The following information outlines the Student Finance England (SFE) funding entitlements for EU, EEA and Swiss nationals coming to the UK to study or already live here and are starting after September 2025. It also applies to some family members ie children and spouses.
The UK Government confirmed that EU students who are continuing a course that started prior to September 2021 will remain eligible for home fee status and SFE financial support.
If you are an EU/EEA national and you have pre-settled status or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you may qualify for student finance.
The type of support you will receive will depend on how long you have lived in the UK or EEA, and/or whether you or a family member have been working in the UK.
Qualifying for the Home/UK rate of tuition
One of the ways you can qualify is if you are an EU/EEA or Swiss national who holds pre-settled or settled status and you have been resident in either the UK, Gibraltar, the EEA or Switzerland, for the three consecutive years, immediately before the first day of the first academic year of your course (1 September or 1 January).
The eligibility rules for home fee status are complex, and there are many other ways that you can qualify for home fees. To find out more, please see fee status information on the UKCISA website.
Your tuition fee status will be assessed by the Admissions Office after you receive a course offer. If you have questions about your fee status before this, or if you are assessed to pay the overseas rate but believe you should qualify for home fees, you should contact Admissions to request a fee assessment or reach out to Student Advice to discuss your eligibility.
EU Qualifications Welcome Award Scheme
If you are an international student accepted into an undergraduate program starting in September 2025 based solely on an eligible EU qualification, you will receive a tuition fee reduction of £4,500. This reduction will bring your fees closer to those paid by UK students. For more details, please visit our EU Qualifications Welcome Award Scheme page.
Eligibility for Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan
If you are an EU/EEA or Swiss national residing in England on or before the first day of the first academic year of your course (either 1 September or 1 January), you may be eligible to apply for a Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan through two main pathways:
- Settled Status: You hold settled status and have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for three years leading up to and including the first day of the first academic year of your course (1 September or 1 January). There must be no gaps in the evidence provided, as this could result in the application being refused. This includes British citizenship, Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), or Settled Status granted via the EU Settlement Scheme.
- Migrant Worker with Pre-Settled Status: Student Finance England (SFE) recognises you as an EEA migrant worker who is currently working in the UK and continues to work in the UK throughout the course. See further details in the sections below.
- Acquiring Settled Status During Your Course: If you have been granted pre-settled status and later apply for and receive settled status, you may become eligible for the Maintenance and Fee Loan in the academic year following the date you obtained settled status. This eligibility applies if you receive settled status within the first three months of the academic year or before the academic year begins, and in any subsequent academic years.
- Postgraduate Students: If you acquire settled status within three months of the start of your course, you will be eligible for full Master's Loan or Doctoral Loan funding for the entire duration of your course.
Additionally, students who do not work themselves but are relevant family members of EEA migrant workers may also be eligible.
Student Finance Eligibility for Republic of Ireland Students
Republic of Ireland students do not need to obtain pre-settled or settled status to be eligible for Student Finance as a Migrant Worker.
Funding available
If you meet the eligibility criteria mentioned above, you may qualify for a Tuition Fee Loan and additional maintenance loans and grants to cover living and other study costs:
- Undergraduate Degree Courses: Student Finance England (SFE) provides a Tuition Fee Loan, a Maintenance Loan for living/studying costs, and, if applicable, additional grants for dependent children, adult dependants, and a Disabled Students Allowance.
- Part-Time Undergraduate Degree Courses: SFE offers a Tuition Fee Loan and a Maintenance Loan, but there are no grants for dependent adults and children. If applicable, a Disabled Students Allowance is available.
- Postgraduate Level Courses: SFE provides a Postgraduate Master's Loan and, if applicable, a Disabled Students Allowance.
Students receiving a Postgraduate Loan or Undergraduate Maintenance Loan and additional grants may also apply to the University LESS fund if their fees have been paid in full.
There may be other ways to qualify for Student Finance beyond what is listed above. For more eligibility information, please visit Gov.uk.
Student Finance England Tuition Fee Loan only
If you are an EU national who has lived in the UK, Gibraltar, EEA, or Switzerland for three consecutive years immediately before the first day of the first academic year of your course (either 1 September or 1 January) and hold pre-settled status, you may be eligible to apply for the EU Tuition Fee Loan only.
You will not be entitled to a maintenance loan or any other grants. However, if you are currently working in the UK, you may qualify for support with living costs as a Migrant Worker – see the details below.
EU/EEA/Swiss Migrant Worker: Fee loan and maintenance Loan
To qualify as an EEA Migrant Worker and receive both a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan, you must meet the ordinary residence requirement. This means you must be living in England on 1 September of the first academic year of your course (or 1 January for courses starting in January). Additionally, you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK, Gibraltar, the EEA, or Switzerland for three years before the first day of the first academic year of your course.
Temporary absences outside these areas can sometimes be disregarded, and you can be ordinarily resident in more than one place simultaneously. Student Finance England will require evidence explaining why the absence was temporary.
If you first began living in England after 1 September, just before the start of the first year of your course, you will not be able to qualify as a Migrant Worker for your current course, even if you start working as soon as you arrive in England.
Qualifying as a Migrant Worker
To qualify as a migrant worker, you must meet the following conditions:
- You must be working in the UK, either full-time or part-time. This can be for an employer or as a self-employed individual. You can hold multiple jobs or a combination of part-time work and freelance/self-employed work. Payment can also be "in kind." Generally, you need to work at least 10 hours a week to qualify as a Migrant Worker.
If you work fewer hours, your application might still be considered depending on your circumstances. However, short-term vacation-only student jobs are very unlikely to meet the criteria. The work must be deemed "genuine and effective."
Details about the evidence you need to provide are listed below. There is no minimum requirement for hours of work if you are self-employed.
If you are employed by the University, such as through the Talent Bank or the Student Union, this work will not qualify for Migrant Worker status. This type of work is considered "ancillary," meaning you would not have the job if you were not a student at the University. Ancillary work does not meet the criteria for Student Finance Migrant Worker status.
To maintain your Migrant Worker status, you must continue working throughout your course. If you stop working or reduce your hours, you may lose your entitlement to funding from Student Finance England (SFE).
You will need to provide evidence of your continued employment each term and at the start of each academic year, such as an employment contract, pay slips, and P60/P45. This process may delay your Student Finance Maintenance Loan payments. You must show your September pay slip before your loan is approved, so plan for your first payment to arrive in October or November each year. Be sure to budget accordingly.
There are some very limited circumstances where you might be able to retain your Migrant Worker status without continuing to work while you are on the course. The rules are complex. Please contact Student Advice for more guidance if this applies to you.
If you are living in the UK with one or both parents/grandparents/step-parent, and they are working in the UK, then you may be eligible for Student Finance as the ‘child of an EEA Migrant Worker’. ‘Child’ is defined as the child or grandchild of the EEA Worker who is under 21 years old, or over 21 and still financially dependent on the EEA Worker.
You will need to provide evidence of your parent's or partner's employment and your relationship to them. See the details below for the required evidence.
If you were ordinarily resident in England by 1 September of the first year that you started your course, you can apply during your course. If you become a Migrant Worker part way through any academic year, you may be assessed to receive a pro-rata reduced amount of maintenance loan, and grants for dependants if applicable, for that academic year.
If you work or study abroad, even if it is part of your degree, then you may lose your ‘Migrant Worker’ status and you might become ineligible for Student Finance England funding during this period. This is because you would no longer be working in the UK. Once you have completed your placement, or exchange and resume your studies, and start working again in the UK, you may be entitled to receive funding as a Migrant Worker again. Please ensure you can self-fund your study abroad year or work placement.
Student Finance England (SFE) assesses employed students based on a minimum threshold of 10 hours of paid work per week, whether during term time or holidays. However, taking a short holiday does not necessarily mean you will lose your Migrant Worker status, as long as you can resume working upon your return to the UK.
For self-employed students, SFE may view gaps in work differently, as it is common forself-employed individuals to have periods without work. Irregular or intermittent work does not necessarily affect your Migrant Worker status. SFE considers it reasonable to assess a self-employed student's working hours or income over a period of at least three months.
If you are employed, you need to provide:
- Your contract of employment stating hours and salary.
- An original letter from your employer confirming that the contract accurately reflects your work.
- Your latest P60 (if available).
- Your payslips since the date of the P60 or since you started work.
- Evidence that you were resident in the UK before 1 September of the year your course started (eg, bank statements, tenancy agreement, etc.).
If you are self-employed, you need to provide:
- Evidence from HMRC that you are self-employed.
- The last three months’ invoices and corresponding bank statements.
- The last three months’ business expenditure.
How to apply for Student Finance England (SFE) funding
Migrant Worker
For tuition fee support and help with living costs apply online on Gov.uk.
Settled Status
Applying for Tuition Fee Support Only
To apply for tuition fee support, download the appropriate form from Gov.uk and send your application by post. Ensure you select the option indicating you are "Studying full-time in England and only qualify for support with tuition fees" before proceeding. If you are a new student starting in September 2025, use the form EU25N. You will receive a letter confirming the amount of support you will get, usually within six weeks.
When sending any evidence or documents to Student Finance England, we recommend using special delivery or tracked post to ensure your delivery is safely received and can be tracked.
Tuition fee support only
For tuition fee support, download your form on Gov.uk and send your application by post. Make sure you select on this page that you are “Studying full-time in England and only qualify for support with tuition fees” and then proceed. If you are a new student in September 2024, the form will be EU24N. You’ll get a letter confirming how much you’ll get, usually within six weeks.
When sending any evidence or documents to Student Finance England we would recommend that you always use Special Delivery/tracked post, so you can track your delivery and ensure it is delivered safely.
Dependent students
If you are under 25 and not considered to be an ‘Independent’ student, your parent/s must provide evidence of their income for the last complete tax year. You will need to provide this even if your parents are not living in the UK and they would also need to complete a separate online or paper application in support of yours. SFE may require translations of your parents’ income statements, especially if their statement is in a different alphabet, such as Cyrillic.
You will also need to send your original current passport (or national ID card) to support your application, or a certified copy. SFE is very specific about who can certify your identity and will only accept certified copies in exceptional circumstances.
Previous degree-level study and funding entitlement
If you have previously studied at degree level or hold an ELQ (equivalent level qualification), you may not be eligible for Student Finance for the duration of your new course. This applies to studies undertaken in other countries as well, regardless of whether you completed the course or obtained a qualification.
For more information, please visit our Previous Studies page.
When to apply
Apply early, before starting your course. The sooner you apply, the better, to ensure your funding is available and not delayed when you start your course. Application forms are typically available from January for courses starting in September.
Further information
- For general information about applying for SFE funding, please go to Gov.uk
- For information about assessing fee status, see the HE fee section on the UKCISA website