Advanced Learner Loans

• You can apply for a loan to fund each course you take towards your A levels, up to a maximum of four A levels.
• This means you can have up to eight loans if you’re taking each A level as two separate courses.
• The courses must be in the same subject to qualify as a full A level.
• You can get three more loans for non-A level courses, either before or after your course of A levels.

You can also apply to get money from the Loan Bursary Fund.

This money can help pay for things such as:

• accommodation and travel
• course materials and equipment
• childcare
• classroom assistance for a disability or learning difficulty

You should speak to your college or training provider to find out more, and to apply for the bursary.

You must be aged 19 or older on the first day of your course.

The course must be:

• a Level 3, 4, 5, or 6 qualification, for example, an A level or graduate certificate
• at an approved college or training provider in England

If you’re studying a Level 4 or 5 course with Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) approval, you may be eligible for undergraduate funding unless you’re a direct entrant. 

The course must last at least two weeks to be eligible for funding, but there’s no maximum time limit in which you have to complete your course. However, there are maximum limits on how long Student Finance England can pay a loan for. The maximum time periods of eligibility are determined by the type of FE course.

The following table shows the maximum amount of time Student Finance England can pay a loan for, depending on the course.

You must usually:

• be living in the UK on the first day of your course
• have been ordinarily resident in the UK, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man for three years before starting your course
• be a UK national, or have ‘settled status’ (no restrictions on how long you can stay in the UK)

You may be eligible for a loan to study at a learning provider in England if you are a UK national or have settled status in the UK and you have been living in the following for the three years before starting your course:

• the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Ireland (with at least part of the time spent in Ireland), or
• the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the specified British Overseas Territories (with at least part of the time spent in the specified British Overseas Territories)

You may be eligible for a loan to study at a learning provider in England if you are a family member of a person with settled status in the UK and you have been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the past three years.

You can also apply if you’ve been living in the UK, Overseas Territories, the EEA or Switzerland for the past three years and are:

• an EU national, the family member of an EU national or the family member of a Person of Northern Ireland and you have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or you are in the process of applying for it (studying at learning providers in England only)
• an EEA or Swiss worker, or the family member of an EEA or Swiss Worker, and you and your family member have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or you are in the process of applying for it
• the child of a Swiss national and you and your Swiss parent have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or you are in the process of applying for it
• an EU national or family member of an EU national and you have resident status in Gibraltar (studying at learning providers in England only)
• the child of a Turkish worker (residence in Turkey is included in the three-year period) 
• a person of direct Chagossian descent and have British citizenship 

You can also apply if you’ve been living in the UK, Gibraltar, the EEA or Switzerland for the past three years and are:

• a UK national, the family member of a UK national or an Irish citizen, and were living in the EEA or Switzerland on 31 December 2020, or living in the UK on 31 December 2020 after returning from the EEA or Switzerland on or after 1 January 2018 (studying at learning providers in England only if you are an Irish citizen)
• a UK national or family member of a UK national and you have resident status in Gibraltar (studying at learning providers in England only)

You can also apply if you have one of the following Home Office statuses:

• Humanitarian protection or the family member of someone with this status
• Stateless status or the family member of someone with this status
• Refugee status or the family member of someone with this status
• Calais leave and dependent child granted ‘leave in line’
• Leave to remain under section 67 of the Immigration Act or the dependent child of someone with this status
• You, your parent or step-parent have been granted indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK as a victim of domestic violence or abuse 
• You, your parent or step-parent have been granted indefinite leave to remain as a person who has been a bereaved partner
• You or your family member have been granted limited or indefinite leave to enter or remain under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) or the Afghan Citizens Relocation Scheme (ACRS)
• You or your family member have been granted leave to enter or remain in the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme, the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme or the Ukraine Extension Scheme

You could also be eligible if you’re not a UK national and have been living in the UK for at least half your life or at least 20 years. You must have limited leave to remain (including discretionary leave to remain) and have lived in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for three years before the first day of your course. You must also live in England on the first day of your course.

Student Finance England has created an eligibility tool to use if you’re considering an Advanced Learner Loan.

You can usually only get a maximum of four Advanced Learner Loans.

The exception to this is if you’re studying an AS or A level, where you can apply for up to a maximum of eight loans for a programme of A level study, and can still get a further three loans for other designated further education courses that are not AS or A levels. Previous study won’t affect your entitlement to your first loan.

You’ll be able to get up to four loans for the same type of vocational qualification. However, you’ll still only be entitled to one loan for a programme of A levels, or an Access to HE Diploma.