Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending home student status to the 2021-22 academic year for EU nationals who have been required to defer entry to higher education institutions as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals not in scope of the citizens’ rights protections will not be eligible for home fee status, undergraduate, postgraduate and advanced learner financial support from Student Finance England for courses starting in the academic year 2021/22 or beyond. This change will also apply to further education funding for those aged 19 and over and to funding for apprenticeships. It will not affect students starting courses in the academic year 2020/21. This will not apply to students from Ireland whose right to study and to access benefits and services will be preserved on a reciprocal basis under the Common Travel Area arrangement.

EU nationals and any of their family members who start a course in England in the 2020/21 academic year or before (on or before 31 July 2021) will continue to be eligible for home fee status and undergraduate and postgraduate student financial support from Student Finance England for the duration of their course, provided that they meet the residency requirement.

If a student secures a place in the 2020/21 academic year, but subsequently defers the start of their course until the following academic year, then the rules governing student support for courses starting in the 2021/22 academic year will apply to them.