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Funding for Higher Education for Service Dependants
Funding for Higher Education for Service Dependants
The funding arrangements for students in higher education (student loans and grants from the government to help with tuition costs and living expenses) differ between the devolved administrations of the UK (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales).
When applying for funding for a course of Higher Education (for example, university or equivalent), the first point of contact should be the local authority, Education and Library Board or national government information sources of the country in which the family/potential student are currently living.
Service families can apply for funding from the country in which they normally reside. Residence can include where they currently live, where they were brought up, where they have spent most of their life or where they own a property and intend to settle. If a service family has a reasonable claim to residence in more than one UK country they might wish to consider the differing funding arrangements of each of those countries before deciding where to submit their application.
If a family does not currently live in the country to which they are submitting their application (e.g. on a posting in England but normally residing in Scotland, or on an overseas posting), it is helpful if they can provide as much detail as possible as to why they regard themselves as normally resident in the country to which they are applying.
If a family moves to another country (either within the UK or overseas) once funding has been agreed, then the body that initially agreed to fund the student will normally continue to do so for the duration of the course.
Foreign and Commonwealth personnel and their accompanying dependants
Service personnel and their accompanying dependents who are subject to UK immigration controls will normally be liable to pay the higher ‘overseas’ rate of fees until they have acquired the ‘settled’ status of UK nationality.
Further Information
Students can find out more about funding and how to apply on the following websites:
www.direct.gov.uk
www.saas.gov.uk - The Student Award Agency for Scotland
www.studentfinanceni.co.uk - Student Finance Northern Ireland
www.studentfinancewales.co.uk - Student Finance Wales
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