Applying for a student loan but I have lived in Asia within last 3 years

KatrinaBlack

I am applying from NI for a student loan for a PGCE, but in the last 3 years I have lived for 1 year in Spain and 9 months in Vietnam. Does the fact that I've lived outside of Europe affect my eligibility for a loan?

unforeseen

If you are already applying then then I assume that you have been on the Student Finance NI site. It is quite clear on there the conditions for claiming student finance.
Take your pick whether you apply as a NI/RoI student or EU student. It doesn't look as though you qualify under either. 

https://www.studentfinanceni.co.uk/types-of-finance/undergraduate/full-time/

JayRitchie

KatrinaBlack said:

I am applying from NI for a student loan for a PGCE, but in the last 3 years I have lived for 1 year in Spain and 9 months in Vietnam. Does the fact that I've lived outside of Europe affect my eligibility for a loan?

May I take it that your residence in Spain and Vietnam was travel/ TEFL related? Lots of people do this and count as home students for funding purposes - please be cautious about the post above which is incomplete and unreliable. I don't know how the NI rules work - for English funding purposes you state that you considered your primary address to be in England (at your parents) and that you had not intended to move permanently. Lots of people do this with no issues.

KatrinaBlack

Yes it was Travel / TEFL. thanks for your help!

unforeseen

JayRitchie said:

KatrinaBlack said:

I am applying from NI for a student loan for a PGCE, but in the last 3 years I have lived for 1 year in Spain and 9 months in Vietnam. Does the fact that I've lived outside of Europe affect my eligibility for a loan?

May I take it that your residence in Spain and Vietnam was travel/ TEFL related? Lots of people do this and count as home students for funding purposes - please be cautious about the post above which is incomplete and unreliable. I don't know how the NI rules work - for English funding purposes you state that you considered your primary address to be in England (at your parents) and that you had not intended to move permanently. Lots of people do this with no issues.

It's not a case, in either England or NI, of where you consider your primary residence to be but where you are physically residing. 
Both NI & ENGLAND state as a criteria - you have been LIVING in the UK (or ROI for NI) for the last 3 years. I.E. physically present in the country. 

JayRitchie

unforeseen said:

JayRitchie said:

KatrinaBlack said:

I am applying from NI for a student loan for a PGCE, but in the last 3 years I have lived for 1 year in Spain and 9 months in Vietnam. Does the fact that I've lived outside of Europe affect my eligibility for a loan?

May I take it that your residence in Spain and Vietnam was travel/ TEFL related? Lots of people do this and count as home students for funding purposes - please be cautious about the post above which is incomplete and unreliable. I don't know how the NI rules work - for English funding purposes you state that you considered your primary address to be in England (at your parents) and that you had not intended to move permanently. Lots of people do this with no issues.

It's not a case, in either England or NI, of where you consider your primary residence to be but where you are physically residing. 
Both NI & ENGLAND state as a criteria - you have been LIVING in the UK (or ROI for NI) for the last 3 years. I.E. physically present in the country. 

This question has come up a lot over the years on different forums. Is well worth reading TEFL forums/ expat forums for someone who can help or has gone through the process already with success. Mumsnet has had posts on the same subject. Again, I note that most information will be for English student loans. When people have applied in these circumstances they have pretty much always been successful.

Voyager2002

It's not a case, in either England or NI, of where you consider your primary residence to be but where you are physically residing. 
Both NI & ENGLAND state as a criteria - you have been LIVING in the UK (or ROI for NI) for the last 3 years. I.E. physically present in the country. 

If you were to read the regulations (something that you might consider doing before offering advice) you would see that the term used is "ordinarily resident". This is a technical term that is rather broader than simple physical residence.

JayRitchie

Voyager2002 said:

It's not a case, in either England or NI, of where you consider your primary residence to be but where you are physically residing. 
Both NI & ENGLAND state as a criteria - you have been LIVING in the UK (or ROI for NI) for the last 3 years. I.E. physically present in the country. 

If you were to read the regulations (something that you might consider doing before offering advice) you would see that the term used is "ordinarily resident". This is a technical term that is rather broader than simple physical residence.

This. Plus to illustrate another way - lots of kids do 'Gap Yahs' then university. When I was an expat the details of children getting university funding were widely discussed if not entirely clear. People who were sensible didn't really have a problem. Plus loads of people go to Korea, China etc for a couple of years after university, enjoy teaching and come back and do teacher training,.

[Deleted User]

Hi

A lot of discussion and debate around this.

@Voyager2002 is correct, the term 'ordinarily resident' is very ambiguous.

The easiest way to look at this, is if you were temporarily contracted by an organisation to visit these countries to TEFL and you can supply contracts to say that your station was temporary, then you should apply, and supply those contracts as evidence that your ventures abroad were such and you always intended on returning to the UK.

If you cannot supply evidence that your travels were of a temporary nature, you'll bave a fight on your hands simply becauss there's nothing to say you didn't plan on leaving the UK for good to settle elsewhere.

Hope all of the advice combined helps but remember, Student Finance has a three stage Formal Appeals Procedure for a reason. Be prepared to use it.

Good luck.

Disclaimer: not an expert