the Tuition Fee Loan.

Most UK full-time students studying for a first degree, Foundation Degree or PGCE are funded through the Student Finance system. This system not only provides the Tuition Fee Loan, but also a Maintenance Loan for living costs and possible supplementary grants for dependant children etc.

The usual main criteria to be eligible for the full Student Finance package are:

• you must have ‘settled status’ in the UK (e.g. a UK passport); and
• you have been ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK for the 3 years before the start of the course for purposes other than wholly or mainly for education.

However, you may also qualify for the full UK Student Finance Package if one of the following applies to you:

• you are an EU resident who has lived in the ‘UK or Islands’ (the UK plus the Channel Islands and Isle of Man) for five years or more when you start your course; OR
• you are a student from England who is returning to the UK to study after having exercised a right of residence elsewhere in the EEA or Switzerland; OR
• you have EEA or Swiss migrant worker status (see below for further information); OR
• you are the child of a ‘Turkish worker’

Nationals of the Republic of Ireland are treated as ‘settled’ in the UK for immigration purposes due to membership of the Common Travel Area.  However, Irish nationals must also fulfil the 3 years residency in the UK requirement in order to be eligible for living costs assistance on top of their Tuition Fee Loan.

If you are eligible for the full Student Finance package you need to apply to Student Finance England (if you live in England) or other UK Student Finance office (if you live in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland). You can apply online at www.gov.uk/student-finance , or you can download a paper application (PN1) there if you prefer.

You may qualify for ‘Home’ fee status and the full Student Finance package (i.e. funding towards living costs as well as tuition fees) if you are an EEA migrant worker, or you are the spouse or child of an EEA migrant worker.  This also applies to migrant workers from Switzerland.   To qualify as a ‘migrant worker’ you must:

• be a national of a (non-UK) EEA country, or Switzerland; and
• have been ordinarily resident in the EEA, or Switzerland, for the 3 years immediately before 1st September 2020 for purposes other than mainly for full-time education; and
• be ordinarily resident in England and Wales on the first day of the first academic year of the course (1st September for courses commencing in Autumn); and
• have taken up work since moving to the UK; and
• continue to work whilst studying

‘Work’ must be ‘effective and genuine’ and involve performing services in return for pay.  There are no set rules on the length of time you need to have been working; however you must be able to demonstrate that you came into the UK with the express intention of employment in the UK, rather than you intended to study and have decided to work on top of this. You will also need to demonstrate that you can support yourself on your earnings and that you are not reliant on Student Finance.

You will not necessarily lose your migrant worker status if you become ‘involuntarily unemployed’ (for example, if you were made redundant, but not if you lost your job through misconduct), as long as you can demonstrate that you are actively seeking work.

You would not qualify for Student Finance as a migrant worker if you took up a job with a view to studying a course related to the same field of activity and your employer would not have given you the job if you had not already been accepted on to the course – i.e. if you took up the job specifically to try to gain migrant worker status in order to receive Student Support funding.

As well as help with tuition fees, Student Finance provides EEA Migrant Workers with a Maintenance Loan, and grants for students with dependants, which depend on your financial circumstances.

If you think you may qualify as an EEA Migrant Worker you should apply to the Student Finance office for the area in which you live (see above) – or through www.gov.uk/student-finance .

The University of Sunderland will offer a number of scholarships in 2019/20 to UK and EU Students, details of which can be found on the main University website here.

Some of the scholarships are income assessed. If you have been approved for a scholarship, you will have to inform the University of your household income. You will be advised by the University on how to do this, if you are successful in receiving a scholarship.

Most full-time students are not eligible for certain state welfare benefits whatever their nationality, but there are some exceptions (e.g. lone parents, some disabled students, or student couples).  Additionally, for some benefits there is a habitual resident test.  Claimants are required to be habitually resident in the UK, Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands or Isle of Man - unless they are in an excepted category such as a migrant worker.

Child Benefit is paid for each child in your care who is under 16 (or under 19 if in full-time non-advanced education).  You can claim this if you, your spouse or child have been in the UK for 6 months, or sooner if your country has a reciprocal agreement with the UK.  If you or your spouse begin work and pay National Insurance contributions you can claim Child Benefit from the Inland Revenue immediately.

Child Tax Credit (CTC) is paid to low and middle income parents who have responsibility for a child.  Working Tax Credit (WTC) is paid to low or middle income adults who work 16/24 hours or more per week who have responsibility for a child or have a disability or who are (or their partners are) over 25 and working 30 hours or more per week.  Under EU and UK Law, EEA and Swiss nationals should not be excluded from these Tax Credits simply because they are students or on the basis of their nationality.