Definitions in HE Northern Ireland

Look under ‘Spouse or civil partner’ for the definition. 

To be a ‘dependant’, the Student Finance England Assessing Eligibility Guidance says you need to have “factual dependency…dependency for any reason, financial or otherwise”.

The regulations do not define what a 'descendant' means. However, the Department for Education has confirmed to us that it considers a 'direct descendant' to "include child, grandchild and great-grandchild (to include step and adopted children, but not foster children)".  

The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

• Anguilla 
• Aruba 
• Bermuda 
• British Antarctic Territory 
• British Indian Ocean Territory 
• British Virgin Islands 
• Cayman Islands 
• Falkland Islands 
• Faroe Islands 
• French Polynesia 
• French Southern and Antarctic Territories 
• Gibraltar 
• Greenland 
• Mayotte 
• Montserrat 
• Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten) 
• Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands 
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands 
• St Barthélemy 
• St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha 
• St Pierre et Miquelon 
• the Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies 
• Turks and Caicos Islands 
• Wallis and Futuna  

The term ‘person with protected rights’ is important for many categories. The definition is very long, so we explain it once, here. 

You are a ‘person with protected rights’ for the purpose of this information if you fall into A or B or C or D or E or F or G: 

A.  You have pre-settled status or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. 

Take care not to lose your status automatically. This will happen if you stay outside the UK and Islands for a continuous period of more than 5 years (or 4 years if you are a Swiss national or a family member of a Swiss national). 

If you seem to have been missing from the UK and Islands for a number of years, your fee assessor will want to check this with you, even if your digital status says you have pre-settled or settled status. 
 
Note that if you have pre-settled status, you will not want to leave the UK and Islands much at all anyway, in case you risk prejudicing your chance to obtain settled status. However, that is for you to research, it will not be of any concern to your fee assessor – they do not give immigration advice.  

B. You are still waiting for a decision on an application you made under the EU Settlement Scheme, and you have a Certificate of Application (it does not matter if you made the EU Settlement Scheme application late, after the deadline).  
 
Or you are waiting for the outcome of an administrative review or appeal about that application (your request for an administrative review or appeal needs to have been made in-time, or accepted by the authorities for consideration despite being outside the time limit), or you are still within the time limit for submitting one.  
 

Note: There are two reasons this is a less useful route to eligibility: 
 
 
1. Institutions won’t be able to assess you against this particular route to eligibility until it is past the first day of the academic year (because they need to check this is your situation on that date). 
 
2. It doesn’t give you any security about what your fee status will be for the following year, as your status will have to be re-assessed then.  
 
 
So if you are someone who is making an application to the EUSS, make your EUSS application as early as possible, so you are able to show them your pre-settled or settled status, instead of having to fall back on this route to eligibility.  

C. You are an Irish citizen who fits into X or Y or Z:  
 

X. You are an Irish citizen who “exercised their right to reside in the UK in accordance with European law before the end of the transition period and continues to reside thereafter”. 

You will have “exercised your right to reside in the UK in accordance with European law before the end of the transition period” if either: 

1. You were lawfully resident in the UK by virtue of European rights at 10.59pm on 31 December 2020 

or 

2. You had a right of permanent residence under European law in the UK at 10.59pm on 31 December 2020 

Y. You are an Irish citizen who met the definition of a ‘frontier worker’ from the Frontier Workers regulations at 10.59pm on 31 December 2020, and who still meets that definition. Note that to meet the definition, you don’t need to have been in the UK at 10.59pm on 31 December 2020.  

To meet the definition of a ‘frontier worker’ in the Frontier Workers regulations, it must be the case that from 10.59pm on 31 December 2020 onwards, you carry on being A, B and C: 

A. an EEA or a Swiss national 

and 

B. ‘not primarily resident in the UK’ 

It is easier to satisfy this requirement than you might think: It is enough if you return to your country of residence outside the UK at least once every 6 months, or twice every 12 months; and this requirement can even be ignored sometimes if there are ‘exceptional reasons’ for not meeting it. An alternative way of satisfying the requirement is if you are in the UK for less than 180 days in 12 months. 

and 

C. a worker or self-employed person in the UK (or someone who has ‘retained’ that status – see the note at the end of this definition of a ‘person with protected rights’ that is headed ‘Note, if you are a frontier worker…’, to see who will retain that status) 

Confusingly, this does not mean you need to stay in the UK. You will leave the UK for periods, and will only stop meeting the definition if you fail to come back to the UK for work at least once in every rolling 12-month period (you count the rolling 12 months from the end of the period of work in 2020 that you relied on to qualify you as a frontier worker in the first place). 

Important: If you do not meet B or C for coronavirus-related reasons, go to the UK Home Office’s ‘Frontier worker permit scheme caseworker guidance’ at www.gov.uk/government/publications/frontier-worker-permit-scheme-caseworker-guidance. Look under the heading ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19)’. There are a number of useful policies there, which might mean you should be treated as though you do meet B or C. 
 

Z. You are an Irish citizen and all these five large bullet points are true: 

• • You lived outside the UK at 10.59pm on 31 December 2020 
  • You have come to the UK to join an EEA or Swiss national family member 
  • That EEA or Swiss national either:  
  • “exercised their right to reside in the UK in accordance with European law before the end of the transition period and continues to reside thereafter”; or  
  • (unless they are a Swiss national) met the definition of a ‘frontier worker’ from the Frontier Workers regulations at 10.59pm on 31 December 2020, and they still meet that definition 
  • Read X or Y (above) if you don’t know what these terms mean. 
  • You were their family member at 10.59pm on 31 December 2020, unless:  
  • you were born to or adopted by them later than that (or in the case of a Swiss national, you become their child later than that), or  
  • they are a Swiss national and you become their spouse or civil partner and come to join them at any point before 11pm on 31 December 2025) 
  • You are still their family member  

Provision C exists because unlike other European citizens, Irish citizens don’t have to make applications under the EU Settlement Scheme. 

D. You lived outside the UK at 10.59pm on 31 December 2020, but you have now used the right given to you by the Withdrawal Agreements to come to the UK as a ‘joining family member’ of a EU/Norway/Iceland/Liechtenstein citizen. It must be the case that a, b and c are all true: 
 

The EU/Norway/Iceland/Liechtenstein citizen “exercised their right to reside (or their right as a frontier worker) in the UK in accordance with EU law before the end of the transition period and continues to reside (or continues to exercise their right as a frontier worker) thereafter”  

On the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for, it is not more than 3 months since you came to the UK 

You were one of the following types of ‘family member’ of the EU/Norway/Iceland/Liechtenstein citizen both at 10.59pm on 31 December 2020, and at the point when you came to the UK: 

• spouse / civil partner 
• direct descendant of the person, or of their spouse / civil partner, who is: 
• under 21 years old; or 

1. 1. 21 or over and a dependant of the person or of the person’s spouse / civil partner 
   2. the dependent direct ascendant of: 
   3. the person; or 
   4. the person’s spouse / civil partner 
   5. durable partner (usually you will be expected to have been living together in a relationship akin to a marriage or civil partnership for at least two years before 10.59pm on 31 December 2020, unless you had a child or a pregnancy together at that point) 
      
      

Note: The drawback to using this route to eligibility is that it doesn’t give you any security about what your fee status will be for the following year, as your status will have to be re-assessed then.  
 

E. You lived outside the UK at 10.59pm on 31 December 2020, but you have now used the right given to you by the Withdrawal Agreements to come to the UK as a ‘joining family member’ of a Swiss citizen. It must be the case that a, b and c are all true: 

 
a. The Swiss citizen “exercised their right to reside in the UK in accordance with the Swiss free movement of persons agreement before the end of the transition period and continues to reside thereafter” 

b. On the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for, it is not more than 3 months since you came to the UK 

 
c. You were one of the following types of ‘family member’ of the Swiss citizen both at 10.59pm on 31 December 2020, and at the point when you came to the UK: 

• spouse / civil partner (but note that if your marriage or civil partnership begins between 11pm on 31 December 2020 and 11pm on 31 December 2025, and you come to the UK before 11pm on 31 December 2025, then the requirement to be a family member on 31 December 2020 which is mentioned above does not apply to you) 
• descendant of the person, or of their spouse / civil partner, who is: 
  • under 21 years old; or 
  • 21 or over and a dependant of the person or of the person’s spouse / civil partner 
• the dependent ascendant of: 
  • the person; or 
  • the person’s spouse / civil partner 
• durable partner (usually you will be expected to have been living together in a relationship akin to a marriage or civil partnership for at least two years before 10.59pm on 31 December 2020, unless you had a child or a pregnancy together at that point) 

 
But requirement c is different if the person you joined was a student. If that is the case, then you must have been one of the following types of ‘family member’ of the Swiss citizen, both at 10.59pm on 31 December 2020, and at the point when you came to the UK:  

• spouse / civil partner (but note that if your marriage or civil partnership begins between 11pm on 31 December 2020 and 11pm on 31 December 2025, and you come to the UK before 11pm on 31 December 2025, then the requirement to be a family member on 31 December 2020 which is mentioned above does not apply to you) 
• a dependant child of the person or of the person’s spouse / civil partner (and your age does not matter)  
• durable partner (usually you will be expected to have been living together in a relationship akin to a marriage or civil partnership for at least two years before 10.59pm on 31 December 2020, unless you had a child or a pregnancy together at that point) 

Note: The drawback to using this route to eligibility is that it doesn’t give you any security about what your fee status will be for the following year, as your status will have to be re-assessed then. 

 
F. You were legally adopted (or alternatively the UK courts appointed someone in a guardian-type role for you; formal or informal fostering arrangements don’t count for this) after the end of the Brexit transition period (11pm on 31 December 2020), and all the following requirements (a, b, c and d) are met: 

1. The person who has legally adopted you (or been appointed as your guardian) is an EU/Norway/Iceland/Liechtenstein citizen who “exercised their right to reside (or their right as a frontier worker) in the UK in accordance with EU law before the end of the transition period and continues to reside (or continues to exercise their right as a frontier worker) thereafter”   
   
   
2. On the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for :   
   
   
   • it is not more than 3 months after you were legally adopted (or since your guardian was appointed); or 
   • it is not more than 3 months since you came to the UK (if you came after you were legally adopted, or after your guardian was appointed)
      
3. When you joined the person who has legally adopted you (or been appointed as your guardian), you were the direct descendant of the person, or of their spouse / civil partner, and you were:
    
   
   • under 21 years old; or 
   • 21 or over and a dependant of the person or of the person’s spouse / civil partner 
4. It must be the case that your parents fit any one of the following three scenarios: 
   
   
   1. both parents are EU/Norway/Iceland/Liechtenstein citizens who “exercised their right to reside (or their right as a frontier worker) in the UK in accordance with EU law before the end of the transition period and continue to reside (or continue to exercise their right as a frontier worker) thereafter” 
   2. one parent is an EU/Norway/Iceland/Liechtenstein citizen who “exercised their right to reside (or their right as a frontier worker) in the UK in accordance with EU law before the end of the transition period and continues to reside (or continues to exercise their right as a frontier worker) thereafter”, and the other parent is a UK national 
   3. one parent is an EU/Norway/Iceland/Liechtenstein citizen who “exercised their right to reside (or their right as a frontier worker) in the UK in accordance with EU law before the end of the transition period and continues to reside (or continues to exercise their right as a frontier worker) thereafter”, and has joint or sole rights of custody of you 
       
       

Note: The drawback to using this route to eligibility is that it doesn’t give you any security about what your fee status will be for the following year, as your status will have to be re-assessed then.  

G. You were legally adopted (or became a person’s child) after the end of the Brexit transition period (11pm on 31 December 2020), and all the following requirements (a, b and c) are met: 

1. The person who has legally adopted you (or whose child you have become) is a Swiss citizen who “exercised their right to reside in the UK in accordance with the Swiss free movement of persons agreement before the end of the transition period and continues to reside thereafter”               
2. On the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for:   
   • it is not more than 3 months after you were legally adopted (or you became their child); or 
   • it is not more than 3 months since you came to the UK (if you came after you were legally adopted, or after you became their child) 
      
3. When you joined the person who has legally adopted you (or whose child you have become), you were the descendant of the person, or of their spouse / civil partner, and you were: 
   • under 21 years old; or 
   • 21 or over and a dependant of the person or of the person’s spouse / civil partner 
      
     But requirement c is different if the person you joined was a student. If that is the case, then when you joined the person who has legally adopted you (or whose child you have become), the requirement is that you were:
     
     a dependant of the person or of the person’s spouse / civil partner (and your age does not matter)  
      

 
 
Note: The drawback to using this route to eligibility is that it doesn’t give you any security about what your fee status will be for the following year, as your status will have to be re-assessed then.  

Note, if you are a frontier worker, you will ‘retain’ the status of a worker or self-employed person in the UK even if you stop work, if any single one of the following bullet points is true  

Note, if you are a frontier worker, you will ‘retain’ the status of a worker or self-employed person in the UK even if you stop work, if any single one of the following bullet points is true: 

• you are temporarily unable to do the work because of illness or accident, or 
• you met the definition of a ‘frontier worker’ in the UK  for at least one year immediately before that, and you are involuntarily unemployed, and you are seeking employment or self-employment in the UK, and you are registered as a jobseeker with a relevant unemployment office or recruitment agency (if you fall into this bullet, you will retain your status for 6 months, but after that you will have to provide ‘compelling evidence’ that you are continuing to seek employment or self-employment in the UK if you want to retain your status longer than 6 months), or 
• you met the definition of a ‘frontier worker’ in the UK for less than one year immediately before that, and you are involuntarily unemployed, and you are seeking employment or self-employment in the UK, and you are registered as a jobseeker with a relevant unemployment office or recruitment agency (if you fall into this bullet point, you will only retain your status for 6 months), or 
• you are involuntarily unemployed, and are doing vocational training, or 
• you have voluntarily stopped work, to start vocational training related to your previous work, or 
• you are temporarily unable to work in the UK due to pregnancy or childbirth. If it is more than 12 months since you stopped work, then you will additionally need to show that you are seeking employment or self-employment in the UK, and you are registered as a jobseeker with a relevant unemployment office or recruitment agency. One point worth knowing is that periods on paid maternity leave don’t count as being ‘temporarily unable to work’ – instead they count as work.   

A person counts as a ‘relevant person of Northern Ireland’ if they:  

• were born in Northern Ireland, and 
• at the time they were born, at least one of their parents was any of the following: 
  • British Citizen 
  • Irish Citizen 
  • both a British Citizen and an Irish Citizen 
  • not British or Irish, but was entitled to reside in Northern Ireland and had no immigration time limit on their stay 

and  

• they themselves are a British Citizen, or an Irish Citizen, or both a British Citizen and an Irish Citizen 

The United Kingdom, which consists of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

The residence area described as the ‘UK and Islands’ consists of:  

• England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (the ‘UK’); and 
• Channel Islands and Isle of Man (the ‘Islands’) 

To count as a ‘UK national’ for the purposes of this information, you must fit one of the following three bullet points: 

• ‘British Citizen’ 
• Your passport describes you as a ‘British Subject’ and it also shows that you have the right of abode in the UK 
• ‘British Overseas Territories Citizen’ who has that citizenship because of a connection with Gibraltar (note that this is not true of most British Overseas Territories Citizens) 
   

A ‘British National (Overseas)’ does not count as a ‘UK national’ for the purpose of this information.