Am I eligible to apply for support?
To be eligible to apply for support you must meet our residence conditions as set out in The Students' Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2007 (as amended) and be studying a course of higher education at HNC or equivalent level or above. For more information on courses that we do and do not assist, please see our course eligibility section.
To meet our residence conditions you must have been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the three years immediately before the relevant date (the first day of the first academic year of the course) and have 'settled status' in the UK (as set out in the Immigration Act 1971) on the relevant date. You must also be ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date. To find out about getting settled status, you can visit the Home Office website at www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk or phone their helpline on 0870 6067766.
If you do not meet the conditions set out above, support may still be eligible to:
- nationals and family members of nationals of Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, who have migrant worker or self-employed status in the UK;
- nationals and family members of nationals of Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, who have frontier worker or frontier self-employed status in the UK;
- people recognised as refugees by the British Government, and their husbands, wives or civil partners and children or stepchildren;
- Iraqi Nationals who have been given leave to enter the UK under the Iraqi Direct Entry Scheme (also know as Locally Engaged Staff Assistance Scheme (LESAS));
- people who have been granted 'exceptional leave to enter or remain'; 'humanitarian protection' or 'discretionary leave' in the UK and their husbands, wives or civil partners and children or stepchildren;
- anyone who is under the age of 18 and has been granted temporary protection
- anyone who is a dependant child of a Swiss national.
- anyone who is a dependant child of a Turkish worker.
- young asylum seekers.
Where appropriate, you will need to supply evidence from the Home Office to confirm your status.
The residence eligibility conditions are complicated. If you are in any doubt about your residence eligibility status, you should contact us for advice.
If you are eligible to apply to us for support
If you meet the conditions set out above and you are studying in Scotland, you should apply to us and we will pay the 'home' rate of tuition fee straight to your institution on your behalf. For degree programmes this will be £1,820 a year (£2,895 for medicine). For sub degrees (HNC's and HND's) this will be £1,285 a year.
Your college or university decide whether they regard you as a 'home' or 'overseas' student and how much fees they will charge you. Generally, if you are eligible to apply to us for support, they will charge you the 'home' rate of tuition fee. However, they operate under different regulations from us and can charge a higher fee between £4,000 and £15,000 to those they consider to be 'overseas' students. If you are not sure about the fees that your institution will charge, you should check with them before you accept the place they have offered you.
You can also apply to us for help with your living costs. For more information see our UK nationals studying in Scotland or UK nationals studying at a UK institution outside Scotland (which ever applies).
If you are not eligible to apply to us for support
The British Council have a guide to 'Sources of Funding for International Students'. To apply for British Council funding you should apply to the office in your home country as a resident of that country. If the British Council do not have an office in your home country, you are not eligible for British Council funding. If this is the case, you should contact the British Embassy or High Commission in your country as they may be able to help you further.
You may also find it helpful to contact UKCISA (the Council for International Student Affairs), who can offer advice to overseas students planning to study in the UK. You can visit their website at www.ukcosa.org.uk or contact their advice service by telephone on +44 (0) 020 7354 5210 between 1.00 - 4.00 p.m. (UK time) on Mondays to Fridays only. Should you wish to write to them, their address is
9-17 St Alban's Place, London, N1 0NX .
If you are a commonwealth citizen, you can contact The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission for advice. Their address is 36 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PF.