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Do I qualify?
To be eligible to apply for some funding you must meet certain residence conditions. These are complicated, and we would advise you to contact your local college (for Further Education courses) or the Student Awards Agency for Scotland ( SAAS) (for Higher Education courses) if you are in any doubt about your residence status. Higher Education students should visit the SAAS website or e-mail them at saas.geu@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Generally, the residence requirements are as follows:
1. You must be ordinarily resident in Scotland on the first day of the first academic year of the course.
In Further Education, this will be the start date of your course.
In Higher Education, you must be ordinarily resident on the following dates:
- 1 August 2006 for courses that start between 1 August 2006 and 31 December 2006.
- 1 January 2007 for courses that start between 1 January 2007 and 31 March 2007.
- 1 April 2007 for courses that start between 1 April 2007 and 30 June 2007.
- 1 July 2007 for courses that start between 1 July 2007 and 31 July 2007.
2. UK nationals and non- UK nationals must also have been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the three-year period immediately before the start of the course. Those who are EEA (European Economic Area) or Swiss migrant workers, their spouse or children, must fulfil the three-year requirement in the EEA or Switzerland.
3. You may also be required to be settled in the UK (as set out in the Immigration Act 1971) on the first day of the first academic year of your course.
What does 'ordinarily resident' in Scotland mean?
The courts have defined 'ordinarily resident' as 'habitual and normal residence in one place'. It basically means that you, your parents, or your husband or wife live in a country year after year by choice throughout a set period. This allows for temporary or occasional absences such as holidays or business trips and may cover you if you or your family were temporarily employed abroad.
In most cases you may not be treated as 'ordinarily resident' in Scotland if your main purpose in coming here is to study and you would normally be living somewhere else.
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