The high fees of universities in the UK make studying in the UK more expensive than in other parts of Europe. Scholarships are one of the primary options for financing your studies in the UK. In the UK, there are hundreds of scholarships available to international students. Getting a loan may be an option if your CV isn’t strong enough to qualify for a scholarship. Both domestic and international students are eligible to apply for UK student loans. We will discuss each of the various types of loans available in this post.
Student Loans for International Master Students in the UK
It is a loan designed to help international students pay their living expenses in the UK and their university tuition fees. Today, £11570 is the rate of the loan. In most cases, it would cover part of the tuition fees and some other expenses. This is when there is a typical Master’s degree program of around 9 months. The most beneficial thing about student loans for international students in the UK is that you can repay them once you reach a certain income threshold.
- National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarships and Grants
- You May be Interested in PhD in Ireland
Eligibility for Postgraduate Master’s Loan
There are many factors that determine the eligibility of student loans for international students in the UK. Here we simplify and outline the factors that determine eligibility. Your first consideration should be the conditions of the study program you are considering enrolling in. It should be a full, standalone master’s course and be worth at least 180 credits. Your university should be eligible to provide the course (you can check when applying for a degree program). It is possible to enroll in a course that lasts up to 4 years (part-time), and you can still qualify for the same loan amount.
As long as you live in England from the beginning of the course, you are eligible for the loan if you enroll in an online degree program. In other words, you will not be eligible if you want to study an online course from abroad. There is an age limit for this loan. You cannot get a loan if you are over 60 at the start of your study. As mentioned earlier, UK citizenship is one of the primary conditions of eligibility but there are situations where you can also be eligible as outlined below.
If you are an EU citizen who has been granted Settled or Pre-Settled status. If you are not a citizen of any European country, you can still be eligible if you are under 18 and have lived in the UK for at least seven years. Alternatively, if you are older than 18 years old, you must have lived in the UK for at least 20 years (or at least half of your life).
Residency Eligibility
According to the UK government website, you can be still a non-UK citizen and get a loan if your residency is one of the following cases:
- refugee (including family members)
- humanitarian protection (including family members)
- child of a Turkish worker who has permission to stay in the UK – you and your Turkish worker parent must have been living in the UK by 31 December 2020
- a stateless person (including family members)
- an unaccompanied child granted ‘Section 67 leave’ under the Dubs Amendment
- a child who is under the protection of someone granted ‘Section 67 leave’, who is also allowed to stay in the UK for the same period of time as the person responsible for them (known as ‘leave in line’)
- granted ‘Calais leave’ to remain
- a child of someone granted ‘Calais leave’ to remain, who is also allowed to stay in the UK for the same period of time as their parent (known as ‘leave in line’)
- you’ve been given settled status but not under the EU Settlement Scheme
- you’ve been given indefinite leave to remain because you’ve been the victim of domestic violence
- granted indefinite leave to remain as a bereaved partner
- you’re the family member of a person of Northern Ireland and you have pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
How to Apply?
If you are eligible, you can simply apply online. Follow this link which takes you to the UK government website where you can register for a student finance account.
Doctoral Loan (Student Loans for International PhD Students in UK)
If you have already a Master’s degree and want to do a PhD in the UK, you might be able to apply for a “Doctoral Loan” as an international student (non-UK citizen).
Value of the Doctoral Loan
As of 2022, the maximum Doctoral Loan that you can receive is £27,265. You can use it for your course fees and living expenses. An application for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan can be made at any time during your course. However, you might not get the maximum amount if you apply after your first year.
Eligibility for Doctoral Loan
For a Doctoral Loan, the degree program and the host university must meet certain requirements. An institution in the UK with a research degree-awarding authority must offer the course. It can take between three to eight years to complete the course. Students residing in England at the start of the first academic year are eligible for distance learning doctoral loans. You must not be older than 60 when you begin your first academic year.
As also outlined in the Master’s loan eligibility criteria, UK citizenship or permanent residency is one of the major conditions. However, if you are a citizen of a country outside of Europe you can still be eligible if you meet certain conditions which we highlighted in the “Master’s Loan” section.
Apparently, if you have a strong track record in your undergraduate studies (high marks, high Language Proficiency test band and strong CV), you could alternatively consider applying for PhD studentship across the UK.
International Students Loan in the US
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Thank you for posting this. Very helpful 👌
Can Nigerian get this loan?
Very useful article, thanks for that 👍🏾