- Changes to residency conditions to be introduced for 2023-24
academic year.
Eligibility for free student tuition support in Scotland will be
extended to cover a wider range of immigration statuses under new
proposals.
The Scottish Government has published its response to a recent
consultation on student support residency conditions which was
launched following the decision in the Jasim v Scottish
Ministers court case.
Regulations have been laid in Parliament to extend student
financial support to those currently residing in Scotland, who
have been granted leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom
where they have also been resident for three years.
The proposed changes, for the 2023-24 academic year, will also
see eligibility widened for asylum seeking children to remove the
time limit which previously applied. It means unaccompanied
asylum seeking children and the children of asylum seekers will
be able to apply for tuition fee support.
Higher and Further Education Minister said:
"Scotland has a strong track record in supporting our young
people. I recognise the impact that any delay to an asylum claim
can have on a young person's education journey and I hope the
changes set out here will go some way to address that.
"In addition, the changes we are proposing to capture a range of
immigration statues will mean that all students, other than
excepted groups, must now meet the same length of residence in
the UK – three years – to access support.
"The public consultation and stakeholder engagement we carried
out was generally positive about the proposed changes. We will
now seek to engage on other important issues highlighted in the
consultation.”
Background
The Scottish Government’s
response to the consultation can be read online.
Regulations on the changes to eligibility, including
unaccompanied asylum seeking children and children of asylum
seekers have been laid in the Scottish Parliament – to be in
force for the start of the 2023-24 academic year, from 1 August
2023. Impact Assessments have been published alongside the
amending regulations.