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Student Loans - British Residents living in EU???

Hi,

I'm an English citizen (holder of British passport) who has been living in France for the last 16 years. I originally assumed I would be applying as an EU citizen but have just been informed that I should apply as British citizen. To do this I also will need a National Insurance no which I apparently cannot apply for until I arrive in the UK and will then have to wait for 8 weeks for it to arrive. It makes me feel a bit worried that I won't be able to submit my application for tuition loans (and maybe now maintenance loans) until roughly November but I understand we have until May until next year? Is anybody else in the same situation?

Good luck with the preparations, am looking forward to meeting you all:smile::smile:
You do not need to wait to submit your application; in fact it's the opposite, and you absolutely should submit it, because if you do not have an NI number, student finance are the ones who should arrange an appointment with jobcentre plus with you for an interview to apply for one. Your application can be processed without an NI number anyway-they just won't unblock your payments until you have one.

It's worth looking into the possibility that if your parents previously lived in the UK and claimed child benefit for you though, you may already have an NI number and will just need to phone them to find out what it is (you will need an idea of what address they might have on file for you if this is the case-e.g. might be an old address, or a forwarding address).
Learning at Imperial College London
Imperial College London
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You will be able to get the tuition fee loan, as EU students also get this, but I'm not entirely sure as to the maintenance loan, as even if you are a citizen of the UK, you have to have lived in the country for three years minimum, prior to your course, to be able to get one.
Reply 3
Thanks for your answers. UCAS have confirmed that others have been in the same situation and have just completed the EU form and that we should have no further issues.:smile:
Original post by Enattente
Thanks for your answers. UCAS have confirmed that others have been in the same situation and have just completed the EU form and that we should have no further issues.:smile:


You're not an EU student-they'll just send the form back and tell you to fill in the home student application. (Besides, EU students can only get tuition fees, not maintenance loans/grants).

You are a home student; as a UK national you only need to have lived in the EU/EEA or Switzerland for 3 years prior to the start of your course to qualify. You should make a home student application; student finance will start the process going for you to get an NI number so your application can be fully processed.

Believe me, I have gone through the process having lived in Switzerland for several years before returning to the UK to start uni-in my case, I already had an NI number so it wasn't a hassle for me, but my sister didn't have hers so had to go to the job centre to sort it out.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 5
Original post by heidigirl
You're not an EU student-they'll just send the form back and tell you to fill in the home student application. (Besides, EU students can only get tuition fees, not maintenance loans/grants).

You are a home student; as a UK national you only need to have lived in the EU/EEA or Switzerland for 3 years prior to the start of your course to qualify. You should make a home student application; student finance will start the process going for you to get an NI number so your application can be fully processed.

Believe me, I have gone through the process having lived in Switzerland for several years before returning to the UK to start uni-in my case, I already had an NI number so it wasn't a hassle for me, but my sister didn't have hers so had to go to the job centre to sort it out.



This is complicated!! I rang UCAS and they said it wasnt them who dealt with student tuition, which I already knew and acknowledged. But it is UCAS who has sent me the EU Tuition Application form, and when I mentioned the problem, which they had difficulty understanding, not surprisingly, they told me I should still fill in the EU one!! I suppose I will just need to download an application from the government tuition site. Thanks for your reply.
Original post by Enattente
This is complicated!! I rang UCAS and they said it wasnt them who dealt with student tuition, which I already knew and acknowledged. But it is UCAS who has sent me the EU Tuition Application form, and when I mentioned the problem, which they had difficulty understanding, not surprisingly, they told me I should still fill in the EU one!! I suppose I will just need to download an application from the government tuition site. Thanks for your reply.


Yeah, they won't really know the rules. People at student finance don't often understand the rules even; my sister originally filled in the EU form when she applied for uni because it wasn't at all clear what she was meant to do-but they just sent it back and told her to fill in the one for home students. Student finance aren't very transparent with the rules; the best website that has it all clearly laid out is the UK council for International student affairs: http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/International-Students/Fees--finance/Home-or-Overseas-fees/England-Higher-Education/

You should fall under section 2: those who are 'settled' in the UK and have exercised their right of residence in the EU. :smile:
Reply 7
Original post by heidigirl
Yeah, they won't really know the rules. People at student finance don't often understand the rules even; my sister originally filled in the EU form when she applied for uni because it wasn't at all clear what she was meant to do-but they just sent it back and told her to fill in the one for home students. Student finance aren't very transparent with the rules; the best website that has it all clearly laid out is the UK council for International student affairs: http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/International-Students/Fees--finance/Home-or-Overseas-fees/England-Higher-Education/

You should fall under section 2: those who are 'settled' in the UK and have exercised their right of residence in the EU. :smile:



Hey, thanks so much for this. Very reassuring and has saved me wasting a lot of time! :smile:

PS Good luck with the new term if you are still studying?
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 8
Just to add some personal experience and hope it helps people in a similar situation - my son having applied to a UK university this year. He's a UK citizen, born in the UK but we've lived in Belgium since he was 4. He applied for UK finance tuition and maintenance loans successfully, but not without many phone calls and conflicting advice.

For the UK finance you do need a National Insurance Number ( NINO ) and a UK bank account if you apply for a maintenance loan, though you can supply both of these after submitting the application. We were told that as we claimed child benefit, he could fill in HMRC's form CA5403 to get his existing, but dormant NINO, which he did back in May. Several months later and many phone calls to HMRC, we were told they'd changed the rules, wouldn't send the NINO abroad and he'd have to wait till he starts his course in the UK to get the interview with Job Centre for his NINO. We were concerned because his Student Finance application says you need the NINO one month before the start of the course or the tuition payment wouldn't be made. But a phone call to the university confirmed that as long as the Finance application is in place, the university will wait.

The student bank account was also a nightmare to sort out, so I'd recommend getting that sorted out as soon as possible. You can't get a student account until your place at university is confirmed, but you can start up a normal account and either ask to have it made into a student account or start a student account later when you're in the UK - this probably depends on the bank.

One final problem we faced was the support for the maintenance loan. If you want your parents' income declared to get the highest possible maintenance loan, then they fill in supporting online applications. But they will later be asked for proof of this declared income, including foreign income and if this is not in English they will also be asked for a certified translation. We found that as parents, we couldn't return to our submitted application to see what we'd declared and made a small error in our posted proof, which caused more letters to/from.

Sorry for lengthy reply, but this has been a very frustrating process and if this helps anyone else even only slightly, it will have been worthwhile. Good luck!
Reply 9
Original post by watcat
Just to add some personal experience and hope it helps people in a similar situation - my son having applied to a UK university this year. He's a UK citizen, born in the UK but we've lived in Belgium since he was 4. He applied for UK finance tuition and maintenance loans successfully, but not without many phone calls and conflicting advice.

For the UK finance you do need a National Insurance Number ( NINO ) and a UK bank account if you apply for a maintenance loan, though you can supply both of these after submitting the application. We were told that as we claimed child benefit, he could fill in HMRC's form CA5403 to get his existing, but dormant NINO, which he did back in May. Several months later and many phone calls to HMRC, we were told they'd changed the rules, wouldn't send the NINO abroad and he'd have to wait till he starts his course in the UK to get the interview with Job Centre for his NINO. We were concerned because his Student Finance application says you need the NINO one month before the start of the course or the tuition payment wouldn't be made. But a phone call to the university confirmed that as long as the Finance application is in place, the university will wait.

The student bank account was also a nightmare to sort out, so I'd recommend getting that sorted out as soon as possible. You can't get a student account until your place at university is confirmed, but you can start up a normal account and either ask to have it made into a student account or start a student account later when you're in the UK - this probably depends on the bank.

One final problem we faced was the support for the maintenance loan. If you want your parents' income declared to get the highest possible maintenance loan, then they fill in supporting online applications. But they will later be asked for proof of this declared income, including foreign income and if this is not in English they will also be asked for a certified translation. We found that as parents, we couldn't return to our submitted application to see what we'd declared and made a small error in our posted proof, which caused more letters to/from.

Sorry for lengthy reply, but this has been a very frustrating process and if this helps anyone else even only slightly, it will have been worthwhile. Good luck!



Hi there,

Many thanks for your reply of which we are taking particular note!!

I have already established from the relevant authorities that I need my NI number for which I can start the process when I arrive on Tuesday. They did ask whether I had had child benefit etc etc but this was not the case and they could not find any record of me. I am encouraged to read that the university will wait, but have already sent them a mail explaining my situation.

As for the student bank account, since my place is already confirmed I am hoping to start this process the same day as I go to the job centre (its going to be a busy day). I will have my term time address etc. My father tried to open an account for me from France but they refused, even though we have continued to maintain our accounts with Nat West all the time we have been in France. Rules are rules!! But hey we're very used to that (as you must be as I imagine Belgium is the same as France?!!). In France we just love red tape, paper and bureaucracy!!

I am not applying for the maintenance loan. Just the tuition fees. We are just starting the process but have not got to the part where justification is required - does this part need to be translated too?

Generally speaking - can anybody recommend a bank in the vicinity of Imperial (I will be living in Evelyn Gardens)? Or are they all pretty much the same? My Dad says some of them offer "Free" banking to students and others don't??

Thank you very much for all your advice. What is your son studying and where is he living? Maybe I will have the opportunity of meeting him:smile:
Reply 10
Original post by Enattente
Hi there,

Many thanks for your reply of which we are taking particular note!!

I have already established from the relevant authorities that I need my NI number for which I can start the process when I arrive on Tuesday. They did ask whether I had had child benefit etc etc but this was not the case and they could not find any record of me. I am encouraged to read that the university will wait, but have already sent them a mail explaining my situation.

As for the student bank account, since my place is already confirmed I am hoping to start this process the same day as I go to the job centre (its going to be a busy day). I will have my term time address etc. My father tried to open an account for me from France but they refused, even though we have continued to maintain our accounts with Nat West all the time we have been in France. Rules are rules!! But hey we're very used to that (as you must be as I imagine Belgium is the same as France?!!). In France we just love red tape, paper and bureaucracy!!

I am not applying for the maintenance loan. Just the tuition fees. We are just starting the process but have not got to the part where justification is required - does this part need to be translated too?

Generally speaking - can anybody recommend a bank in the vicinity of Imperial (I will be living in Evelyn Gardens)? Or are they all pretty much the same? My Dad says some of them offer "Free" banking to students and others don't??

Thank you very much for all your advice. What is your son studying and where is he living? Maybe I will have the opportunity of meeting him:smile:

It's not typical to have a monthly or yearly fee for an account when you're a young person in the UK, so your dad is right - you should absolutely be able to get an account that is 'free'. People tend to pick a student account based on how big and how readily available the student overdraft on it is (if you're interested in this then be aware that what they advertise may not be what they give you), or any 'freebies' that they're offering (eg free student railcard etc). Which bank you choose shouldn't really matter, as long as it's one of the bigger ones. If you are going to be transferring large amounts of money to and from France, though, you might want to look very carefully into different rates and charges (hidden or advertised) in that department.
Reply 11
Hi again, as you're not applying for the maintenance loan, you won't need to justify parent income, that's just to find what level maintenance loan you're entitled to.

It's a bit annoying that if you apply for tuition loan as an EU student, you don't need to supply a NI number, but if you apply as a UK student just for the tuition loan ( effectively the same ), you do.

Bank account was similar situation to you, we have a long-standing account with HSBC and our address with them is our Belgian address, so we assumed ( wrongly ) that there would be no hassle starting up an account for our son. He filled in the forms in a branch when he was in the UK, back in April. Many letters/phone calls/visits by grandmother to branch later, he finally got his bank card last week - still waiting for the PIN! I think most of the big banks offer free accounts for students, so just check for the best deal.

And he's going to study Maths at Oxford, so possibly meet him on the Eurostar! Best of luck with your course at Imperial.
I'm in the same boat, I'm English but I've been living in Spain for the past 7 years, hope it works out okay for you :smile:
Reply 13
Original post by victoriaemma
I'm in the same boat, I'm English but I've been living in Spain for the past 7 years, hope it works out okay for you :smile:



Thanks. Just an update on this and for anybody else who may find themselves in the same situation. You have to go to the jobcentre relevant to where you are studying to get your NI number. We rang them before going, they told us we should ring us another number, who told us to go back to the student hub!!! In the end we went to the job centre and very fortunately for us, since I received child benefit before leaving for France I was in their system. But I had to give a previous address I had in France (from when I was about 3). So my advice would be for you to go to the job centre (which is probably the same one on the Fulham Road) and ask them. Hope this helps.
Reply 14
Original post by Enattente
Thanks. Just an update on this and for anybody else who may find themselves in the same situation. You have to go to the jobcentre relevant to where you are studying to get your NI number. We rang them before going, they told us we should ring us another number, who told us to go back to the student hub!!! In the end we went to the job centre and very fortunately for us, since I received child benefit before leaving for France I was in their system. But I had to give a previous address I had in France (from when I was about 3). So my advice would be for you to go to the job centre (which is probably the same one on the Fulham Road) and ask them. Hope this helps.



Another update on this because this system did not work for us in the end since our NI number had never been validated. You need to go to the relevant Government National Insurance page and ask for a "Juvenile Registration" form. After submitting it could apparently take 8 weeks to be returned!
Reply 15
Original post by Enattente
Another update on this because this system did not work for us in the end since our NI number had never been validated. You need to go to the relevant Government National Insurance page and ask for a "Juvenile Registration" form. After submitting it could apparently take 8 weeks to be returned!

Hooray for red tape!
Hi, my daughter has a similar situation and we are panicking as the loan is approved and then not approved as they feel fit. But regarding the NINO, I called them and they set it up, no problem. I used my parents address in the UK, so as long as you have somewhere for them to post it to, there is no problem. And it took 3 weeks at most.

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