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The 24+ Loan and living abroad for last 3 years - help?

Hi there,

I just moved back to England in June this year and I'm hoping to start an Access in September. The problem is I was living in Spain for a year before that and then Thailand for two years before that, so in total I've spent the last three years living out of the UK.

What does that mean for my loan application? I've read mixed answers and I will actually hold off on doing the Access if I can't get the loan.

Reply 1

bibliboo

I can't see why it would be a problem if you are a British citizen. Just ring student finance up. You can still apply for it online to find out, but I had to apply for 24+ loan after I received a place on my access course.

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Reply 2

Schadenfreude65

I'm afraid you won't qualify for either a 24+ loan or, more importantly, SFE loan for tuition fees at university. You need to have been resident in the UK for the last 3 years. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

https://www.gov.uk/advanced-learning-loans/eligibility

https://www.gov.uk/student-finance/who-qualifies

Reply 3

Jane_85

I had this problem when I started my access course last year, I had been living in Turkey on and off for quite a few years and half way through the course my loan application was declined. I was advised to contact our local mp and she had it sorted within a couple of weeks :smile:

If you are a British citizen and have spent the majority of your life in this country then there shouldn't be an issue. What they would like to see is a letter from your employer if you were working out there to say that you were only there temporarily. I couldn't get the letter from my previous employers as I didn't have a work permit and they didn't want to risk getting into trouble.

They just want to make sure that you have not come to study here with the intention of moving abroad again afterwards.

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