Student Loan Application 2010/11 rejected because of 3 year residence period

Dumon_Kri

Any opinions on my current situation would be great.

As the forum title suggests i applied for a student loan for 2010/2011. I previously spent time in Canada prior to returning to the UK and then taking part in an access course to give me the qualification to apply for university, so i could get a career in an area of work that i would enjoy. The job search on return from Canada wasn't going to well and i didn't have any qualification other than GCSEs. It was never my intention to live in Canada or even return to live.

From May 2007 to May 2008 i was on a working holiday visa in Canada.

I lived in the UK from the start of May 2008 to June 5th 2008. I returned to Canada on a sponsored visa from the company i worked for the previous year and lived and worked out there on a temporary visa until June 29th 2009 when i returned to the UK.

I applied for student finance and provide them with evidence of my time there explaining the situation and i have just received a letter today stating i'm not eligible for student finance.

Is there any way i can dispute this decision? Do i have a case? What are my alternatives?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Taiko

Was this a renewed working holiday visa then?

Dumon_Kri

No, the intial visa was a working holiday visa, it states work permit on the document. The second was a work permit for two years that was arranged by the company i used to work for. But i only stayed for just over 1 year before returning to the UK.

Taiko

I'm going to go with my gut instinct here, and say that SFE have got this correct.

Temporary absence due to employment can be taken into account. But you've been employed by a company based overseas, and it's not really been based on a working holiday visa or because your UK employer sent you abroad.

If it was me assessing, and based on what you've said not what I've seen, I'd probably be saying no to you as well I'm afraid.

Dumon_Kri

Taiko wrote: »

TI'm going to go with my gut instinct here, and say that SFE have got this correct.

Temporary absence due to employment can be taken into account. But you've been employed by a company based overseas, and it's not really been based on a working holiday visa or because your UK employer sent you abroad.

If it was me assessing, and based on what you've said not what I've seen, I'd probably be saying no to you as well I'm afraid.

Ok thanks for the reply. Do you know of any other options i have? or would i have to wait another few years before applying for university again.

Oldernotwiser

Dumon_Kri wrote: »

Ok thanks for the reply. Do you know of any other options i have? or would i have to wait another few years before applying for university again.

That's certainly what I would recommend.

Dumon_Kri

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

That's certainly what I would recommend.

Yeah, it looks like that'll be the best option. I wouldn't be able to get the amount needed plus the amount to support my self in time. I looked into loans but i doubt i'll get one because i don't think i'll have a good enough credit score. Plus i don't want the bad debt.

I think it might be better to work for a year save, enough to start for 2011 and apply for the loan in 2012.

patrick101

Hey Everyone,

Like everybody, I'm going through the problem of whether I will be assessed with the Home/EU fees or the international and therefore be able to take out a student loan... I have applied to my chosen universities in England through UCAS, but I am worried that I may not meet all the eligibly criteria listed on the websites. Believe me, I have read every single one of the websites which include such information about temporary absences, but I just thought maybe someone who has gone through the same thing can help me... My situation is the following:

I am an EU national and EU citizen, I hold the Cypriot citizenship and Cypriot passport. I was born in Cyprus and I have lived there for seventeen years. I am now eighteen years old. However, I was forced to temporarily reside outside the European Union when an unfortunate incident happened to my family when my little brother fell extremely sick due to a defected kidney. Therefore, we were advised and recommended by our family doctor in Cyprus to have him treated in Lebanon by a specialist doctor whom he knows and trusts. We were of course ready to do anything to treat my sick brother, so as a result, on 15 August 2009, my father decided to have us move temporarily to Lebanon and have my brother treated here, as I continued my education in a Lebanese school. I am currently studying in Lebanon, although my father constantly flies back to Cyprus for business trips EVERY month since his company is registered there, in other words, his business has become between both countries – Cyprus and Lebanon. As we were renting a house in Cyprus, sadly we were never able to maintain ownership of a residence, which is such a shame as it would have been good evidence... This is really only a temporary absence and we hope that things will get better for us so that we can return to Cyprus as soon as possible. Our future is most definitely not in Lebanon...

I have all the evidence for proof of what I said which include my passport, my ID, my birth certificate, my father's passport and all the stamps at the back and his COUNTLESS tickets to Cyprus and back, his social insurance there, tax payments, his business being registered there, and the letter from the Cypriot doctor advising us to treat my brother in Lebanon and the Lebanese doctor's note claiming our stay is only temporary until he is done with my brother... Do you think I may need anything else?

I don't know what to reply back to the universities regarding my offers since I am entirely depending on the loan, considering my extremely unbelievably low financial status.. I would seriously commit suicide if I were classified the international fees ... I don't know what I'd do ... I don't know whether I should be excited that some of the universities have given me an unconditional offer or whether I should just decline them, coz without the loan I can't go anywhere! .... But they haven't assessed me as anything in their decision letter, they just sent me a Fee Assessment Questionnaire which I filled in and had sent....

Im preparing to send my application to Student Finance, but I need to be sure that I may have a chance... What do I do?

Thank you so much in advance for any help you can give me.

Taiko

The loans are available to EU students, provided they meet certain criteria. Saying they're not is completely false, and it would be worthwhile saying nothing at all instead of giving wrong information.

That said though, the poster here will not be eligible, as they've broken their residency, It was a choice to move, and was not due to temporary employment abroad.

patrick101

Thank you for the information, Taiko. But why do you say that I am not eligible at all? It was certainly not our choice to move, my brother was in a life and death situation and we did what we were advised to do. It doesn't always necessarily have to be employment abroad ... Our life is still there, my dad's business is still there, his income is from there, bank accounts and flight tickets for every month that he goes there, and the doctor clearly states in his note that we are only temporarily in Lebanon until my brother recovers...

You really think I will be rejected ?

Taiko

Certainly. You are required to remain resident in the EU for the 3 years prior to the start of your course to qualify for any support for the duration. The only exception to this is for temporary employment or military commitments, of which neither apply.

You have broken the 3 year residency rule, and therefore will not be eligible for support.