Prescribed description of a qualifying person5.
(1)
A qualifying person who is prescribed for the purposes of Article 4 of the Order is a person who falls within the Schedule on the first day of an academic year which begins during the grant period, other than—
(a)
a person who is not eligible for support under the Student Support Regulations by reason of regulation 5(3)(c), (d), (e), (f) or (g) of those Regulations, or
(b)
a person mentioned in paragraph (2) or (6)F1; or
F8(1ZA)
Subject to paragraphs (1) and (1C), a qualifying person is a person who—
(a)
falls within a settled category or a protected category—
(i)
on the course start date, where the relevant academic year is the first academic
year of the person’s course, or
(ii)
otherwise, on the first day of a relevant academic year;
(b)
falls within a prescribed category on the first day of a relevant academic year.
(1ZB)
Paragraph (1ZA) includes a person who undertakes a qualifying course in an academic year which began before 1st September 2024 but who nevertheless falls within a settled category, a protected category or a prescribed category on the first day of an academic year commencing on or after that date.
F9(1A)
In this regulation, subject to paragraph (1C), “prescribed category” means any category of person described—
(a)
(b)
in paragraphs 6, 7, 8, 9, 9A, 10 or 11 in F13... the Schedule where paragraph (1B) applies.
(1B)
This paragraph applies—
(a)
where in connection with a qualifying course beginning before 1st August 2021, a person (“A”) was a qualifying person by virtue of falling within any category of persons described in paragraphs 6, 7, 8, 9, 9A, 10 or 11 in F14... the Schedule in relation to an academic year beginning before 1st August 2021; and
(b)
A is undertaking an academic year of that qualifying course, or of a qualifying course to which A transfers from that qualifying course.
(1C)
In relation to a qualifying course which begins on or after 1st January 2028, paragraph (1A)(a) has effect as if paragraphs 8A and F159ZB were omitted.
F16(1D)
For the purposes of this regulation, where—
(a)
a person becomes, after the course start date or on the first day of an academic year of the course, a person who no longer falls within a paragraph of the Schedule as a result of that person’s leave to remain, or the leave to remain of that person’s spouse, civil partner or parent, as the case may be, having expired; and
(b)
further leave to remain has been granted or the person whose leave to remain has expired has become a British or Irish citizen,
the person who would otherwise no longer fall within a paragraph of the Schedule is to be treated as falling within the paragraph of the Schedule in which they previously fell for the remainder of the duration of the course.
(2)
Subject to the exception in paragraphs (3) to (5), a person is not a qualifying person if—
(a)
he has an honours degree from an institution in the United Kingdom; or
(b)
he has an honours degree from an institution in the Republic of Ireland,
for which he received financial support under previous Regulations for some or all of the academic years during which he took the course leading to the award of the honours degree.
(3)
Paragraph (2) does not apply where—
(a)
the qualifying course is a course for the initial training of teachers;
(b)
the duration of the course does not exceed two years (the duration of a part-time course being expressed as its full-time equivalent); and
(c)
the qualifying person is not a qualified teacher.
F17(3A)
Paragraph (2) does not apply where the qualifying course is a graduate entry course.
(4)
Paragraph (2) does not apply in respect of any part of a single course where—
(a)
the single course leads to an honours degree being conferred on the qualifying person from an institution in the United Kingdom or a relevant institution of higher education in the Republic of Ireland before the final degree or equivalent qualification; and
(b)
the qualifying person only has an honours degree which was received as part of that single course.
(5)
Paragraph (2) does not apply where the qualifying course is a course leading to a degree in social work at an educational institution in Northern Ireland
(6)
F18Subject to paragraphs 8 to 10 where an event occurs in the course of an academic year and as a result a person falls within the Schedule in the course of an academic year, he is not a qualifying person in respect of the academic year in which the relevant event occurred or any previous academic year.
(7)
In this regulation “a relevant institution of higher education in the Republic of Ireland” F19has the same meaning as in the Student Support Regulations.
F20(8)
Where a protected category event occurs in relation to a person after the course start date, paragraph (9) applies for the purposes of determining whether the person falls within a protected category on the first day of the relevant academic year.
(9)
The person is, for the purposes of determining whether they satisfy any requirement in the Schedule that they are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom on the course start date, to be treated as if the person was, on the course start date, lawfully residing in the place where the person was residing on that date.
(10)
For the purposes of this regulation—
“protected category” means any category of persons described in paragraph 4, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 4G, 4H,4I or 5 of the Schedule;
“protected category event” means —
(a)
the student or the student’s spouse, civil partner or parent is recognised as a refugee
or becomes a person granted humanitarian protection or becomes a person granted
stateless leave or becomes a person with leave to enter or remain on the grounds of
discretionary leave;
(b)
the student becomes a person granted section 67 leave;
(c)
the student becomes a person granted Calais leave;
(d)
the student F21or the student’s parent becomes a person granted indefinite leave to remain as a bereaved partner;
(e)
(f)
the student or the student’s spouse, civil partner or parent becomes a person granted leave under one of the Afghan Schemes; or
(g)
the student or the student’s spouse, civil partner or parent becomes a person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes.
“relevant academic year” means an academic year beginning on or after 1st September 2024;
“settled category” means any category of persons described in paragraph 2A or 8A of the Schedule.