Student Finance for non-UK/EEA spouse of UK National

Hi there,

Can you confirm what nationality you are and what is your status in the UK? How long have you lived in the UK?

Thanks, Drew

Hi there,

Do you have indefinite leave to remain or limited leave to remain? Did you already study an undergraduate degree in the UK or was it in another country?

Thanks, Drew

Hi there,

In the 1st year of your course you would be eligible for £5785 for the Tuition Fee Loan and you would need to self fund £3465 for the Tuition Fee Loan. In years 2-4 you would be eligible for £5535 for the Tuition Fee Loan and the NHS will pay £3715 of the Tuition Fee Loan.

In the 1st year can apply for a higher rate of Maintenance Loan and in years 2-4 you can apply for a reduced rate of Maintenance Loan.

In year 5 you are entitled to an income-assessed NHS bursary and, therefore, we award you the reduced rate of maintenance loan only.

We do not take a students earned income into consideration for your household income.

Thanks, Drew

Hi Drew,

Thank you for your reply. Just to clarify, would I qualify for the tuition fee loans? I thought that it was only meant for those on their first degrees and regardless of the fact I did not use tuition fee loans for my first degree, I would not qualify. Therefore, I thought that only the maintenance loan would be available to me during my Medicine degree.

Hope you can clarify this for me.

Thanks!

Hi there,

Medicine is an exception course, so you can be entitled to funding even if you've studied before. So, based on this the information Drew provided is right, rest assured.

To know for sure we'd definitely recommend making an application online. The 24/25 applications should open in the next month or so. When they do we'd suggest applying online and we can then tell you exactly what you're entitled to.

Thanks, Graeme

https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-register-login

Hi, just wanted to check something as I’m rather confused. When I did the online application, there was a question asking whether both my partner and I lived in the UK on the 31st of December 2020 and if so, did we move from the EEA, Gibraltar or Switzerland before this date but after 1st of January 2018. This is a bit confusing as both my partner and I lived in the UK before the 31st of December 2020 and did not move to the UK from those countries within that time period. When I clicked ‘No’, it redirects me to the tuition-fee only paper application and says I’m not eligible for the maintenance loan. When I called the hotline to speak to someone, they also said I do not qualify for maintenance loan. However, on gov.uk, it says that I would qualify for full support if I am a family of a UK national and we both have lived in the UK for 3-years prior to the start of the course (which we have).
Any clarifications on this would be much appreciated!

Hi there. Can you please confirm the date that you moved to the UK? Thanks, David

Thank you. Going from that, our guidance does indicate you would be able to apply as a family member of a UK national. In this case, I would answer Yes to that question online to continue with this so we can review the application. The only other option other than doing this would be to send a paper application form. Thanks, David

Hi David, just to clarify, would I still qualify for the maintenance loan if I had moved to the UK on the 16th of September 2018 from an Asian country? I’m confused as on gov.uk it is saying that for family members of UK nationals, both of us (me and my partner) would need to have the following:
“- was living in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein on 31 December 2020, or returned to the UK between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2020 immediately after living in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
- has been living in the UK, the EU, Gibraltar, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein for 3 years in a row immediately before the first day of the first academic year of your course
If you’re a family member of the UK national, you may also be eligible for full support so long as you also meet these requirements.”
I moved here from a country not listed as above on the 16th of September 2018 whereas my partner who is a British citizen by birth has lived in the UK since birth. How does this affect my eligibility for a maintenance loan?
Thank you!

Hi there,

David was advising based on the information you told us on here. Nothing is definite till you apply and this would be best option to find out for sure if you're eligible or not. You can apply now for 24/25 online in your account. Applications can take 6-8 weeks to process one we have everything, so the quicker you apply the quicker we can confirm if you're eligible or not.

Thanks
Claire

Hi Claire,
Thank you for your response. I have already applied about 11 weeks ago but have yet to get any confirmation about my application. I am trying to make some financial plans atm and would like to get an idea about my eligibility. I am quite confused about the above as mentioned and any clarification on this would be much appreciated while I wait for my application to be processed.
Thank you!