EU/EEA/Swiss Students

The current situation (as of July 2020) is that as an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen your status has not yet changed. You can still live, work and study in the UK and have access to the National Health Service. This status will remain until 31st December 2020.

However, after 1st January 2021 it will be mandatory for you to apply for immigration to either come to, or remain, in the UK. The UKVI have produced a leaflet to help explain the new process for EU students under their incoming PBS Immigration System.

 UKVI PBS EU Overview

Please note: if you need to quarantine on arrival as per the gov.wales information here, please ensure that you are visiting the University's FAQs regarding quarantine (towards the bottom of the page). That is the central information point and will be updated as and when necessary. 

Current/continuing students should be able to just come back into the UK without prior immigration and make an application under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) after you arrive. Though you would need to ensure that you are returning to the UK before 31st December 2020 in order to maintain your eligibility for the EUSS scheme. If you are a current student who has opted to take a module or placement outside the UK as part of your course, please have a look at the relevant section on the EUSS pages.

If you are a current/continuing student who is not planning on returning until after 31st December 2020, you should either try and make an EUSS application from home or ensure that there is not a gap of more than 6 months since you were last in the UK (as this may invaildate your ability to apply for the EUSS). We are hoping that students who have been outside the UK for more than 6 months due to COVID will not be disadvantaged but the UKVI has not released any formal concession or guidance around this. You are able to access an EUSS letter from the University that includes dates covering your whole course and we are hopeful that these will just be taken as evidence for the whole time covered (they have been up to this point). Though we cannot guarantee that this is the case as, again, there is no formal guidance. Please see the EUSS pages for guidance on making and application and how you can access and EUSS letter.

Full guidance around the EUSS and the application process can be found on our EUSS pages.

If you are a new student please see the information below dependent on when you course is due to start.

Immigration status

If you are due to start your course (or an exchange or visit programme) before 31st December 2020, and come to the UK before that date, you will be able to enter the UK without any form of prior immigration and can take advantage of applying for the EU Settlement Scheme after you have arrived.

EU/EEA/Swiss citizens who have an evidenced presence in the UK before the 31st December 2020 will have the right to apply for pre settled status under the EUSS. This scheme maintains existing rights to work, live and study in the UK. It will grant you the ability to leave the UK for 6 months out of any 12 months (or for 12 months under some circumstances) without losing your status. It is also a pathway to settled status in the UK after 5 years. The application is free and is made online and application should prevent you from having to make any further immigration application for your studies. We would advise students to take advantage of this scheme if they are able.

You will find comprehensive guidance on the Scheme and how you can apply on our EUSS pages and if you need additional support the International@CampusLife team will be there to help.

Fees and Funding

EU students
As of 31st May 2019, the Welsh government confirmed that EU students who start their course in the 2020/21 academic year would be covered by legislation stating that they would be liable for the same fees as UK home students. They will also be eligible to receive grants and/or loans from Student Finance Wales (SFW), subject to existing criteria (you can check the criteria via the UKCISA links below). In a similar way to those who started in 2019/20, this legislation would cover students for their whole course.

EEA/Swiss students
There is no blanket eligibility for EEA and Swiss students to access home fee status/financial support. Though some may be dependant on their individual situation. 

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) hold comprehensive information on Fee Status and Government Student Support which will help you to more fully understand if you are eligible for one or both of those things. You can also contact the University's Money@CampusLife team who will help you to work out your own situation. 

Healthcare

The UK government has stated that they have made provision for EU/EEA/Swiss citizens to continue to have access to the National Health Service (NHS) and that this access should last up until 31st December 2020

As mentioned above, students who are starting their course before 31st December 2020 will be able to apply for the EUSS and therefore be able to access the National Health Service as a benefit of that scheme. Prompt application for the EUSS on arrival to the UK is recommended to prevent any issues with access.

We strongly recommend that all students access a European Healthcare Insurance Card (EHIC) before travel. These are available for free (or a nominal cost) from your home country and can be used as evidence if asked to prove your right to free healthcare in the UK. You cannot get an EHIC after you arrive in the UK so please make sure that you are doing this as part of your preparations. You may also like to think about getting additional travel insurance (like you would when you go on holiday) as an EHIC does not cover costs such as flying you home if you need to.

You can find information about getting an EHIC card in your own country on the EU website here.

If you are due to start your course (or an exchange or visit programme) in January 2021, you may like to consider coming to the UK a little earlier to take advantage of the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

EU/EEA/Swiss citizens who have an evidenced presence in the UK before the 31st December 2020 will have the right to apply for pre settled status under the EUSS. This scheme maintains existing rights to work, live and study in the UK. It includes bringing dependants to join you, also allows access to the National Health Service, schooling for children and access to Public Funds.

It will allow you to leave the UK for 6 months out of any 12 months (or for 12 months under some circumstances) without losing your status and is a pathway to settled status in the UK after 5 years. The application is free and is made online and having EUSS status should prevent you from having to make any further immigration application during your study and any post study work.

If you wanted to take advantage of the EUSS, you would need to make sure that you kept your Boarding Pass, travel tickets and accommodation details for use as evidence that you were in the UK prior to 31st December 2020. You would need to also have an offer letter that stated you were starting a course in the UK in January and this is why you are 'resident' iin the UK.

If you decided to come to the UK before 31st December 2020 to set yourself up ready for your course, it would still be possible for you to travel home for Christmas and/or New Year for a holiday. You could either make your application before going home on vacation or, if asked, explain at Port of Entry (on your way back) that you have already been in the UK as you have been setting yourself up ready for your course and that you will be applying for the EUSS before June 2021 as required. If you use an E-Gate at the airport, you should actually just be able to come straight through without explanation!

If you would prefer not to travel to the UK early, your immigration pathway would depend on your course length.

Courses, Exchange or Visit Programme of less than 6 months

If you are coming to study a course of less than 6 months (e.g. one Semester), we believe that, under the New Immigration System, you would be able to apply to study on a Standard Visit visa. This is a new route about which we do not have any further information. It may be similar to the current Short Term Study route and so you might like to have a look at that to give you some idea of possible requirements. 

As soon as we have detailed information about this route we shall update these pages (possibly 1st October 2020). However, we are expecting that this route will not allow the holder to work or to bring dependants to the UK. Students would also be expected to arrange private health insurance.

Courses, Exchange or Visit Programme of more than 6 months

If you are coming to study a course of more than 6 months, we believe that, under the New Immigration System, you would be able to apply to study on a Tier 4 visa. It will be similar to the current Tier 4 route and so you might like to have a look at that to give you some idea of possible process. However, we understand that there are plans to offer differentiation dependant on Nationality and that EU students will have reduced expectations regarding financial and previous study evidence needed and will not have to attend a Visa Application Centre to submit biometrics.

As soon as we have detailed information about this route we shall update these pages (possibly 1st October 2020). However, we are expecting that this route will  allow the holder to work (usually 20 hours per week and to bring dependants with them. We also understand that this route will be subject to the Immigration Health Surcharge, which allows access to the National Health Service and so students should not need private health insurance. 

The UKVI have also recently released a leaflet about this new route: UKVI PBS EU Overview

Fees and Funding

EU students
As of 31st May 2019, the Welsh government confirmed that EU students who start their course in the 2020/21 academic year would be covered by legislation stating that they would be liable for the same fees as UK home students. They will also be eligible to receive grants and/or loans from Student Finance Wales (SFW), subject to existing criteria (you can check the criteria via the UKCISA links below). In a similar way to those who started in 2019/20, this legislation would cover students for their whole course.

EEA/Swiss students
There is no blanket eligibility for EEA and Swiss students to access home fee status/financial support. Though some may be dependant on their individual situation. 

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) hold comprehensive information on Fee Status and Government Student Support which will help you to more fully understand if you are eligible for one or both of those things. You can also contact the University's Money@CampusLife team who will help you to work out your own situation. 

This section has information regarding the family members of EU/EEA/Swiss citizens

Remember that anyone who is an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen and who is in the UK before the 31st December 2020 is eligible to apply for the European Settlement Scheme in their own right. This is not dependant on them being a family member.

However, close family members that are not living in the UK by 31 December 2020 will still be able to join their EU family member in the UK in the future, as long as the relationship still exists and that family member has been granted settled or pre settled status under the EUSS. Children born or adopted after 31 December 2020 and future dependants, will also have their rights protected. For further information about family members under the EUSS scheme please see the information here. 

Family members for non EUSS status holders

If you do not have EUSS status, your ability to bring dependants to the UK will depend on what immigration you do have. 

If you will be studying on a Tier 4 visa, we understand that you will be eligible to bring dependants with your based on current requirements and should see our Information for Families to help guide you.

If you will be studying on a Short Term Student visa or a Standard Visit visa you will not be eligible to bring dependants with you and they would have to apply for immigration under their own route (potentially as a Standard visitor- this does not allow work, access to the National Health Service or schooling).

If you will be entering/remaining in the UK on another immigration category please email International@CampusLife to see whether they can help you. 

Information for those already holding Permanent Residency or Indefinite Leave to Enter/Remain (ILE/R)

What you must do

For those with Permanent Residency (to check whether your immigration status is classed as permanent residency, please see the relevant section on the Gov.uk website).

To continue living in the UK after 30 June 2021 you must either:

• apply to the EU Settlement Scheme - you will not have to prove you have 5 years’ continuous residence
• apply for citizenship before 30 June 2021 (or 31 December 2020 if the UK leaves the EU without a deal)

For those with Indefinite Leave to Enter or Remain

You will usually have applied for indefinite leave to enter or remain. You’ll have a stamp in your passport or a letter from the Home Office. You could also have a ‘vignette’ (sticker) or a biometric residence permit (visa card).

You can continue to live in the UK without applying to the EU Settlement Scheme if you have indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK. However, if you choose to apply (and meet all the other conditions), you’ll get ‘indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme’ - also known as settled status.

This means you should be able to spend up to 5 years in a row outside the UK without losing your settled status (instead of 2 years with the indefinite leave to enter or remain you have now).

Further information can be found on the Gov.uk website.