Student finance

Home undergraduates are able to study first and pay back tuition fees when they are earning. Students are able to defer payment of their fees by taking out a Student Fee Loan, up to the exact amount charged by their university, which they will start repaying after they leave higher education. 

This applies to students living in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Government-funded student loans for maintenance are available to UK students to help with living expenses. The loan attracts a low rate of interest which means that the value of the loan that is repaid remains the same in real terms as the amount borrowed. All eligible students beginning their studies in 2022/23 are entitled to borrow a minimum of £4,524 up to a maximum £9,706. The exact amount you are able to borrow will be dependent on your or your parents' income.

This applies to students living in England and Northern Ireland who are studying in England. Welsh students, please check with Student Finance Wales. A partially means-tested loan for living costs is also available to Scottish students studying in England via Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS).

European nationals and their children, who satisfy certain residence criteria in the UK and Islands, may also be eligible for higher education maintenance support in England and Wales.  

If you are an EU national or the child of such a person and you have lived in the UK and Islands (apart from temporary absences) for the five years before the start of your course i.e. since 1 September 2012 for a course starting on the 1 September 2017, you may be eligible for a student loan as well as tuition fee support. 

Residence in the UK and Islands wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education is no longer excluded from this period and you do not need to be “settled” in the UK within the meaning of the Immigration Act 1971. 

If you have been working in the UK or you plan to begin working alongside your studies then you may also qualify to receive further funding as an EU Migrant worker. 

Further details and the latest information on eligibility criteria for EU students are available from 
Student Finance Section of the Gov.uk website.

If you require assistance in making an application and/or you would like to discuss the evidence required with your application then please contact the Student Money Team.

The University of Surrey participates in federal direct loans and administers private student loans via Sallie Mae. These provide funding to Students from the USA to cover tuition fees and living expenses, subject to approval by the US Loans team. View our US loans webpage for more information.

Students who are in receipt of student support and who are considering withdrawal from the University or a change in course need to be aware of the implications of their decision on their eligibility for support at a future date. The regulations governing student support are extremely complex and the following paragraphs, while providing a summary of the general principles, should not be regarded as definitive. 

Support is generally available for the length of the course, plus one additional year if needed, minus any years of previously supported higher education study. If you transfer course after one academic year, there may, therefore, be a period during which you will not be eligible for assistance towards your fees and will need to self-fund, depending on the length of the course to which you are transferring. Maintenance loans will, however, normally continue to be available to those students who do not already have an honours degree from a UK institution during any self-funding period. 

If you are thinking of changing your course in any way, including moving from a full-time to a sandwich course, it is essential you contact your funding authority for advice at the earliest opportunity.

Students are able to claim means-tested fee support and loans when repeating their first year for the first time on a full or part-time basis. It is also possible for students to be eligible for student support, on the grounds of compelling personal reasons, for repeat periods of the second and subsequent years of the course. 

The rules for all these arrangements are complicated, and it is essential that any student wanting assistance for repeat study on a full-time or part-time basis, contact his/her funding authority (or the EU Team at the Student Loans Company (SLC) in the case of EU students) for advice. In particular the student needs to ensure that the period of public support in respect of fees will be extended to cover the entire length of the course if a fee loan is given for a repeat period.

If you are eligible to apply for student finance you will need to provide evidence to prove your identity and/or residency status. For UK nationals this is usually details of your passport. 

Students from the EU who are eligible for the tuition fee loan only will need to send their non-UK passport and identity card the first time they apply. If you have been resident in the UK for over 5 years before the start date of your course then you can apply as a home student to be assessed for full funding (maintenance and tuition fee loan).
 
Please note that Home Office checks will take place for students who apply for student finance. This usually occurs when students who are entitled to be assessed as home students are not originally from the UK. On occasion students who were born in the UK, but whose parents are from the EU or are International, can be requested for additional information about their residency, especially if they have spent significant time outside of the UK. 
 
It is important to understand that Home Office checks can take up to 10 weeks. This is the Home Office time scale and not student finance. 
 
Bearing the above in mind please ensure that you have all your identity documents ready when you apply to Student Finance England and you apply early in case your application is sent to be checked, as this can delay any payments. Student finance open their applications in mid-late February every year, and you should apply as soon as possible after that date. 
 
If you have been granted status by the Home Office please ensure you send all relevant Home Office documents so that Student Finance England can verify your identity, residency, and status at the beginning of the academic year (student finance take this as 1 September). Student finance will usually want the original copy so please ensure you keep your own copies.
 
If you are an International student or a student who is originally not from the UK but holds residency status please do check if you are eligible for funding. 

If you have any questions please email Money Support. 

For more information on student finance, please visit the following websites: 

• Student Finance England (Including EU students)
• Student Finance Wales
• Student Finance Northern Ireland
• Student Awards Agency Scotland.

If you have lost contact with your family and are planning to apply for funding from Student Finance England, please see the tailored support we offer for estranged students.