Residence in EU: 2 years as a student + 1 year permanently

Hi everyone, it would be great if someone would be willing to help.

1.) Is there an official page where I could read more about residence eligibility criteria? I found the rule 'For tuition fee loans, EU nationals must be ordinarily resident in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland for the three years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that three year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education' on TSR website, but I'd like to read more about it from the official source as well.

2.) I have EU nationality since my birth however I was raised in a non-EU country. At the time when my course starts, I would have lived in EU for 3 years. However, 2 of those years were for gaining a degree (was staying with close family). After gaining a degree, I remained in EU and started working. How would this situation be treated?

Hi,

If you have 3 years residency in the EU you will be eligible to apply for EU funding on the Tuition Fee Loan only. If you will be working throughout your studies you may also be eligible to apply as a Migrant Worker.

Thanks, Amy

Hi,

If you have 3 years residency in the EU you will be eligible to apply for EU funding on the Tuition Fee Loan only. If you will be working throughout your studies you may also be eligible to apply as a Migrant Worker.

Thanks, Amy

Hi, thanks for the answer. So it doesn't matter that I was a student for two of those years (studying was not the sole purpose of my stay)?

Correct, as Amy mentioned above your funding may be limited if you already hold a degree.

Thanks, Erin

All right, so to conclude:
1.) I won't be eligible to finance my MRes/MPhil (a first step towards PhD) with a loan because I already have a MSc degree from abroad.
2.) Everything is fine with my EU residency status.

Is this correct?

Would the course be a Postgraduate Doctoral?

Your EU residency is fine.

Thanks, Erin

Well, my goal is to pursue the PhD but I must complete the MPhil first (that is the only pathway to PhD, as stated on the university's website). So, I believe that this part won't be considered a postgraduate doctoral degree.
I will be submitting a research proposal with my MPhil application.
So technically, it is the same qualification level, but my first MSc degree (outside of the UK) wasn't research oriented and wasn't supposed to lead to PhD.

Do you have the full course and university details so we can check this for you.

Thanks, Erin

Yes, I am talking about the following MPhil and PhD programmes (Cambridge MPhil/PhD in Finance). As you can see on the PhD programe's website, it is explicitly stated that 'To start on the Finance pathway you must take the following nine-month masters programme'.

Thank you very much for your effort.

You wouldn't eligible for the masters program as you already hold an MA from abroad. You may be eligible for funding for the PHD but the course just now is not on our database. Until this is on here we aren't able to confirm funding.

Thanks, Erin