The following links take you to the relevant section of this page.
- General residence conditions
- Students who do not meet our general residence conditions
- EU and EU overseas territories nationals
- EEA or Swiss migrant worker or self employed person
- EEA or Swiss frontier worker or self employed person
- Overseas/International students
- Support available if you meet our residence conditions
- Where to apply to for support if you do not meet our residence conditions
General residence conditions
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. To qualify for a student loan, you must meet the conditions set out in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 and the Regulations thereunder. For more information on courses that we do and do not assist, please see our course eligibility section.
To meet the general 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 first day of the first academic year of the course (the relevant date). For the majority of students who start their course in the autumn term, the relevant date is 1 August.
If you are not a UK or other EU national, you must also have ' settled status' in the UK (as set out in the Immigration Act 1971) on the relevant date. To find out about getting settled status, you can visit the Home Office website or phone their helpline on 0870 6067766. If you have not been living in the UK, you may still qualify depending on your circumstances.
You must also be ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date, unless you are an English, Northern Irish or Welsh domiciled student taking a degree course in one of the Allied Health Professions. In this case, you must be ordinarily resident in your home country at the time you apply for your first years support.
The relevant date
The relevant date depends on when your course starts. The dates for session 2010-2011 are as follows.
- 1 August 2010 for courses that start between 1 August 2010 and 31 December 2010.
- 1 January 2011 for courses that start between 1 January 2011 and 31 March 2011.
- 1 April 2011 for courses that start between 1 April 2011 and 30 June 2011.
- 1 July 2011 for courses that start between 1 July 2011 and 31 July 2011.
Eligibility at the beginning of a course of education determines your eligibility for the duration of that course of education (except for recognised refugees, or those who are granted Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave, who can become eligible part way through their course). This means that if you start your course of education while ineligible to receive support on residence grounds, you will continue to be ineligible for the rest of that course of education. If you change course, and this is a different level to your previous course, or you withdraw from your course and start again from year one, we will reassess your eligibility to receive support.
Ordinarily resident has been defined in the courts as 'habitual and normal residence in one place'. It basically means that you, your parents or your husband, wife or civil partner live in a country year after year by choice throughout a set period, apart from temporary or occasional absences such as holidays or business trips. Living here totally or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education does not count as being ordinarily resident.
We will not treat you as being ordinarily resident in Scotland if your main purpose in coming here has been to receive full-time education and that you would have otherwise been living elsewhere.
If you have done a course of higher education before, this may affect the level of support you are entitled to. Please see our previous assistance section for more information.
The residence eligibility conditions are complicated and we may have to ask you for more information. If you are in any doubt about your residence status, you should contact us for advice.
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Students who do not meet our general residence conditions
Students who do not meet the general residence conditions for support set out above, may still be eligible for support in certain circumstances. Support may be available to:
- UK national or family member of such a national, who has returned to the UK to live or study, who currently lives or has lived in another member state of the EU, elsewhere in the EEA or Switzerland;
- UK national who was born in and has spent the greater part of their life in the UK;
- UK nationals returning from employment or study outside the EEA or Switzerland;
- nationals and family members of nationals of other EU member states, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, who have migrant worker or self-employed status in the UK;
- nationals and family members of nationals of other EU member states, 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 the dependant child of a Swiss national;
- anyone who is the dependant child of a Turkish worker; or
- 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 and we may have to ask you for more information. If you are in any doubt about your residence status, you should contact us for advice.
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EU and EU overseas territories nationals and family members of such
You may qualify for support with tuition fees if:
- You are an EU national (other than a person who is a United Kingdom national who has not utilised a right of residence), an EU overseas territories national or the family member of either.
- You have been ordinarily resident in the EU, EU overseas territories, elsewhere in the EEA or Switzerland for the three years immediately before the first day of the first academic year of your course (the relevant date). For the majority of students who start a course in the autumn term, the ‘relevant date’ is 1 August.
- You are taking a course of full-time study in Scotland and plan to graduate in Scotland.*
* We will not pay your tuition fees if you are studying in Scotland for one year as part of your course at your home institution to which you will transfer credits and return to and graduate.
If you do not meet the second condition above, you may still be eligible to apply for payment of your fees if;
- you were born in and have spent the greater part of your life in the EU, the EU overseas territories, elsewhere in the EEA or Switzerland; or
- you or your husband wife or civil partner or either of your parents are returning from temporary employment or study outside the EU, the EU overseas territories, elsewhere in the EEA or Switzerland.
We will also consider you for a fees only award if you become an EU National part way through your course. the same rules will apply as for new countries that join the EU as detailed below.
If you are studying at a UK institution outside Scotland, you should contact the EU customer services team on 0141 243 3570 or e-mail them at EU_Team@slc.co.uk
EU countries
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, United Kingdom.
EU overseas territories
Aruba, Faeroe Islands, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Territories, Greenland Henderson, Mayotte, Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire, Curcao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten), the Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies, St Pierre et Miquelon and Wallis and Futuna Islands.
EEA countries
The EEA countries are the 27 EU countries plus: Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein
New countries that join the EU
We will consider students from new countries joining the EU for support towards their tuition fees from the date their home country joins. Nationals of the new member states (or their family member) cannot apply for their tuition fees before their country joins the EU.
Any student who starts a course after the date their country joins the EU can apply to us for tuition fees for that academic year and any subsequent years.
Any student who started a course before their country joined the EU cannot apply for fees in the current academic year but can apply for fees in the following and subsequent year.
Non-UK EU nationals who have lived in the UK and Islands for three years
If you are a non-UK EU national or the child of such a national and have lived in the UK and Islands (apart from temporary absences) for the three years before the first day of the first academic year of your course (the relevant date) and you are resident in Scotland on the same date, you may also be eligible for living-costs support in the form of a student loan, bursary and any supplementary grants that may apply to you.
Non-UK EU nationals who have lived in the UK and Islands for lees than three years
If you have been living in the UK and islands for less than the three years immediately prior to the relevant date, you may still be eligible to apply for the full-support package available if you meet our migrant/frontier worker or self-employed persons conditions as shown below.
The residence eligibility conditions are complicated and we may have to ask you for more information. If you are in any doubt about your residence status, you should contact us for advice.
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EEA or Swiss migrant workers or self employed person
If you have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for less than three years immediately before the relevant date, and you have ‘migrant worker’ status in the UK or have been self-employed in the UK, you may be entitled to claim the full-support package available if you meet the following conditions:
- you have been ordinarily resident in the EEA or Switzerland for the three years immediately before the relevant date: and
- you have been ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date; and
- you have been employed or self employed, though not necessarily continuously, since last entering the UK; and
- your employment in the UK prior to starting your course, is related to your course of study; or
- you were made involuntarily unemployed from the job you held immediately prior to the start of your course; or
- you continue to work while you study and your work is your predominant activity in the UK; and
- you satisfy all the other conditions of the scheme, for example, previous study rules.
If you are relying on the sixth condition above to qualify for support, please be aware that not all types of work qualify you as a migrant worker. The work in which you are engaged must be effective and genuine and not merely marginal and ancillary. In assessing your eligibility for the full-support package, we will look at, for example, the number of hours you work each week, how regularly you work and the terms of your employment contract.
Please note, we will assess your entitlement to the full-support package as a migrant worker on an annual basis. Your receipt of the full-support package in one academic year does not mean that you will necessarily qualify for the full-support package in future academic years. If you cannot prove to us at the end of each academic year that you continued to work during the academic year and your work was your predominant activity in the UK, we may ask you to pay back the support we gave you. For example, if you reduce the number of hours you work while you study compared to what you worked before the start of the course. This does not include your fees if you are entitled to have them paid without meeting our migrant worker conditions. For example, if you are an EU national or the family member of such.
If you don’t meet all of the conditions set out above, you may still be eligible to apply for the full-support package available if:
- you are the family member of a migrant worker or self-employed person, in other words, your parents or your husband, wife or civil partner are workers in the UK; and
- that person meets the first three conditions set out above; and
- you meet the first two conditions set out above.
The residence eligibility conditions are complicated and we may have to ask you for more information. If you are in any doubt about your residence status, you should contact us for advice.
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EEA or Swiss frontier workers or self employed person
If you normally live in the EEA (except the UK) or Switzerland and you have a family member, for example your father, who works or is self employed in Scotland but normally lives elsewhere in the EEA (except the UK) or Switzerland and he returns to where he normally lives in the EEA or Switzerland on a daily basis or at least once a week, you may be eligible to apply for the full-support package available. If you think this applies to you contact us for advice.
The residence eligibility conditions are complicated and we may have to ask you for more information. If you are in any doubt about your residence status, you should contact us for advice.
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Overseas/International students
If you do not meet our residence conditions as detailed in the links above, we will not pay your tuition fees or give you support towards your living costs.
Your college or university decide whether they regard you as a 'home' or 'overseas/international' 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/international' 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.
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If you are eligible to apply to us for support
If you meet the conditions set out in the links 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.
You can also apply to us for help with your living costs. See our UK nationals studying in Scotland section to find out what support is available, what courses we support and how to apply. Your support may be different if you plan to study at an institution outside Scotland.
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.