To be eligible to apply for support you must meet the residence conditions as set out in The Student Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2007. To qualify for a student loan, you must also meet the conditions set out in The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 and the Regulations there under.
Eligibility at the beginning of a programme of study determines your eligibility for the duration of your studies (except for recognised refugees, or those who are granted Humanitarian Protection or who have Discretionary Leave, who can become eligible part way through their studies). This means that if you start your course while ineligible to receive support on residence grounds, you will continue to be ineligible for the rest of your course and for any other course of higher education you take immediately after that.
Ordinarily resident has been defined in the courts as 'habitual and normal residence in one place'. It basically means that you, your parents or your husband, wife or civil partner live in a country year after year by choice throughout a set period, apart from temporary or occasional absences such as holidays or business trips. Living here totally or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education does not count as being ordinarily resident.
We will not treat you as being ordinarily resident in Scotland if your main purpose in coming here has been to receive full-time education and that you would have otherwise been living elsewhere.
The relevant date depends on when your course starts. The dates for session 2008-2009 are as follows.
- 1 August 2008 for courses that start between 1 August 2008 and 31 December 2008.
- 1 January 2009 for courses that start between 1 January 2009 and 31 March 2009.
- 1 April 2009 for courses that start between 1 April 2009 and 30 June 2009.
- 1 July 2009 for courses that start between 1 July 2009 and 31 July 2009.
The residence eligibility conditions are complicated. If you are in any doubt about your residence eligibility status, you should contact us for advice.