Brexit: Information for applicants and students

If you were studying in the UK and returned home during the pandemic and are continued with your course online in your home country (when you would otherwise have been studying in the UK), you are able to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme from outside the UK, so long as you are able to prove that you are still continuously resident in the UK. This means that you must not have been absent from the UK for more than six months in any 12-month period, except for a single absence of no more than 12 months for an important reason, for example due to studying outside the UK because of Covid-19. You will still be continuously resident in the UK for the purposes of the Scheme.

If you have commenced your course online in your home country due to COVID-19, and you would otherwise be studying in the UK, you will be eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme as long as you arrived in the UK by 31 December 2020. If you were unable to arrive in the UK by 31 December 2020, you will be required to apply to the student route under the points-based immigration system, to commence studying in the UK.

• More information on the EU Settlement Scheme
• More information on the UK’s new points-based immigration system

If you were unable to enter the UK by 31 December 2020 and will arrive in the UK from 1 January 2021, you will need to apply for a Student visa through the new points-based immigration system before you travel to the UK. Further guidance for EU, EEA and Swiss students can be found here.

The UK’s new and improved Student route, which falls under the UK’s new points-based immigration system, is now open for applications. The Student route improves on the previous Tier 4 route making for a more streamlined experience for international students. Visas that have been issued through the Tier 4 route are still valid and those eligible will still be able to apply for the Graduate Route.

You will need to apply for a student visa through the new points-based immigration system. You can apply up to 6 months in advance of your course starting. Further guidance for EU, EEA and Swiss students can be found here.

We advise you to include copies of ID, passports or residence permits with your application to your chosen course. If you have applied for the EU Settlement Scheme, please include these details with your application.

In relation to degrees outside the UK:

The UK Government in its white paper, The Future Relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, has stated its intention to establish a system on mutual recognition of professional qualifications (MRPQ) that covers the same range of professions as the existing MRPQ Directive.

The UK Government has also issued a ‘no deal’ technical notice on professional qualifications in which it confirms that professionals arriving in the UK with EEA and Swiss qualifications after the exit date will have a means to seek recognition of their qualifications.

In relation to studying a degree in the UK:

UK degrees are recognised in many countries around the world, and there are a number of agreements between different countries that support this. Some of these are not related to the European Union which means that after the UK leaves the EU, most academic qualifications will still be recognised. Recognition of some professional qualifications is more complicated, but UK universities are hoping that the mutual recognition of professional qualifications will continue.

Please check the Government website here for a list of documentation which the UK Government will accept as proof of UK residence.

As part of your application or enrolment, we will ask EU students to provide your ‘Share Code’ as evidence of your residence status in the UK.

To get your Share Code, you will need to go to the Government website here.

You will need:

• To have applied to the EU Settlement Scheme and have settled or pre-settled status
• Your identity document that you used when applying to the EU Settlement Scheme (i.e. your passport or national identity card)
• Your date of birth
• Access to your mobile or email that you used when applying to the EU Settlement Scheme to receive a security code

Read the instructions and follow the steps on the webpage.

Please note: When you reach the question ’What do you need the Share Code for?’ select ‘something else’.

When you click ‘Create Share Code’, a share code will be generated for you – make a note of this 9-digit code, it will be valid for 30 days.

If you are an applicant, please send your Share Code to home.admissions@qa.com including your application ID in the email.

If you are an EU/EEA student beginning your programme after September 2021 and you have Settled status through the EU Settlement Scheme, you will pay the same tuition fees as UK students (known as ‘home fee’ status) and will be able to access a tuition fee loan.

If you are an EU/EEA student beginning your programme in the academic year 2021/22 (September 2021 onwards) and do not hold Settled/Pre-settled status, you will no longer be eligible for home fee status or tuition fee loans/financial support for Undergraduate or Postgraduate courses. Your course fee will typically be an International Student Fee from September 2021 onwards.

Scholarships, bursaries and other discounts might be available to you and you should contact us for further information about this.

Please call +44 (0)20 3925 1043 or email qahe.directenquiries@qa.com to speak to someone about this.

Students beginning their studies from 2021/22

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals who do not have Settled Status through the EU Settlement Scheme will no longer be eligible for home fee status or tuition fee loans/financial support for undergraduate or postgraduate courses starting in academic year 2021/22.

EU nationals who hold Settled Status through the EU Settlement Scheme will be able to apply for tuition fee loans from Student Finance England. Please visit the Government website for full eligibility criteria here.

If you require specific information about student finance, please call +44 (0)20 3918 7078 or email QAHEFinanceSupport@qa.com.

You should check your right to work based on your immigration status. If you arrive in the UK before 1 January 2021, and you successfully apply to the EU Settlement Scheme and have ‘Settled’ and ‘Pre-Settled’ status, you have the right to live and work in the UK as part of your status.

If you need to be sponsored to study your chosen course (as an International student), restrictions to the number of hours you can work will apply and be stated on your visa.

Applicants who are eligible for ‘home fee status’ will continue to be able to study our evening and weekend courses. We are not able to sponsor International students to study evening and weekend programmes and therefore if you require sponsorship to study as an International student, this course mode will be unavailable to you.

Current students who are eligible for ‘home fee status’ will continue to be able to study our evening and weekend courses. We are not currently able to sponsor International students to study these programmes and therefore if you require sponsorship to study as an International student, this course mode will be unavailable to you.

If you are a citizen of an EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, and were living lawfully in the UK on or before 31 December 2020, you will be able to use the NHS in England using your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). Detailed information about healthcare in the UK for EU, EEA and Swiss nationals is available from the UK Government website .

If you move to the UK to work, study or to settle, you will be subject to immigration control. This means you will need a visa or permit from the Home Office to lawfully be in the UK. You may need to pay the immigration health surcharge as part of your visa application. For more information please check the Government guidance here.

Depending on the course you wish to study, International students that are eligible and meet the Student route sponsorship criteria can be sponsored.

Please contact us for more information and to check whether your chosen course has this option, and to ensure you meet any necessary criteria.

Please call +44 (0)20 3925 1043 or email QAHE.directenquiries@qa.com to speak to someone about this.

If you hold Pre-settled status through the EU Settlement Scheme you may continue to travel between the UK and EU without having to apply via the Student route even after 1 January 2021, and you may stay in the UK for 5 years and then apply for ‘settled status’ if desired.

If you arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020 to start your course, you will have had to make an application under the Student route and new points-based system. This allows you to stay in the UK for the duration of your course. After graduation you will be eligible to apply for the Graduate route (provided you had arrived in the UK by 6 April 2021 and meet the other eligibility requirements of the route).