Student Finance is the system of financial support for undergraduate students, provided by the government, through an organisation called Student Finance England (SFE). The information below is for full time Home (England domiciled) students and applies to the current 2023/24 academic year.
If you are studying on a programme in the School of Medicine and Dentistry, the information on this page only applies to certain academic years. Please also read our webpages for medical and dental students which explain how the funding works for those programmes and what funding is available in each academic year, including NHS funding.
If you normally live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, your package of government Student Finance will be different. You need to contact the funding authority in your home country:
Student Awards Agency Scotland and Student Information Scotland
Student Finance Wales
Student Finance NI
The Student Finance eligibility rules changed for courses starting in 2021/22 onwards due to the UK leaving the EU. Some EU/EEA and Swiss students may be eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan only, some may also be eligible for a Maintenance Loan, and some will not be eligible for Student Finance at all. Once you have checked your eligibility, please refer to the relevant sections of this guide that relate to funding you are eligible for.
There are several eligibility requirements to meet. Whether you qualify for student finance depends on:
This should be a university, college or other institution that offers a qualifying course.
Your course must be a qualifying course. If you are studying full-time your course must be:
If the qualification you are studying for at Queen Mary is equivalent to or lower than a qualification you already hold, you will not be eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan, or Maintenance Loan for your new course. However, if you qualify for Supplementary Grants, you should still be eligible for these. The ELQ rule applies whether you obtained your qualification in the UK or elsewhere, and regardless of whether you studied at a publicly or privately funded institution.
If you have previously studied on a Higher Education course, at a publicly funded institution in the UK or elsewhere, but you did not obtain a qualification, you may not be entitled to a Tuition Fee Loan for every year of your new course.
You can usually still get a Maintenance Loan in each year of your course even though you have previous study. If you qualify for Supplementary Grants, you should also be eligible for these in each year of your new course too.
OD+1- PC
OD (ordinary duration of the current course) +1 (extra ‘plus one’ year) – PC (years of previous Higher Education study before current course)
Previous course: 2019/20 – enrolled Year 1 (3-year Business Studies degree) at Bath University but withdrew December 2019.
Current course: 2023/24 – enrols Year 1 at Queen Mary (3-year History degree)
Entitlement to Student Finance for current course = 3+1 – 1 = 3
The standard length of the current course is 3 years, plus the ‘plus one’ year, minus one year of previous study at Bath leaves 3 years of full Student Finance at Queen Mary
Even if you only attend a course for part of an academic year (even just one day), this counts as an entire year of previous study.
If you are only entitled to a Tuition Fee Loan for part of your new course, because of your previous study, your tuition fee loan entitlement will be applied to the later years of your course rather than at the beginning. You will need to self-fund your tuition fees in any year you are not entitled to a Tuition Fee Loan.
If you failed to complete your most recent previous course because of compelling personal reasons (for example medical reasons or serious personal or family issues) Student Finance England has discretion to fund the first year of your new course despite your previous study. Please contact a Welfare Adviser for advice about making an application to SFE for discretionary funding.
There is no upper age limit for Tuition Fee Loans or grants. If you are aged 60 or over you may be eligible for a Special Support Loan towards your living costs. The amount you can apply for depends on your household income: see the Maintenance Loan section below for more information.
You must meet the Student Finance England personal eligibility criteria. Your eligibility depends on your nationality/immigration status and your residency. There are many categories of eligibility. To be eligible, you must meet each of the criteria of one of the categories. Please see the SFE Policy Guidance for more details. In the Policy Document box, choose Policy Guidance, specify the relevant year and from the list choose "Assessing Eligibility Guidance". There is also further personal eligibility guidance for EU/EEA/Swiss students below.
All students must not be in breach of any previous student loan repayment.
Medical and Dental Students may be eligible for NHS funding in certain academic years of the course. The eligibility criteria for NHS Funding are detailed in the NHS Bursary Scheme Rules, which broadly follow the SFE eligibility. Please see the Medical and Dental students funding webpage for more information on NHS Funding.
If you are unsure of your eligibility, please contact a Welfare Adviser who will be able to advise you about your individual situation.
If your application for Student Finance is refused, please contact a Welfare Adviser in the Advice and Counselling Service who can advise you about your eligibility and appeal rights and can help you make your appeal, where appropriate. If you have not received a written decision, it is helpful to contact SFE on 0300 100 0607 to request one so you can appeal the decision if you need to. You can download SFE’s 'How to Appeal’ guide and the SFE appeal form on the gov.uk website.
To try and ensure that you are paid the first instalment of your Student Finance at the start of the 2023/24 academic year, you should apply as early as possible (and provide any additional documentation or information required by SFE) by the following deadlines:
If you have not applied by the above deadlines, you can still apply for Student Finance up to 9 months after the first day of the academic year (for the current 2023/24 academic year this was 31 May 2023,)
If your Student Finance will not be ready for the start of the academic year, Once you are enrolled you may be able to apply for a short term loan from Queen Mary.
New students do not need to have a confirmed place on a course to apply. You can state the University you hope to join and, if you later change your choice of course or university, you can notify SFE through your online account.
Continuing students should be invited to reapply for your Student Finance, so look out for emails from SFE in March each year. However, if you will be resuming your course part way through the academic year, for example following an interruption, and have difficulties making a student funding application contact a Welfare Adviser for advice. If you will be retaking a year or part year also read our Student Funding Implications guidance as this explains how funding can be affected.
EU continuing students who are only eligible for a tuition fee loan should automatically be sent the EUPR1A form so it is important to notify Student Finance England if you change address using the EU notification of change of circumstances form (EUC01).
The easiest way to apply is online via the gov.uk website.
However, if you prefer you can apply using a paper application form.
EU students (eligible for a tuition fee loan only) must apply using the paper application form:
If you are an EU Student eligible for tuition fee support and living cost support (see the eligibility guidance section on this page), you can apply online.
EEA nationals applying for funding as a EEA Migrant worker for the first time can start the application process online and set up an online account with SFE, but when working through the online application form will be directed to download and complete a PN1 form at the appropriate point.
* Undergraduate students applying for Maintenance Support must provide SFE with their National Insurance number. SFE cannot release payment without this. If you don’t have a National Insurance number, you can either apply for one before applying for Student Finance, or your application for Student Finance will trigger the DWP to send you a National Insurance Number application pack (to UK addresses only).
EU nationals applying for the Tuition Fee Loan only do not need to supply a National Insurance Number.
Please see the SLC guidance for students, parents and partners providing evidence to support a student finance application. Which includes guidance on the following:
If you apply online, once you have completed your application you will see a list of evidence you need to send. Remember to upload this straight away to your online SFE account to avoid delays to your application and payments. There may be some evidence which SFE asks you to post to them rather than upload. Look out for any correspondence from SFE after you have applied asking for more evidence and provide this as soon as possible.
If you are asked to send any original documents, it is advisable to keep copies. Try to send your documents straight away to avoid delays to your application and payments, preferably using Royal Mail Special Delivery post which enables you to track delivery.
If there are any problems or severe delays with your application, or if you are told you are not eligible for Student Finance, contact a Welfare Adviser and we can advise you and try and help you resolve issues with SFE where possible. If your Student Finance is delayed, after you enrol at Queen Mary you can apply for a short term loan from the university while you are waiting.
Certain elements of Student Finance are income assessed to work out how much you are eligible for. These are part of the Maintenance Loan, and the Supplementary Grants. In the Maintenance Loan section later on this page we explain how the income assessment works and how much loan you can get.
The Queen Mary Bursary is also assessed on household income. If you want to get the bursary but you don’t want to take out a Maintenance Loan, this is possible. Please see our page about undergraduate Bursaries and Scholarships for information for how to do this.
The Student Finance income assessment is based on your household’s gross income for the tax year two years previously (for the 2023/24 academic year the income for the 2021/22 tax year is used).
This is:
If your parents are separated or divorced, Student Finance England will use the income of whichever parent you are financially dependent on, including the income of your parent's partner, if they have one. They will ignore the income of the other parent.
If the total estimated household income for the full current tax year is at least 15% lower than for a previous tax year, your parents can apply for a current year income assessment. Once your application has been income assessed, if you do not receive the maximum Maintenance Loan, the system assumes parents will fill the gap. MoneySavingExpert has a UK University Maintenance Calculator/Ready Reckoner which works out the parental contribution by subtracting the loan the student will receive from the full Maintenance Loan. We understand that parents are not always able to make a contribution and you may have to find other ways to fund the rest of your living costs. Please look at our budget planning guidance and the other possible funding options on our Undergraduate Funding pages. Please see the gov.uk webpage 'Understanding living costs while studying at university or college'.
The UCAS website lists several categories of student who qualify as independent for the purpose of the Student Finance income assessment. If you are in one of these categories SFE will not require parental income information, but SFE will consider any taxable unearned income you have in the current academic year. This does not include income from any part-time or vacation work so most students do not have any relevant income to be counted. Therefore, most independent students can qualify for the maximum amount of Maintenance Loan. If you are married or in a civil partnership or aged over 25 and cohabiting at the start of the relevant academic year, your partner’s income will be counted in the income assessment.
Students who have experience of being in Local Authority care, as well as students who have no contact - or very limited contact - with either parent (this is known as ‘estrangement’) can apply for independent status. We have detailed guidance about how to apply on our estranged Students webpage and on our care experienced students webpage. You can arrange to meet with a Welfare Adviser to discuss your situation, and they can help you to apply. There is also other financial support that we can explain to you, and which is also described on our estranged students and care experienced students webpages.
You will be charged a tuition fee by Queen Mary in each academic year. The Home rate of tuition fee is £9250 unless you started your course before 2017. The tuition fee is frozen at £9250 up to and including the 2024-25 academic year. You can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to pay all or part of your tuition fee if you are eligible. Tuition Fee Loans are repayable - more information can be found in our Loan Repayments section on this page.
The Tuition Fee Loan is not income assessed. The money is paid directly from the Student Loans Company to Queen Mary on your behalf.
Non-payment of tuition fees can lead to deregistration from your programme so make sure you apply in good time for a Tuition Fee Loan. Payment deadlines are explained in the Queen Mary Tuition Fee Regulations.
If you intend to pay your own tuition fee instead of taking a loan, you will need to sign a payment agreement before enrolment. You will be required to pay 25% of the total amount of tuition fee which you are self-paying on or before enrolment, and the remaining balance will normally be payable in seven monthly instalments between October and April. Please note the deregistration information above and ensure you can pay by the relevant deadlines. Before enrolling ensure you have adequate funds to pay all of the tuition fee instalments on time. There are no university hardship funds which can help you to pay your tuition fees once you have enrolled on your course.
The Maintenance Loan is to help towards paying your living costs, for example rent, food, bills and travel. If you are eligible for a Maintenance Loan, the total amount you can get for the academic year will be split into three payments and paid into your bank account at the start of each semester (September, January and May).
The maximum amount of Maintenance Loan you can get depends on your circumstances, including where you live during the academic year, how much your household income is and whether you are a final year student (final year students receive a lower amount of Maintenance Loan than in other years).
Students who live away from home can get a higher amount of Maintenance Loan than those living with parents. You should only apply for the 'away from home' rate of Maintenance Loan if you will be living away. SFE may contact you to request evidence that you are living away from home for example your tenancy agreement. If you are living at home but receiving the away from home rate of Maintenance Loan, SFE could consider your application to be fraudulent and could cancel your student finance entitlement. If your living arrangements change you need to notify SFE. Students on longer than standard courses can get an extra amount of Maintenance Loan above the standard amounts. This applies if you are required to attend your course for more than 30 weeks and 3 days in an academic year. The maximum amount of Long Courses Loan for 2023/24 academic year it's £138 each extra week or £71 if you live at home.
Where you will be living
Maximum Maintenance Loan (100%)
Non-income assessed Maintenance Loan
Students not in their final year
Living away from home
In 2023/24 it's £13,022
In 24/25 it's £13,348
In 2023/24 it's £6,485
in 24/25 it's £6,647
Living at home
In 2023/24 it's £8,400
In 24/25 its £8,610
In 2023/24 it's £3,698
In 24/25 it's £3,790
Overseas rate (inc. ULIP)
In 2023/24 it's £11,427
In 24/25 it's £11,713
In 2023/24 it's £5,524
In 24/25 it's £5,662
Final year students
In 2023/24 it's £12,065
In 24/25 it's £12,367
In 2023/24 it's £5,908
in 24/25 it's £6,056
In 2023/24 it's £7,904
In 24/25 it's £8,102
In 2023/24 its £ 3,397
Overseas Rate (inc. ULIP )
In 2023/24 it's £10,229
In 24/25 its £10,485
In 2022/23 it's £4,800
In 24/25 its £4,920
Students with household incomes of £25,000 or less qualify for the maximum Maintenance Loan at whichever rate applies to your situation (living at home, living away from home and studying in London or overseas).
For a detailed explanation of the income assessment for full year and final year rates of Maintenance Loan, for students with household incomes of more than £25,000, see Student finance: how you're assessed and paid 2023 to 2024 (section 4.4) see also how you're assessed and paid 2024 to 2025 (section 4.4)
You can also see information on the Student Finance England Get Ready to Apply pages.
You might be able to get extra Maintenance Loan to help towards your living costs if:
The Maintenance Loan rates for students studying in London and who are eligible for Welfare Benefits whilst also being a full-time student are:
In 2023/24 it's £14,202
in 24/25 t's £14,557
In 24/25 it's £6,647
In 2023/24 it's £9,910
in 24/25 it's £10.158
in 2023/24 it's £3,790
Overseas
In 2023/24 it's £12,720
in 2024/25 its £13,038
In 2023/24 it's £13,310
in 24/25 it's £13,643
In 2023/24 it's £9,191
in 24/25 its £9,684
In 2023/24 it's 3,397
In 24/25 it's £3,482
In 2023/24 it's £11,606
In 24/25 it's £11,896
In 2023/24 it's £4,800
In 24/25 it's £4,920
For a detailed explanation of the income assessment for full year and final year rates of Maintenance Loan, for students with household incomes of more than £25,000, see Student finance: how you're assessed and paid 2024 to 2025 (section 4.4).
Part of your Maintenance Loan is paid as a 'Special Support Element' for books, childcare, travel and equipment. The 'Special Support Element' (£4,221 in 2023/24 & £4,327 for 24/25) is not taken into account as income by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) when calculating your means tested benefits. Your SFE entitlement letter should breakdown the ‘Special Support Element’ portion of the Maintenance Loan separately.
Students aged 60 or over on the first day of the first academic year of their course, with a household income of £25,000 or less, qualify for the maximum Special Support Loan for living costs. In 2023/24 the maximum amount of Special Support Loan it's £4,221 for 23/24 and £4,327 for 24/25.
For a detailed explanation of the income assessment for students aged 60 or over with household incomes of more than £25,000, see Student finance: how you're assessed and paid 2023 to 2024 (section 4.4)
Students aged 60 or over with household income above for 23/24 £43,813 and 24/25 £43,820 do not qualify for a loan for living costs.
Your Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan will be combined into one Student Finance loan account which is repayable after course completion, but only if your income is a certain level or above. The income thresholds for loan repayments are explained on the gov.uk website, as well as how repayments are made.
Your monthly repayment amount is based on how much you earn once you finish studying, not on how much you borrowed. The amount you borrow just affects the total repayment amount and therefore how many years it will take you to repay your loan. If your income stops, or falls below the salary threshold, your repayments should automatically stop.
If you live outside the UK after completing your course, there are different loan repayment thresholds depending on the country.
You will be charged interest on your loans from the day you receive them, until the loan is repaid or written off, whichever is first. The interest is added to the total amount you owe every month. The gov.uk website explains interest rates.
You may also find the Money Saving Expert website useful.
There are income assessed grants for students with certain circumstances, such as student parents, or students with an adult dependant. All supplementary grants are non-repayable. There is information on the gov.uk website about each of the supplementary grants including the eligibility criteria, how much you could get, how to apply, and what information you will need to provide:
Parents Learning Allowance
Childcare Grant
Adult Dependants Grant
Please also refer to our Students with Children webpage as well as to the information on this page about extra Maintenance Loan for students eligible for welfare benefits.
If you are a lone parent, you are likely to be eligible for the maximum amounts of Parents Learning Allowance and Childcare Grant. If you have a partner, their income will be counted, which could reduce or eliminate your entitlement. A Welfare Adviser can help you check your entitlement if you are unsure.
If you are claiming means tested welfare benefits, the only Supplementary Grant income which will be counted in your benefit calculation is the Adult Dependants Grant; income from the other Supplementary Grants will be ignored.
If you are an EEA national who is eligible for a Maintenance Loan, then you would also be eligible to apply for supplementary grants as applicable to your circumstances.
Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) is support to help pay the extra costs you may have as a direct result of your disability, long-term health condition, mental-health condition, or specific learning difference such as dyslexia or dyspraxia. DSA can help pay for extra study related costs like specialist equipment or travel costs, or (in some circumstances) a non-medical helper.
DSA is not income assessed. How much support you get is based on your needs. It is non-repayable.
Information about eligibility, amounts, and how to apply are on the gov.uk website.
Please refer to our maintenance loan section on this page for students eligible for welfare benefits.
Our webpage Extra Money: Disability and ill health has advice on possible additional funding including welfare benefits.
Contact the Disability and Dyslexia Service at Queen Mary for advice about support.
During the years when you are not eligible for NHS funding, you can apply for a travel grant from Student Finance England for reasonable costs you incur travelling between your home and the hospital or other facility in the UK where you are doing your clinical training placement. You cannot claim for the first £303 you spend. This grant is income assessed. You apply online as part of your main student finance application.
There is more information on the travel grants section of the gov.uk website.
Some courses at Queen Mary University of London include a year abroad, either to study or work. The financial support you can receive will depend on what kind of year abroad placement you undertake. If you are unsure what type of placement yours is, check with your School and the Global Opportunities Office.
Please see the Global Opportunities webpages for updates regarding the following programmes:
The tuition fee for students who will be taking a full year of study abroad or a Turing Scheme work abroad placement will £1,385 for 23/24 and 24/25.
If you are on a non-Turing work abroad year, or a split year of work and study, you will pay £1,850, for 23/24 and 24/25 unless you are in the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film, in which case you will pay £1,385 for 23/24 and 24/25.
If you are going abroad for just part of an academic year, and you will be spending at least ten weeks at Queen Mary, you will be liable to pay the full annual tuition fee (£9,250).
You can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to pay you tuition fee if you are normally eligible for one.
Subject to the usual eligibility rules, you can apply for the following living costs support for your Study/Work Abroad Year. EEA/Swiss Migrant Worker students please see note below.
If you are studying abroad, you can get a Maintenance Loan, subject to the usual income assessments. There is a special overseas rate of Maintenance Loan. For 2023/24 the maximum is £11,427 (or £10,229 for final year students). For 24/25 is £11,713 (or £10,485 for final year students.)
If you are studying abroad, once you have applied for Student Finance you should be sent a Course Abroad Form by SFE. Take this to the Student Enquiry Centre (SEC), ground floor Queens’ Building to be completed. The SEC will let you know when the form is ready to collect, and you will then need to send it back to SFE so they can process your application.
Providing you apply to SFE on time, you will automatically receive your first Student Finance instalment 25 working days before the course start date. SFE consider applications made by 23 June 2023 to be in time. If you miss this date, you can apply later but your funding may not be available in time for the start of your course. The second and third instalments of your Student Finance will be paid at the start of Queen Mary Semester 2 and the exam period.
Queen Mary can ask SFE to bring forward the first instalment of your Student Finance if you are required to travel abroad to start your study more than 25 working days before the start of the Queen Mary academic year.
Also, in certain countries the academic year runs across two semesters rather than three, in which case Queen Mary can ask SFE to pay your second and third instalments together.
In some countries (usually China, Japan & Russia) you may be required to show that you have the money to support yourself financially for the entire year before you are allowed into the country. In these instances, SFE will pay the full amount of Student Finance for the year on your first instalment date (unless requested otherwise). As only the university can make requests to SFE for special payment arrangements, please contact the Student Enquiry Centre to arrange this.
You can apply for an income-assessed Travel Grant from Student Finance England (SFE) for reasonable travel costs (this means buying the most cost-effective tickets for the most economical form of transport).
You can be reimbursed for up to three return journeys from the UK to the overseas institution or workplace during a full academic year abroad. You cannot claim for the first £303 you spend. You may also be able to claim for the costs of visas, medical insurance, and a mandatory medical.
To apply, you need to complete the SFE Travel Abroad Expenses form, which SFE will automatically send you if you are eligible to apply. You will be asked to provide evidence to support your travel expenses claims, showing proof of payment and confirmation of what you purchased, for example an e-receipt for payment of flights.
You can apply for a Travel Grant at any time during the academic year, and you will not have to wait until your next instalment of Student Finance to be paid the Travel Grant.
If you meet the usual eligibility requirements for the Queen Mary Bursary you will also be able to receive it during your study abroad year as long as you continue to be eligible for income assessed Student Finance.
Queen Mary has created a Study Abroad Bursary fund to assist international placements for students who could not otherwise meet the costs of a study abroad programme. Any student who would qualify for a Queen Mary Bursary can apply for this award. Please contact the Global Opportunities Team to discuss your eligibility.
Funding arrangements as per study abroad above. However, you would not be eligible to apply for the Study Abroad Bursary.
You can only apply for a non-income assessed Reduced Rate Maintenance Loan at the elsewhere rate. This is £3,022 in the current 2023/24 academic year (or £2,356 for final year students). This is £3,098 for 24/25 and £2,415 for final year students
Your Student Finance is normally paid at the start of each Queen Mary semester. If you need to travel abroad to start your work placement earlier than the start of the Queen Mary academic year, you could contact SFE to ask if they can discretionally pay your first instalment early. You would need to provide evidence of the start date of the work placement.
You cannot claim the Travel Grant from SFE.
You will not be able to get the Queen Mary Bursary, because you are not eligible for income assessed Student Finance.
Unpaid Service
If you are considered to be undertaking ‘unpaid service’ in your placement year, then you can apply to Student Finance England for the same types of student funding for your living costs as you would in the other years of your course as well as the Queen Mary Bursary (subject to the usual income assessment). See section 6.2 of SFE’s Assessing Eligibility Guidance 2023 to 2024 for the definition of unpaid service.
If you receive UK government Student Finance on the basis that you are an EEA migrant worker, your eligibility for maintenance support will cease while you are on your work placement year. This is because your work placement is considered ancillary. Ancillary means the work is part of the course or work you were offered only because you have been accepted on a particular course.
You will also lose your worker status as you will have stopped working in the UK and therefore cannot qualify for Student Finance on that basis. If you are an EU national you may still be able to get a Tuition Fee Loan. See the Eligibility section to check if you are eligible or contact a Welfare Adviser.
To apply for the Tuition Fee Loan, you will need to complete the EUPR1a paper application form, which you can download from the gov.uk website.
If you start working in the UK again when you return from your study or work abroad, you should be able to apply for full Student Finance, including maintenance support, for your next period of study. You will need to apply on a paper PN1 application form, which you can download from the gov.uk website. This form is normally for new students, so you will need to include a covering letter explaining that you are a continuing student who got a Tuition Fee Loan only in the last academic year, and who is now applying as an EEA/Swiss migrant worker for full Student Finance. For EEA/Swiss Migrant Workers, you can find more information on when and how to apply in our Student Finance section on this page.
If you have any difficulties, contact a Welfare Adviser.
Students on a sandwich course will usually spend a year of the course on a work placement in the UK. During this year, your entitlement to Student Finance will be different to the other years of the course unless you are considered to be undertaking unpaid service (see below). Whether your work placement is paid or unpaid, you can apply for a non-income assessed Reduced Rate Maintenance Loan.
In 2023/24 the rates are:
In 2024/25 the rates are:
The tuition fee for students who will be
The tuition fee for students who will be doing a work placement as part of a sandwich course will be 20% of the full-time rate of tuition fee, which is £1850. You can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to pay for your tuition fee if you are normally eligible for the Tuition Fee Loan.
Students undertaking only one semester on work placement are charged the regular full-time rate for the year of the programmes if at least 10 weeks are spent at Queen Mary.
You will not normally be eligible for the Queen Mary Bursary during the placement year of a sandwich course unless you are considered to be undertaking unpaid service (see below).
If you receive UK government Student Finance on the basis that you are an EEA migrant worker, your eligibility for maintenance support will cease while you are on your work placement year. This is because your work placement is considered ancillary. Ancillary means the work is part of the course or work you were offered only because you have been accepted on a particular course. Unpaid Service
If you are considered to be undertaking ‘unpaid service’ in your placement year, then you can apply to Student Finance England for the same types of student funding for your living costs as you would in the other years of your course as well as the Queen Mary Bursary (subject to the usual income assessment). See section 6.2 of SFE’s Assessing Eligibility Guidance 2023 to 2024 for the definition of unpaid service. For 24/25 See Section 8.2 of SFE's Assessing Eligibility Guidance 2024 to 2025 for the definition of unpaid service.
Some students don’t feel able to take Government Student Finance loans for faith reasons, due to the interest payment system. Interest is charged on Student Finance loans from the day they are paid until the loan is repaid or written off, whichever is first. The interest is added to the total amount owed every month. The gov.uk website explains interest rates.
Note that Student Finance includes some grants which are non-repayable and are explained earlier on this page. These only apply to students in particular circumstances.
If you decide for not to take loans for your studies you would need to find alternative funding such as family, friends, savings, etc, to cover the cost of your education. Also, some other funding is only available for someone who has taken out a Maintenance Loan. For example:
Proposed Sharia-compliant financing
The Government has indicated that they intend to introduce an alternative student finance product which is compatible with Islamic finance principles. The new alternative finance system will be certified as being Sharia-compliant. It will use the Islamic finance principle of Takaful to provide a form of group-based mutual support. This alternative student finance will be available to all to all undergrad students eligible for student finance.
The Government has confirmed that this proposal is unlikely to be implemented until after 2025 at the earliest. Please note is the above is information is subject to change.
Trusts and Charities
There are many categories of eligible student. To be eligible you must meet each of the criteria of one of the categories. Please see the SFE Assessing Eligibility Guidance for full details. Your eligibility depends on your nationality, immigration status and your residency.
We have summarised below three of the main categories of EU/EEA/Swiss nationals who might qualify for government Student Finance in England.
In some categories this would just mean qualifying for an SFE Tuition Fee Loan only. In others it also means qualifying for living costs support as well (the SFE Maintenance Loan, SFE Supplementary Grants (as applicable) and the Queen Mary Bursary, depending on the income assessment.
Pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
If you are:
You should be eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan. Please check our guidance on how to apply.
EEA/Swiss Migrant workers
If you are an EEA or Swiss national and you meet the eligibility criteria for the category above (Pre-Settled Status) and, in addition, if you are ordinarily resident in England on the first day of the first academic year of your course (this is 1 September for course starting between September and December) you could qualify for living costs support in addition to the Tuition Fee Loan if you or a relevant family member are a worker in the UK. Worker status must be maintained throughout the course; where worker status is lost, you would no longer be eligible for support under this category.
The necessary requirements for being deemed a worker are detailed and are explained on page 48 onwards of The SFE Assessing Eligibility guidance. Worker can include employed, self-employed, and in some cases former workers. We also have guidance below about the type of work and hours of work required to meet 'worker' status. If you need help applying, please contact a Welfare Adviser.
Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme
If you are an EU/EEA or Swiss national who has been granted Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme you may be eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan and living costs support if you meet all of the following criteria on the first day of the first academic year of the course (1 September if your course starts between September and December):
If you are an EU national who has been granted Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme but who does not have three years of ordinary residence in the UK and Islands on the first day of the first academic year of the course, but you do have three years of ordinary residence in the UK, Gibraltar, the EEA and Switzerland, you can be eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan only under this category. However, check the category above (EEA/Swiss Migrant workers) as, if you meet that criteria, you could also get living costs support.
Irish citizens
Irish citizens are free from any restriction on the period for which they may remain in the UK. They are deemed to have ‘settled status’. They do not need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. Please check the information below to see if you are eligible for Student Finance.
Please note that where a category refers to ‘the first day of the first academic year of the course’, for courses that start in September this is defined as 1 September, or for courses that start in January this is defined as 1 January.
If you don’t meet the eligibility requirements for full Student Finance funding, please read the section below that to check if you are eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan only. For all categories you must be studying the course in England.
Full support (Tuition Fee Loan and Living Costs Support)
There are two main categories of eligibility. You only need to meet one of these:
Worker status must be maintained throughout the course; where worker status is lost, you would no longer be eligible for support under this category.
Tuition Fee Loan only
General information on how to apply for Student Finance can be found in the earlier sections on this page.
EEA/Swiss Migrant Workers or their family member(s) cannot fully apply online. You can start your Student Finance application online but then SFE will ask you to complete a paper PN1 application form.
You will need to provide Student Finance with a range of documents to prove your worker status and your nationality. If you are applying as a family member of an EEA/Swiss worker you will also need to provide documents to prove the family relationships and your family member’s EEA/Swiss Worker status.
If you/your family member are employed, you will need to submit all the following documents:
If you/your family member are self-employed you will need to provide the following documents:
After you have collected your documents, drafted your letter and completed as much as you can of the application form, contact a Welfare Adviser in the Advice and Counselling Service. They will check your application including your documents and your letter before you send it to SFE. It is advisable to send your application by special delivery post so you can track delivery.
European Economic Area (EEA) Migrant Worker Applications Student Finance England PO Box 89 Darlington DL1 9AZ
After you have applied
If your application for Student Finance is refused, you can contact a Welfare Adviser who can advise you about your appeal rights and can help you make your appeal, where appropriate.
The Welfare Adviser will need to see a copy of any letters you have received from SFE so they can check whether SFE’s decision about your eligibility seems correct. If it does not, the Welfare Adviser can advise you about appealing against it and can usually write you a letter to send with your appeal.
If you have not received a written decision, it is helpful to contact SFE on 0300 100 0607 to request one so you can appeal the decision if you need to. You can download SFE’s 'How to Appeal’ guide and the SFE appeal form on the government website.
Do not use this letter if you are applying as the child of a migrant worker or self-employed – please contact a Welfare Adviser.
Please adapt this letter to describe your own circumstances:
[Insert date]
Dear Sir/ Madam,
Application for Student Finance as an EEA/Swiss Migrant Worker 2022/23
I am a 1st/2nd/3rd/4th year undergraduate student studying on the [course title] at Queen Mary University of London.
I understand that I meet the definition of an EEA/Swiss migrant worker and should therefore be eligible for full Student Finance in this category because: