Funding

Department For Education Funding Eligibility

Funding is available for a variety of individuals. All applicants must be 19+ by 31st August 2024, have the right to work in the UK and have a NI number and not enrolled on any other funded training such as an apprenticeship, Higher Education or Kick Start / Re-Start.

Individuals – 100% Funded Space

Must be a resident of the funding authority.

The individual can be:

  • Changing career
  • Returning to work e.g., after looking after children
  • Unemployed and can demonstrate a readiness to return to work

Self-Employed – 100% Funded Space

The business must be based within the funding authority.

The business must be registered with a Unique Tax Reference The business must be looking to gain new skills and new working opportunities The business must be willing to provide an action plan of how they will use the training

Employed – 90% Subsidy for SME’s and 70% subsidy for larger businesses

The employer must have a workplace located within the funding authority,and must require training to re-skill or significantly develop their role.

Learner Eligibility for funding

The following learners will be eligible for funding.

UK nationals and other persons with right of abode

UK nationals or other person with a right of abode1 who have been ordinarily resident in the UK, or the British Overseas Territories, or the Crown Dependencies (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) for at least the previous 3 years on the first day of learning. The EEA includes all the countries and territories listed in annex A.

EEA and Switzerland nationals in the UK with EU Settlement Scheme

EEA and Switzerland nationals who have obtained either pre-settled or settled status under EUSS, and have lived continuously in the EEA, Switzerland, Gibraltar, or the UK for at least the previous 3 years on the first day of learning. The EEA includes all the countries and territories listed in annex A.

Irish citizens in UK or Ireland

Irish citizens in the UK or Ireland who have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands, and/or Ireland for at least the previous 3 years on the first day of learning. Irish citizens in EEA and Switzerland Irish citizens who:

  • resided in the EEA or Switzerland by 31 December 2020 (or resident in the UK, having moved to the UK from EEA or Switzerland after 31 December 2017), and
  • resided in the EEA, Switzerland, Gibraltar or the UK for at least the previous 3 years on the first day of learning and
  • remained ordinarily resident in the UK, Gibraltar, the EEA or Switzerland between 31 December 2020 and the start of the course and
  • the course starting before January 2028 The EEA includes all the countries and territories listed in annex A.

Other non-UK nationals

Non-UK nationals who have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for at least the previous 3 years on the first day of learning and:

  • have permission granted by the UK government to live in the UK and such permission is not for educational purposes only, or
  • have obtained pre-settled or settled status under EUSS

Family members of EU nationals

A ‘family member’ is the husband, wife, civil partner, child, grandchild, dependent parent or grandparent of an EU national (principal). A family member is eligible for funding if:

  • where required to do so, they have obtained pre-settled or settled status under EUSS, and
  • the EU national (principal) has obtained pre-settled or settled status under EUSS and has been ordinarily resident in the UK, EEA and/or Switzerland for at least the previous 3 years on the first day of learning

Family members of an eligible person of Northern Ireland

Family members of an eligible person of Northern Ireland3 (principal) are eligible for funding if:

  • they have been living in the UK by 31 December 2020 and
  • they have obtained pre-settled or settled status under EUSS, and
  • the eligible person of Northern Ireland (principal) has been ordinarily resident in the UK by 31 December 2020, for at least the previous 3 years on the first day of learning

Joining family members under the EU Settlement Scheme

Family members of an EEA or Swiss national can apply to EUSS after 30 June 2021, if they are joining them in the UK on or after 1 April 2021. They have 3 months to apply to EUSS from the date they arrive in the UK. They will have temporary protection and therefore be eligible for funding during those 3 months and pending the outcome of any EUSS application made during that period (and of any appeal). The joining family member must also be ordinarily resident in the UK, Gibraltar, EEA, and/or Switzerland for at least the previous 3 years on the first day of learning.

Late applications to the EU Settlement Scheme

The closing date for EUSS was 30 June 2021 (except for joining family members of EEA or Swiss nationals). After this date, EEA and Swiss nationals applying for courses starting in the 2021 to 2022 academic year and beyond are generally eligible for funding only if they have been granted pre-settled or settled status under EUSS.

However, there may be individuals who have reasonable grounds for making a late application to EUSS and, there may also be some individuals who have made an EUSS application on time, but are still waiting on a final decision on their status from the Home Office, including those that have lodged an appeal. Once a valid application has been made to EUSS (evidenced by receipt of a certificate of application), the applicant will have temporary protection, pending the outcome of that application.

These individuals may be eligible for funding if they:

  • have been ordinarily resident in the relevant area for at least the previous 3 years on the first day of learning, and
  • have a certificate of application, and
  • are family members of EEA/Swiss nationals (if applicable)

Individuals with certain types of immigration status and their family members

Any individual with any of the statuses listed below, or leave under the listed schemes, is eligible to receive funding and is exempt from the 3-year residency requirement rule:

  • Refugee status
  • Discretionary leave to enter or remain
  • Exceptional leave to enter or remain
  • Indefinite leave to enter or remain
  • Humanitarian protection
  • Leave outside the rules
  • Ukraine Family Scheme
  • Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine)
  • Ukraine Extension Scheme
  • The husband, wife, civil partner or child of any of the above in the first 8 bullet points in this list
  • Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 leave
  • Calais leave to remain
  • British Nationals evacuated from Afghanistan under Operation Pitting
  • British Nationals evacuated from Afghanistan by the UK government before 6 January 2022

In relation to the above categories, you must have seen the learner’s immigration permission. This would include the biometric residence permit (BRP) and in some cases an accompanying letter from the Home Office.

Extension or variation of current immigration permission

Any learner or family member who has applied for an extension or variation of their current immigration permission in the UK is still treated as if they have that leave. This only applies if the application was made before their current permission expired. Their leave continues until the Home Office decide on their immigration application. Their leave will continue where they have appealed or sought an administrative review of their case within the time allowed to them for doing so.

Therefore, a learner or family member is considered to still have the immigration permission that they held when they made their application for an extension, administrative review or appeal, and their eligibility would be based upon this status. You may wish to find information, advice and support on eligibility from the UK Council for International Student Affairs.

The learner’s immigration permission in the UK may have a ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition. Public funds do not include education or education funding. Therefore, this does not affect a learner’s eligibility, which must be decided under the normal eligibility conditions.

Children of Turkish workers

A child of a Turkish worker is eligible if both the following apply:

  • the Turkish worker is ordinarily resident in the UK on or before 31 December 2020 and has Turkish European Community Association Agreement (ECAA) rights or extended ECAA leave and
  • the child has been ordinarily resident in the UK, EEA and/or Turkey for at least the previous 3 years on the first day of learning and is resident in the UK on or before 31 December 2020

Asylum seekers

Asylum seekers are eligible to receive funding if they:

  • have lived in the UK for 6 months or longer while their claim is being considered by the Home Office, and no decision on their claim has been made, or
  • are receiving local authority support under section 23C or section 23CA of the Children Act 1989 or the Care Act 2014

An individual who has been refused asylum will be eligible if:

  • they have appealed against a decision made by the UK government against granting refugee status and no decision has been made within 6 months of lodging the appeal, or
  • they are granted support for themselves under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, or
  • are receiving local authority support for themselves under section 23C or section 23CA of the Children Act 1989

Persons granted stateless leave

A person granted stateless leave is a person who:

  • has extant leave to remain as a stateless person under the immigration rules (within the meaning given in section 33(1) of the Immigration Act 1971); and
  • has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since the person was granted such leave

A stateless person must:

  • be ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first funding year of the course; and
  • have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the 3-year period preceding the first day of the first funding year of the course

Certain family members are also eligible under this category if:

  • the spouse or civil partner of a person granted stateless leave (and who was the spouse or civil partner of that person on the leave application date), who is ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first funding year of the course, and who has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the 3-year period preceding the first day of the first funding year of the course; or
  • the child of a stateless person or of the stateless person’s spouse or civil partner (and who was the child of that stateless person or the child of the stateless person’s spouse or civil partner on the leave application date), was under 18 on the leave application date, is ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first funding year of the course, and has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the 3 year period preceding the first day of the first funding year of the course
  • “Leave application date” means the date on which a person is granted stateless leave made an application to remain in the UK as a stateless person under the immigration rules (within the meaning given in section 33(1) of the Immigration Act 1971).

Individuals who are not eligible for funding

You must not claim funding for individuals who do not meet the eligibility criteria set out in the residency eligibility section (from ‘overview’ up to and including ‘persons granted stateless leave’). Examples of individuals who do not meet the eligibility criteria include the following. Please note this list is not exhaustive:

  • those who are here without authority or lawful status
  • those who are resident in the UK on a student visa unless they are eligible through meeting any other of the categories described above
  • those who are in the UK on holiday, with or without a visa
  • those who are a family member of a person granted a student visa, who have been given immigration permission to stay in the UK and have not been ordinarily resident in the UK for the previous 3 years on the first day of learning
  • those whose biometric residence permit or residence permit imposes a study prohibition or restriction on the individual

Learners in the armed forces

British armed forces personnel, Ministry of Defence personnel or civil and crown servants resident in England, who meet the criteria in the who we fund section, where learning takes place in England are eligible for ESFA funded AEB.

British armed forces, Ministry of Defence personnel or civil crown servants on postings outside of the UK, including their family members, are treated as ordinarily resident in the UK, who meet the criteria in the who we fund section, and are eligible for ESFA funded AEB funding.

Members of other nations’ armed forces stationed in England, and their family members, aged 19 and over, are eligible for ESFA funded AEB, set out in the who we fund section, if the armed forces individual has been ordinarily resident in England for the previous 3 years on the first day of learning. We will not fund family members that remain outside of England.

Annex A

  • Anguilla
  • Bermuda
  • British Antarctic Territory
  • British Indian Ocean Territory
  • British Virgin Islands
  • Cayman Islands
  • Falkland Islands
  • Gibraltar
  • Montserrat
  • Pitcairn, Henderson Island, Ducie and Oeno Islands
  • South Georgia and the South Sandwich Isles
  • St Helena and its dependencies (Ascension and Tristan da Cunha)
  • Turks and Caicos Islands

EEA

The EEA comprises of the following countries:

  • All Member States of the European Union

You can access a list of member states on the EU website.

  • with respect to EEA nationality, note that any Cypriot national living on any part of the island qualifies for EU residency and is considered an EU national.
  • Iceland
  • Lichtenstein
  • Norway

The table below lists territories that are categorised as being within the EU and or territories that are categorised as being part of the listed countries such that they satisfy our residency requirements for the purposes of the AEB funding rules.

The following is part of Denmark: Greenland, Faroe Islands Finland

The following is part of Finland and the EU: Aland islands France

The following is part of France and the EU: the French Overseas Department (DOMS) (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana (Guyana), Reunion and Saint-Pierre et Miquelon)

The following is part of France: New Caledonia and its dependencies, French Polynesia, Saint Barthélemy.

The following is part of Germany and the EU: Tax-free port of Heligoland

The following is part of the Netherlands: Antilles (Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St Eustatius and St Maarten), Aruba

The following is part of Portugal and the EU: Madeira, The Azores

The following is part of Spain and the EU: the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla