Defering place to be eligable for maintence?

My friend has missed being eligible for a maintenance loan by 1 month as he has been in the UK since Oct 2012, he would have needed to be here since Sept 2012 to be eligible.
Someone mentioned that maybe he should defer his offer and enter university in 2018. Is this advisable or could this prevent him from being eligible for a maintenance loan?

I understand this question assumes that EU students will have to same access to funding in 2018 as they do now. But many people we have spoken to feel that Brexit won't have an impact on EU students as soon as 2018. A gamble I know but at this stage it might be the only option. What do you think might happen in 2018 regarding EU students in the UK? Are the government likely to bring restrictions in that quickly?

He can defer if he wants. I've not seen anything that says you can't defer for one year to get student finance. After all, how would student finance know for example, he didn't miss his offers and had to reapply? The only requirement is that your main reason for coming here can't be education.

Yeah that's pretty much what I thought. No he moved he initially to work and to be with family.

Fancy placing any bets on what the EU student finance situation might be in 2018/19?

Yeah that's pretty much what I thought. No he moved he initially to work and to be with family.

Fancy placing any bets on what the EU student finance situation might be in 2018/19?