Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of permitting UK students who have been offered a place at a university in an (a) non-UK EU or (b) non-EU country to apply for a student loan.

Under EU law, UK students have the same access to higher education (HE) as students from the host member states. This means UK students are subject to the same fees, where they are charged, and generally the same loan or support arrangements as nationals of that member state.

Given that financial resources for HE are limited, it is not possible to offer funding for HE study abroad. Funding is focused on eligible students studying within the UK. English domiciled students studying a course at a UK university can receive funding for placements or study abroad where that study comprises less than half of their course.