Student Finance England
For Student Finance can apply British and Irish citizens, pre-settled/settled status holders, Biometric Residence Permit holders, Refugee or Asylum seekers status holders, Spouses of UK migrant workers OR people, benefiting from one of the three help schemes for Ukrainian citizens.
Undergraduate Student Finance
Student Finance England offers two types of student loans for undergraduate students:
*This loan is not available for fully online students.
Pre-settle status holders
*To apply for maintenance loan, you need to prove 3 working months immediately before starting the course.
*You must have lived in Europe for the last 3 years to receive financing for personal needs.
*You will be expected to work during your education in order to continue receiving the Maintenance Loan.
BRP holders
*If you start your studies by 2024, even though that the BRP is valid for 3 years only, you will be funded for the whole duration of your studies.
Both financings (tuition fees and maintenance loan) are considered as a loan and are expected to be returned.
The validity of the loan is 30 years, after which it will be waived by the government. The loans are NOT paid back until you graduate and earn more than £27,265 annually. The interest rate is 6% while you are studying and 9% after graduation.
Repaymen
The thresholds are £524 a week or £2,274 a month (before tax and other deductions). They change on 6 April every year.
Example 1
You’re paid weekly and your income changes each week. This week your income was £600, which is over the Plan 2 weekly threshold of £524.
Your income was £76 over the threshold (£600 minus £524). You will pay back £6 (9% of £76) this week.
Example 2
Your annual income is £28,800 and you are paid a regular monthly wage. This means that each month your income is £2,400 (£28,800 divided by 12). This is over the Plan 2 monthly threshold of £2,274.
Your income is £126 over the threshold (£2,400 minus £2,274). You will pay back £11 (9% of £126) each month.
Regardless of your location after you graduate, you will still be liable to update your employment status in Student Finance England. The minimum salary threshold depends on the country. Specific information by country can be found here.
Lower earnings threshold (GBP) is the minimum amount, after which you are required to start repaying your loan.
Postgraduate Student Finance
For postgraduate degrees, Student Finance offers one loan at the total amount of £11,836. It will be paid directly to you in three instalments, and it is your responsibility to pay the University after each instalment. At the end, the difference in the amounts of the loan and the university tuition fees is for you to keep if you choose a lower-cost Master’s degree (tuition fees vary, prices start from £6,500).
You start repaying your Postgraduate Master’s Loan the April after you finish or leave your course. You repay 6% of what you earn over the repayment threshold which is currently £21,000 per annum. If you have other student loans, you repay these at the same time.