1. Overview
You can apply for an Advanced Learner Loan to help with the costs of a course at a college or training provider in England.
Loan eligibility does not depend on your income and there are no credit checks.
The minimum loan you can get is £300 and is paid directly to your college or training provider.
2. Eligibility
You must be 19 or older on the first day of your course.
Your course must be a Level 3, 4, 5 or 6 qualification at an approved college or training provider in England
.
Your nationality or residency status
You must:
- be living in the UK on the first day of your course
- have been living in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for 3 years before starting your course
- be a UK national or have ‘settled status’ (this means there are no restrictions on how long you can stay)
You may also qualify if you’re:
- an EU national or a family member of one
- a UK national, or someone with settled status, but you live somewhere else in the European Economic Area (EEA)
- not a UK national but you’ve lived in the UK for at least 20 years (or at least half of your life)
- a refugee
- a migrant worker
- the child of a Swiss national
- the child of a Turkish worker
- under humanitarian protection or a relative of someone who has been granted it
- staying in the UK as a stateless person (or their family member) and your course starts on or after 1 August 2018
- a serving member of the UK armed forces (or their spouse, civil partner or a dependent parent or child living with them) doing a distance learning course from outside the UK that started on or after 1 August 2017
3. Repayments
You pay back your loan when you finish your course and earn more than £27,295 a year. Your repayments will stop if your income drops below £27,295 a year.
Your annual repayment amount will be 9% of any income you earn over £27,295 per year.
The repayments are deducted from your salary along with your tax and you will be able to see them on your payslip.
4. Bursary fund
You may apply to get money from the Loan Bursary Fund after you’ve received a letter approving your Advanced Learner Loan.
The money can help pay for things like:
- Travel
- Course materials and equipment
- Childcare
- Classroom assistance for a disability or learning difficulty – once you’re assessed by your college or training provider
