Advice for EU nationals studying in the UK

You will need to apply for a student visa through the new points-based immigration system. You can apply up to six months in advance of your course starting. Read further guidance for EU, EEA and Swiss students.

If you arrive in the UK by 31 December 2020, apply to the EU Settlement Scheme by 30 June 2021 to continue living in the UK. Read more information on the EU Settlement Scheme.

If you have commenced your course online in your home country due to COVID-19, and you would otherwise be studying in the UK, you will be eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme as long as you arrive in the UK by 31 December 2020.

If you are unable to arrive in the UK by 31 December 2020, you will be required to apply to the Student route under the points-based immigration system, to commence studying in the UK.

Read more information on the EU Settlement Scheme and the UK’s new points-based immigration system.

If you are unable to enter the UK by 31 December 2020 and will arrive in the UK from 1 January 2021, you will need to apply for a Student visa through the new points-based immigration system before you travel to the UK. Read further guidance for EU, EEA and Swiss students. ​

If you were studying in the UK and have returned home during the pandemic and are continuing with your course online in your home country (when you would otherwise be studying in the UK), you are able to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme from outside the UK, so long as you are able to prove that you are still continuously resident in the UK.

This means that you must not have been absent from the UK for more than six months in any 12-month period, except for a single absence of no more than 12 months for an important reason, for example due to studying outside the UK because of COVID-19. You will still be continuously resident in the UK for the purposes of the scheme.