Can Visa Holders Get UK Student Finance? Who Qualifies

How Immigration Status Affects Student Finance

The UK student finance system divides students into two broad categories: home students and international students. Your immigration status is the main factor determining which category you fall into:

• Home students pay lower tuition fees and can access student loans and grants
• International students pay higher fees and cannot access government-funded student finance

This is set out in the GOV.UK student finance eligibility page. GOV.UK is clear that what decides it is your nationality and residency status, not which visa you happen to hold. The sections below set out the published position for the main statuses. For anything not covered there, GOV.UK publishes a checker for undergraduate student finance by nationality and residency.

GOV.UK also carries a notice that student finance is changing: if your course starts on or after 1 January 2027, undergraduate funding moves to the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, and GOV.UK links to separate information on what you could get.

Eligibility by Immigration Status

Student Visa

A Student visa is time-limited permission. It does not meet the test GOV.UK sets out for student finance, which asks for a UK national, an Irish citizen, or someone with settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme or indefinite leave to remain "so there are no restrictions on how long you can stay". GOV.UK directs anyone with a different nationality or residency status to its checker, which is the only official answer on tuition fee only funding for a particular case.

Spouse or Partner Visa

A spouse visa is also time-limited permission, so the same reasoning applies until settlement is granted. Universities assess fee status themselves and may run their own scholarships or fee reductions, which is a separate matter from student finance. Ask the university directly what it offers.

Settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain)

GOV.UK says you can apply for both a Tuition Fee Loan and a Maintenance Loan if you are a UK national or Irish citizen, or have settlement (indefinite leave to remain) or settled status, and both of the following apply: your home is in England, and you have been continuously living in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for 3 years before the first day of your first academic year.

Other Residency Statuses GOV.UK Lists

GOV.UK names a set of other statuses that may qualify. The list on the Postgraduate Master's Loan eligibility page includes:

• refugee status, including family members
• humanitarian protection, including family members
• a stateless person, including family members
• an unaccompanied child granted "Section 67 leave" under the Dubs Amendment, and a child under the protection of someone with that leave
• someone granted "Calais leave" to remain, and their child
• someone granted settlement as a victim of domestic violence or as a bereaved partner, and their child or step-child
• someone granted leave under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, the Afghan Citizen's Resettlement Scheme or the Afghanistan Response Route, and their family members
• someone granted leave under the Ukraine Family Scheme, the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme or the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, and their family members
• a person of Chagossian descent with British citizenship
• settled status granted outside the EU Settlement Scheme
• the child of a Turkish worker who has permission to stay in the UK, where both were living in the UK by 31 December 2020

GOV.UK also lists long residence as a route in. Someone who is not a UK national may be eligible if they are under 18 and have lived in the UK for at least 7 years, or 18 or over and have lived in the UK for at least 20 years or at least half their life — provided they have also been living in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for 3 years in a row before the first day of the first academic year, with permission to enter or stay for those 3 years.

EU Settlement Scheme

GOV.UK says that for a course started on or after 1 August 2021 you usually need settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to get student finance. To apply to that scheme you needed to have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020, and the deadline to apply was 30 June 2021. Irish citizens do not need to apply to the scheme or for a visa. See our EU Settlement Scheme guide for more.

The Three-Year Residence Rule

Settled status alone is not enough. GOV.UK words the residence part as having been "continuously living in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for 3 years before the first day of your first academic year (apart from temporary absences such as holidays)". For EU nationals and their family members with settled or pre-settled status, GOV.UK words it differently: having "normally lived" in the UK, the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland or overseas territories for the past 3 years, which it also calls being "ordinarily resident".

The academic year is a period of 12 months, and GOV.UK sets out when it starts: 1 September for a course starting between 1 August and 31 December, 1 January for one starting between 1 January and 31 March, 1 April for 1 April to 30 June, and 1 July for July starts.

What Student Finance Covers

If you are eligible, student finance from Student Finance England can include:

• Tuition fee loan: Covers your full tuition fees (up to the maximum set by the government). You do not start repaying until you earn above the repayment threshold after graduating.
• Maintenance loan: Helps with living costs. The amount depends on your household income, where you study, and whether you live at home.
• Grants and bursaries: Some means-tested support may be available, particularly for students with dependants or disabilities.

Check the GOV.UK student finance eligibility page for the latest amounts and thresholds.

Other Ways Students Fund Study

Where student finance is not available, the usual sources are:

• University scholarships: Many universities offer scholarships specifically for international students
• External scholarships: Organisations such as Chevening, Commonwealth, and country-specific bodies offer funded study opportunities
• Part-time work: If your visa allows it, working part-time can supplement your income (see our student work rights guide)
• Savings: the Student visa route requires proof of money to pay course fees for one academic year plus £1,529 a month in London or £1,171 a month outside it, for up to 9 months
• Home country loans: Some countries offer educational loans for study abroad

Postgraduate Students

The Postgraduate Master's Loan has its own published test. GOV.UK says you can apply if all of the following are true: you are a UK national or Irish citizen, or have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme or indefinite leave to remain so there are no restrictions on how long you can stay; you normally live in England; and you have been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years in a row before the first day of the first academic year of your course, apart from temporary absences such as holidays.

There is also an age limit that does not apply to undergraduate funding: you must be under 60 on the first day of the first academic year of the course. The course must be a full, standalone master's worth at least 180 credits, started on or after 1 August 2016. A postgraduate certificate or diploma does not qualify.

The other residency statuses listed earlier — refugee status, humanitarian protection, the resettlement schemes and the rest — come from this same GOV.UK page, so they apply here too.

Next Steps

The published criteria are above. Where a status is not covered there, GOV.UK's nationality and residency checker is the official source, and GOV.UK notes that it cannot tell you whether an application will be successful. Student Finance England covers people whose home is in England; Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man each have their own body and their own process.

Related guides:

• University Fees for Visa Holders
• Student Visa UK Guide
• UK Education System Guide
• ILR Rights and Benefits
• Immigration Health Surcharge

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