Funding for EU Students

The UK's departure from the European Union has impacted students from the Republic of Ireland differently that other students from elsewhere in the EU. You should be sure to read the Tuition Fee Status information carefully to ensure you best understand how your circumstances impact your Tuition Fee Status.

Students who normally live in the Republic of Ireland will have a unique fee status of Republic of Ireland and may apply to Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) for a tuition fee loan of up to £9,250 per year. Find out more here.

You can also contact SAAS directly to ask any questions, as well as contacting the Funding and Advice Team at UWS.

If you are eligible to apply to SAAS for tuition fee only support, it is vitally important you consider how you will support yourself during your studies as there will not be a source of funds available to you. Please visit our Money & Debt Advice pages for information on how you can budget to make your money go further.

Student Awards Agency Scotland – EU Tuition Fee Loan

Further information on eligibility and the application process can be found on the SAAS website.

Remember that your support will be in the form of a loan, which needs to be paid back. You do not have to take out the student loan, or can elect to take out only a proportion of what you are offered. The student loan is repayable and does accrue interest but it is much cheaper than other types of finance such as bank loans, overdrafts or credit cards.

Find out more about how the student loan works on our Debt & Borrowing pages.

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals, and their family members living in the UK by 31 December 2020, who wanted to remain in the UK after 30 June 2021, must normally have applied to the EU Settlement Scheme to be eligible for funding from Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS). If you are applying for funding as a family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss national, your family member must have been living in the UK by 31 December 2020. However, you could have joined them after this date.

You can either be eligible for tuition fee only support, or for full support, which includes tuition fee and living cost funding, and matches what would be available to a Scottish student.

The rules can be complex, so please do read the SAAS website carefully to ascertain your eligibility.

You can also contact SAAS directly to ask any questions, as well as contacting the Funding and Advice Team at UWS.

If you are eligible to apply to SAAS for full support, this is the same support that is available to Scottish students, so you will find a lot of helpful detail in our web information aimed specifically at Scottish students.

If you are eligible to apply to SAAS for tuition fee only support, it is vitally important you consider how you will support yourself during your studies as there will not be a source of funds available to you. Please visit our Money & Debt Advice pages for information on how you can budget to make your money go further.

Whether you receive full support from SAAS or tuition fees only, you may wish to review the section below, titled Alternative Sources of Funding.

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals moving to live in the UK from 1 January 2021, without any form of settled immigration status are classed as International Students and will require a student visa, and should read our web info aimed specifically at International Students.

As an International Student you will be unable to apply to the Scottish or UK Government for financial support, and will be subject to the International tuition fee rate. As you cannot claim any support for tuition or living costs, it is vitally important you consider how you will support yourself during your studies. We have a lot of information to help you understand the cost of living in the UK, and to be financially prepared for your studies, in our special Living Costs in the UK webpage.

It's important to remember that you are responsible for meeting the cost of tuition throughout your studies, so if for any reason this is not being paid on your behalf by a student finance body, you will be classed as a self-funded student and will be expected to meet this cost yourself.

If you are self-funding, we encourage you to think of the tuition fees as another expense you are committing to and think carefully about how affordable this is for you for the duration of your studies. Planning ahead is key, as the more time you give yourself to save money, the better.

Plan ahead by visiting our Budgeting and Planning web pages.

In some cases, you will be able to spread the cost over the academic year (usually up until April). However, that is still an additional monthly expense that you should plan and budget for. You will also be required to pay a deposit at the point you enrol. Enrolment will not be completed until this is done. It’s also important to remember that the University extends you a courtesy by allowing you to pay in instalments, so if you do not make payments as planned, we may no longer be able to extend this courtesy.

Check out Student the Finance FAQs for more information.