Further and Higher Education
What are the entitlements of the nationals of EU accession states to further education in the UK?
The Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations 2008 state that EU nationals in further education qualify as 'home students' if:
- they have been ordinarily resident in the European Economic Area (EEA) and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories for three years prior to the 'relevant date' (either 1st September, 1st January or 1st April closest to the beginning of the first term of the student's course) and;
- the main purpose of their residence during that time was not to receive fulltime education. [1]
From accession, new EU Member States are considered retrospectively to have always been part of the EEA. Children of asylum seekers and unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) from accession countries will qualify as 'home students' provided that they have been living within the EEA (this includes their home country) for the three preceding years and that they satisfy the ordinary residence test .
The period of time spent as an asylum seeker or as someone granted a period of limited leave (for example, DL/ELR) will count towards the period of 'ordinary residence'.
If the person meets the above requirements, they will be entitled to free education for courses funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) or to home student fees for other courses.
EU nationals from the accession states should also be able to apply for financial support such as Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) and Learner Support Funds (For more information on entitlement to EMA, see Further and Higher education FAQS).
Revised 18/02/2008
Notes
[1] Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations 2008 , Schedule 1, part 2, para 9
