late application for tuition fee loan and being abroad!!!!!! help :((

My situation: I am a British citizen holding a British passport and my domicile residence is the UK. However, for the past 3 years and more, I have been studying abroad due to my father's temporary contract which is renewed on a yearly basis at the same as his ID. I have also completed my GCSEs and A-levels abroad. Student Finance England states that to be eligible for full support, you have to have been living in the UK for the past 3 years in a row before the first day of the first academic year of your course (apart from holidays). Now, I've been abroad for more than 3 years because of my father's employment and I have only gone back home to the UK during the summer holidays. My father owns a house in the UK, and pays utility bills, council tax, and water rates. We only have British nationality. The only reason I was abroad was due to my father’s employment. So my question is: will I still be eligible for full support of the tuition fee loan?? (not maintenance loan)

My second situation: I've already applied for a tuition fee loan (I have not applied for a maintenance loan) and I have also very briefly stated my situation (since they don't provide enough space). However, due to being abroad and with all the exams going on, I had completely forgotten to apply for Student Finance England before the deadline (May 31st?). So I quickly made an application a few days ago on Aug 18th and it's now processing. I have a confirmed place at a university and my course is starting on 18/09/2023. My first question is: will my application be progressed in time so that my fees would be paid on time?? (considering the fact that I applied exactly 1 month before my course start date and apparently it takes 6-8 weeks for your application to be progressed). My second question is: if my loan fees are not paid on time because of a lack of progress in my application, will I have to pay for my own fees??. Also, if I don't have that kind of money, will I have to withdraw from university?????

I am so so stressed about this because I really don't want to have to withdraw from a university course I worked hard to get into (whether it's because I'm not eligible for a tuition fee loan or my fees are not paid on time ). Any answers to my questions would be greatly appreciated. And whoever took the time to read this ginormous ugly paragraph, thank you.

Hi there,

Yes, if your evidence clearly shows that your stay outside of the UK was of a temporary nature, then you should be eligible. You would need to speak to the University about their deadlines etc, it would be a discussion between you and the university regarding how to pay for the fees if you are still waiting on the application being fully processed.

Thanks, Clare

Okay, thanks!