fletj028

I was born in the UK, I have an English passport and I lived in the UK with my parents untill I was about 12, from then me and my mum moved to Spain untill, 6 months ago when I came here to do University
I am looking to see if I was eligible for student finance but you need to have resided in the UK 3 years prior to going.

Is there any work around?

SanDiegogirl

If the loan companies are not willing to give you a loan there is no workaround.

Jerseygirl

Welcome to BE.

According to some people who have posted on here, some unis will waive the 3 yr residency. Contact the ones you are interested in and ask.

SanDiegogirl

My understanding is that he is not asking about home or foreign student fees but that he cannot get a loan.....

Jerseygirl

I presume that is to cover uni fees, as well as living expenses. If he can keep the cost of the fees down, perhaps the loan can be reduced.

fletj028

Is there anyone i can speak ti about this?
like a number... cause all through my education in Spain they kept telling me that it was no problem going to England for uni and I wont have any trouble with payment

Which is now... false from the looks of it, and I'm 23... and I want to go, I dont want to go when I'm 27

but I cant go in Spain cause they won't pay because I am foreign and they won't help me in the UK because I havnt lived here in the past 3 years

christmasoompa

If you're just asking about student finance, then you need to speak to Student Finance England. If you're asking about being eligible for home tuition fees rather than international, then you'll need to speak to the uni's you're considering, as each makes their own decision. Some will waive the 3 year residency requirement, although it's usually only for those who can prove that their stay abroad was temporary i.e. they moved with a parent on a temporary work assignment and never got residency in their new country. But definitely worth a try, at least then it wouldn't cost as much.

To be fair to the people in Spain that told you there was no problem going to England for uni and there's no problem with payment they were right - but they clearly just neglected to mention that you'll normally be considered an international student if you've not lived here for at least 3 years!

I hope you can find a way to make it work. As a Plan B, how about a part-time uni course so you could work as well? You could even do full-time with the Open University, so you can work full-time too?

Best of luck.

SanDiegogirl

So is your problem that you can't get a loan in the UK to go to college?

You've lived in Spain for 11 years so unless you have some collateral to show I can understand why UK finance companies are not keen to give you a loan,

Why not take out Spanish citizenship and go to Uni in Spain which will be cheaper too?

dean350

I have asked around about this a few times as my UK citizen daughter has been overseas almost since she was born. The feedback I got is the same as is being said here and can be summarised as :

Universities are in charge of deciding whether or not to strictly apply the 3 year residency criteria which decide whether or not you are a home or international student. If its a popular course at a popular university then the chances of a waiver are slim to none. You may have better chances with a less popular course but there are no guarantees.

Student loans are administered completely separately and I am told there is absolutely no chance of getting loans unless you can categorically show 3 years residency in the UK before the course begins.

I assume the OP wants University to enhance their future earnings prospects so:

The Open University whilst working suggestion seems to me the best option for the OP. Graduates are highly valued by employers as they have demonstrated high levels of self organisation and motivation. Other options I can think of are getting a job as an accounts technician if you are numerate as employers will often pay for further study. Joining the Armed Forces for a few years may be worth looking into as well. As an off the wall idea, a friend's son is earning 40k pa at the age of 21 having just completed an apprenticeship as an HGV Technician. Its physical shift work in a not clean environment but that whole sector is short of people and its a fairly secure job.

scot47

3 Years Residence before you can get a student loan. I know from experience as this was an obstacle to my daughter recently. As a previous poster has said The Open University is an option. Or come to the UK, work for 3 years, and then study. That was the advice I gave to my daughter. She did not listen.