Finance for new EU students
- What is an EU student?
Students with EU nationality will be charged fees at the international fee rate if they have been living in the EU before the start of their course. When you apply for a course at Aston, all EU students will be tuition fee assessed to determine if they qualify for home or international fee status.
An EU student who has been resident in the UK and has pre-settled status will qualify for funding at the old EU rate. This means you will qualify for a tuition fee loan only. Once you have been awarded full settled status (after 5 years residency) you can increase your funding to the ‘home’ rate, which means you will qualify for a tuition fee and maintenance loan.
If you are an EU national but have been living in the UK for at least 5 years before the start of your course and have full ‘settled’ status, you will qualify for both tuition fee and maintenance loan at the same rates as a home student.
- How much will the tuition fees be for the academic year 2024/25?
EU students will normally be charged international fees unless they have either full settled or pre-settled status. International fees differ depending on the course, so please check the website for the most up-to-date fee information. Any students holding full or pre-settled status will be charged the home fee rate which is £9250. The Placement year fee for home qualifying students is £1250. The Placement year fee for students who are classed as international will be £2500.
- What help will there be available to pay for my tuition fees?
If you hold pre-settled or full settled status you will qualify for a tuition fee loan from SFE.
- Will there be any scholarships available to EU students?
If you meet the criteria for home fees (e.g. hold full or pre-settled status) details of scholarships can be found here. If you are classed as an international student, please check our webpage here.
- How and when do I have to repay my student loans?
International students will not qualify for student loans. If you hold full or pre-settled status please click here
Finance for returning EU students
All EU students who are resident in the UK should have either full or pre-settled status. If you are awarded full settled status after the start of your course, you can change your funding from the EU rate to home rate.
- What is EU student support funding?
Student Finance England will fund EU students who are resident in the UK and hold either full or pre-settled status. Pre-settled students will qualify for a tuition fee loan only, whilst full settled students will qualify for a tuition fee loan and maintenance loan.
- What funding is available from Student Finance England for EU students?
EU students resident in the UK with pre-settled status will qualify for a tuition fee loan only but will qualify for the additional maintenance loan if they obtain full settled status during their course.
EU students who hold full settled status will qualify for a tuition fee and maintenance loan.
Tuition fee loans are paid directly to the University and maintenance loans are paid to the student to help with living costs. These are repayable after you finish your studies.Any EU students who do not hold either full or pre-settled status may be classed as international fee payers and will not qualify for funding from Student Finance England.
- Who can apply?
Any EU student who holds full or pre-settled status can apply for funding at the levels outlined above.
Some types of EU students with only pre-settled status may qualify for funding as a “home” student which means that they can apply for living cost loans through Student Finance England. The rules about who qualifies as a “home” student are complex and depend on when you came to the UK and whether you or your family members can be considered as EEA Migrant Workers. If you have any questions about “home” funding status and whether you will qualify then please feel free to contact one of our advisers in the Student Funding and Advice Team by calling The Hub on 0121 204 4007 or by email at studentadviceteam@aston.ac.uk.- How do I apply for this funding?
EU students who hold full settled status can apply for SFE funding online at https://logon.slc.co.uk. If you hold pre-settled status only and have not applied to Student Finance Services before, then you will need to use form EU124N for 2024/25. This form can be downloaded here.
If you had funding through Student Finance Services last year and will be returning to your studies this year then you will need to use form EUPR1a for 2024/25 – this form will be sent direct to continuing students by Student Finance Services or can be downloaded here.
- When should I apply?
The absolute deadline to apply is 9 months after the start of the academic year which would be the end of May 2025 for the academic year 2024/25. However, it is a good idea to try to submit your application as early as possible so that there will be enough time to assess your entitlement before the start of the academic year.
- How and when do I have to repay my student loans?
You will become liable to repay your student loans in the April after you complete your studies. Your repayments are linked to your income. You only make repayments when your income is over £25,000 a year. If your income drops below this amount, repayments stop. Your repayments are normally collected directly through your wages whilst you are working in the UK by HMRC (the UK tax authority). Interest will be charged on your student loans from when the first payment of the loan is received and continues until the loan has been repaid in full. The interest rate varies as it is linked to inflation and is set in September each year.