EU/EEA/Swiss Students

EU students

On 5th March 2019, legislation was laid before the Welsh Assembly which protected EU students starting a course in 2019/20. This legislation confirmed that current policy stating that they would be liable for the same fees as UK home students and that 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). This legislation would cover them for their whole course and is irrespective of the UK exiting the EU with either a deal or no deal scenario.

As of 31st May 2019, the Welsh government has confirmed that EU students who start their course in the 2020/21 academic year would also be covered by the same legislation for their whole course.

This confirmation should reassure students who are looking to start their course either this year or next year in 2020/21.

EEA/Swiss students

There is no blanket requirement for EEA and Swiss students. However, some students may be eligible for home fee status/financial support 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. 

The current situation (as of 12th April 2019) states that:

• if the UK leaves the EU  AND
• you are an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen  AND
•  you are already in the UK (or will be by 31st October 2019, in no deal scenario OR December 2020 in a deal scenario) AND
• you want to stay here beyond 31 December 2020

Then you and your family members need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme before July 2021.

It is a free, quick and easy application. Currently, it is up to you whether you choose to make an application now or whether you might prefer to wait a few weeks to see if there are any firm decisions put in place. At this point, we cannot see that you would be disadvantaged either way. If it becomes clear that the situation has changed and we consider it sensible to make an immediate application, we will contact our students direct with this information. 

If you are not yet in the UK (and will not be arriving until after 31st October 2019) then we are still waiting for final confirmation of what you will need to do. Currently, we are hoping that any students who come to the UK before the 31 December 2020 will  be able to apply under the settlement scheme outlined below but this has not been confirmed as of today.

Please rest assured that the UK Government is committed to making it as easy as possible for freedom of movement for educational purposes and we expect any future immigration routes to be fast and simple. As soon as we have any news at all we shall update these pages- so please check back regularly.

What is the EU Settlement Scheme?

The EU Settlement Scheme is now fully open, it allows you and your family members to continue to live, work and study in the UK. It also means you will continue to be eligible for:

• public services, such as healthcare and schools
• public funds and pensions
• British citizenship, if you meet the requirements and want to apply

Who is eligible?

EU/EEA and Swiss citizens:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Republic of Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Iceland
• Liechtenstein
• Norway
• Switzerland

You will not need to apply if you’re an Irish citizen but your family members from outside the UK and Ireland will.

As an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen you can apply for 2 different routes under the Settlement Scheme, dependant on how long you have already been living in the UK.

If you have been resident in the UK for more than five continuous years you will be eligible for settled status. If you receive settled status this means there is no time limit on how long you can stay in the UK. Though you need to make sure that, if you are leaving the UK for long periods of time, you need to check you how long you can be resident outside the UK without losing your settled status. It should state this on the communication you receive from the Home Office with your original decision.

If you have been a resident for less than five years you will be eligible for pre-settled status. If you receive pre-settled status this means you can stay in the UK for a period of five years. Provided you have lived continuously in the UK for five years, with only permissible absences, you can then apply for settled status- there is currently no timeframe within which you must apply but it is worth applying as soon as you become eligible (i.e as soon as you reach 5 years continuous residency).

How you can evidence continuous residency is outlined In Annex A of the Home Office Statement of Intent regarding the EU Settlement Scheme.

N.B.: The UK Government's Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules, published 7th March 2019, has mentioned that from 7am 9th April 2019 you will be able to make an EU Settlement application from both inside and outside the UK. We shall include further details around that when they become clear but we are expecting any applications that can be made fully online will be the same process, whether made inside or outside the UK. 

To get settled status or pre-settled status, you’ll need to fill in a short online application form using an android computer, tablet or mobile phone. The application will ask for basic factual information like your name, address and reference numbers such as your passport, national identity card or National Insurance number.

The application

Verify your identity and nationality by scanning your passport, EU national identity card or biometric residence card (if you are a non-EU citizen). If you are unable to scan your passport yourself (you need an device that supports the Android app, available from Play Store), you can visit one of the ID Document Scanner locations. The closest one to the University being at Caerphilly. You will also have to upload a photograph of yourself. Alternatively, you can send relevant documentation by post.

Confirm your residence. Providing your National Insurance number, if you have one. In some cases, other documentation may need to be provided. If you are using your status as a student in the UK to prove your residency, there are a couple of documents that you can use and upload to your application. You only need one of these per time period you are evidencing:

• Student Statement - available from MyUniHub
• Student Finance Award notification or repayment statement- available from your Student Finance Wales online account

Further information about evidence to prove UK residence can be found on the Gov.uk website.

Complete the criminality check by declaring any criminal convictions. Only serious or persistent criminality will affect your application.

As of 1st April 2019, payment is no longer required to make this application.

• you already have a valid permanent residence document or indefinite leave to remain
• you are applying to move from pre-settled status to settled status after the UK leaves the EU

Please note that the Prime Minister has stated that applicants should, in the future, be able to gain a refund for any application fee. We shall add refund details to this web page once available.

Successful applicants will get digital proof of their status through an online service. Once you receive your status, details will be provided on how to access it on the GOV.UK website. You will not get a physical document unless you are from outside the EU/EEA/Swiss and do not already have a biometric residence card.

Non-EU family members living in the UK by 31 December 2020 are eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme by virtue of their relationship to an EU citizen.

Close family members that are not living in the UK by 31 December 2020 will be able to join their EU family member in the UK at any point in the future, as long as the relationship still exists.

Children born or adopted after 31 December 2020 and future dependants, will also have their rights protected.

Who are ‘close family members’?

Close family members include spouses, civil partners, unmarried partners, dependant children and grandchildren, and dependant parents and grandparents. Family members do not need to be from the EU; they can come from anywhere in the world (referred to as non-EU citizen family member).

N.B.: The UK Government's Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules, published 7th March 2019, has mentioned that from 7am 9th April 2019 you will be able to make an EU Settlement application from both inside and outside the UK. We shall include further details around that when they become clear but we are expecting any applications that can be made fully online will be the same process, whether made inside or outside the UK. 

Some EU students may be worried about the effect of a Study Abroad period on their continuous residence, whether they can still apply for the EU Settlement Scheme or whether they should be undertaking a Study Abroad placement at all.

If you are a Swansea student from the EU, and are currently overseas on a Study Abroad placement, you should still be able to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme on re-entry to the UK. This is because the government has announced that, as an EU Citizen, you will be able to enter the UK for 3 months without gaining prior immigration. You would use this concession to come back to Swansea at the end of your Study Abroad period. 

Normally, EU citizens can only stay in the UK for 3 months. However, once you are back in the UK, you will be able to apply for immigration under the EU Settlement Scheme based on the fact that you were an enrolled Swansea student and that your period outside the UK was permissable under that scheme. You would just need to follow the information about applying for the scheme above and access a Student Statement to support your application. This will have details of your complete course length and the permissable period you were outside the UK. You would need to undertake this application within 3 months of re-entering the UK. This is because the University will need to see that you have the Right to Study in the UK and are not staying in the UK beyond the 3 months permissable with no immigration status.

Once we have further information around making an EU Settlement application from overseas, we will also post that here as that may be an option for some Study Abroad students. 

If you are a current EU student who is planning on undertaking a future Study Abroad option, your right to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme will not be affected by your doing so. You should apply under the EU Settlement Scheme as soon as possible. Your Study Abroad period should then fall as a permissable absence under the Settlement Scheme and your immigration status will not be adversely affected.

If you require further information and advice about the information above, please email International @CampusLife  to help you.

The government has announced a future European Temporary Leave to Remain Scheme. However, this is not yet in place and is not a requirement. Currently, it is due to come into force after 31st October 2019, although this may change depending on the result of UK/EU BREXIT negotiations. Therefore, it is important that you check back here regularly to have the most up to date information.

At the moment, EU/EEA/Swiss citizens will not be required to get a visa before entering the UK. This may change in the future and we will update information here as it becomes available. All citizens will be able to enter the UK for purposes of tourism, work or study and remain here, without immigration, for a maximum of 3 months.

Those who wish to remain in the UK for longer than 3 months will be able to apply for immigration permission to remain in the UK for a period of up to 36 months via the European Temporary Leave to Remain Scheme. This should be a straightforward application which would be made online.

It will be very important for EU students to make their European Temporary Leave to Remain applications within 3 months of arrival in the UK in order to be able to meet legal Right to Study requirements.

Currently, there is no further detail about this Scheme or the application itself. The International @Campuslife team will be monitoring the situation closely and all Swansea students can expect timely information and support once further information is released.

Currently, the UK has reciprocal healthcare agreements with the other EU/EEA countries and Switzerland.

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 will be unaffected by either a 'deal' or 'no deal' scenario.

This access should cover EU/EEA/Swiss citizens entering under the 3 month work/study/visit provision, the EU Settlement Scheme and the EU Leave to Remain scheme.

It is not currently clear whether people visiting the UK for more than 6 months in the future will be subject to paying an Immigration Health Surcharge but we shall update information here once we receive clarity around that.

There is a lot of further information available regarding the EU Settlement Scheme and application process.

 Please visit the Gov.uk website for official information regarding the scheme.

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) are an excellent, reliable source of information and they have a free Student Advice Line which our students can access.

The University will continue to monitor the situation and look for areas in which we can support our students. If you have any questions that have not been answered in these pages please email international.campuslife@swansea.ac.uk and staff will endeavour to assist where they can.