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Students: Loans

Answer

The Student Loans Company (SLC) records the nationality and domicile of individuals when they apply for student support. Domicile is based on the applicant’s residence in the years prior to starting their course, and is held as a region within the UK or as EU, rather than by individual country of domicile.

Eligibility for student support is based on residence. EU nationals, including non-European Economic Area (EEA) family members, are able to apply for a tuition fee loan if they have been resident in the EEA or Switzerland for the three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of their course. In addition, EU nationals who have been resident in the UK for five years (three years up to academic year 2016/17) and are resident in England prior to starting their course can also apply for maintenance support. EEA migrant workers and their family members, including those who are non-EEA nationals, who meet the residency requirements, are able to apply for both tuition fee and maintenance support. Non-EEA nationals may also be eligible for student support if they are granted refugee status, have been granted humanitarian protection, have acquired permanent residence in the UK, or have been in the UK for at least half their lives or for at least 20 years.

The table below sets out SLC Management Information on the number of students paid either a full-time tuition fee or maintenance loan through the English student support system by declared nationality over the last five academic years.

English and EU domiciled students paid full-time tuition fee or maintenance loans, by EU nationality (July 2016)
Country of nationality	Academic Year
	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Austria	460	520	590	600	710
Belgium	480	500	610	690	790
Bulgaria	2,780	3,570	4,080	4,750	4,670
Croatia	30	20	20	50	120
Cyprus	4,930	5,560	5,860	5,880	5,750
Czech Republic	540	500	530	640	770
Denmark	540	630	700	820	960
Estonia	750	840	810	840	860
Finland	550	580	590	680	770
France	2,700	2,720	3,120	3,580	4,060
Germany	3,650	3,850	4,060	4,240	4,580
Greece	1,660	1,930	2,240	2,530	2,850
Hungary	660	790	1,270	1,600	1,820
Ireland	2,400	2,360	2,260	2,400	2,730
Italy	2,110	2,430	3,010	3,950	5,500
Latvia	1,680	1,920	2,010	2,110	2,080
Lithuania	3,680	4,610	5,110	5,510	5,460
Luxembourg	10	10	20	30	40
Malta	90	90	100	90	110
Netherlands	1,700	2,010	2,460	3,030	3,400
Poland	6,420	6,380	6,870	7,950	9,170
Portugal	2,330	2,600	3,170	3,890	4,440
Romania	2,970	4,060	6,920	7,920	8,510
Slovakia	1,080	1,040	990	1,020	1,120
Slovenia	70	70	70	100	110
Spain	1,350	1,510	1,780	2,330	3,160
Sweden	870	950	1,220	1,410	1,630
EU sub-total	46,490	52,050	60,470	68,640	76,170
United Kingdom	862,410	911,920	935,050	972,090	974,690
Non-EU	24,040	24,610	26,840	29,600	29,870
Unknown	10,570	5,570	3,930	2,550	2,060
Grand Total	943,500	994,130	1,026,270	1,072,860	1,082,810
Source: SLC Management Information
Notes: Nationality is collected during the application process for student support. Where nationality was not available, country of birth was used, if available. Figures have been extracted from the SLC Single Application View (SAV) database, which contains live administrative data on applications. The data are updated as re-assessments and new applications are made following the academic year. Therefore, figures will not necessarily match previously published payment figures, including those contained in the Statistical First Release ‘Student Support for Higher Education in England’, which relate to past and specified dates.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

HL1338

Session

2016-17

Related items

Overseas Students: Loans
Monday, 20 June 2016
Written questions
House of Lords

Subjects

Loans Students

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.parliament.uk