London Interdisciplinary School ©2019
If you are an international or European Union (EU) student please read the following guidance which we have prepared to try to help you in your decision about whether or not to apply for LIS. It is really important to state that everyone is an individual and your specific position might be different. With this in mind, we recommend three things:
We recommend that you read around and research the topic as the guidelines on this page may not cover every instance.
The best sources of information we recommend are: (a) The government’s own website; (b) the British Council (an important charity with links to the UK Government); (c) the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA).
Different universities and providers may have different guidelines. Please take the time to read through these carefully.
If you want to get in touch and feel that the guidelines below do not cover your case, then we will do our best to give advice. You can email us at hello@t-lis.org.
At present, we are unfortunately unable to admit international students. LIS is in the process of applying for a sponsor license to be able to admit international students in the future, but it is unlikely this will be in place in time for the September 2021 cohort. So for now, if you are an international student, you will not be eligible to study at LIS.
An international student is someone who does not have “settled” status in the UK and would need to apply for a visa to study in the UK.
If you do have settled status then you should be able to apply and be admitted to LIS. Please get in touch with us to confirm (hello@t-lis.org).
There are many rules and exceptions around being “settled”. In brief, being settled means both being normally living in the UK and not having any immigration restriction on the length of your stay in the UK.
If you fall into any of the following groups then you will not normally have any restrictions on the length of your stay in the UK:
(i) If you have indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE);
(ii) If your passport describes you as as a “British citizen”;
(iii) If you have a Right of Abode in the UK in your passport;
(iv) If you are a citizen of the Republic of Ireland.
There are other exceptions which you can learn about here.
At the moment, it appears that the UK government’s position is that, from August 2021, students from the EU will be classed as international students.
If you are an EU student living in the UK, you may want to take advantage of the EU Settlement Scheme. Any EU student with pre-settled or settled status will be able to apply to LIS. The settlement scheme has a number of deadlines and rules. A government summary can be found here.
We strongly recommend that you read more about the EU settlement scheme before you choose to apply for it. The main government advice is that you will “usually get settled status if you’ve:
Any EU student with pre-settled or settled status will be eligible to study at LIS.
As well as EU students, if you are an EEA (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein) or Swiss national, then you will also be able to apply for the EU Settlement scheme.
There are also some exceptions which enable you to apply if you are not an EU, EEA or Swiss student and you can read about them here.
If you are successful in gaining settled or pre-settled status then, for EU students, you will be eligible to study at LIS.
If you are an EU or EEA student who is currently living in the UK but have not lived in the UK for five years continuously by 31 December 2021, then you can apply for pre-settled status.
If you have pre-settled status then you will be eligible to be admitted to LIS. You may, however, be in a different position regarding accessing student loans. Please see the section on student loans for more details.
The question of whether you are able to apply for student support is different from the question of whether or not you are eligible to study at LIS.
LIS is currently completing the Office for Student’s registration process. Upon completion, students who study at LIS will be able to access student support. Student support includes: a loan for tuition fees, and a loan for living costs. For certain groups of students, you may also be eligible for additional support such as a non-repayable maintenance grant.
Full details can be found at the Student Finance England website.
There are complex rules and exceptions around student support. An excellent website which sets out the key information is UKCISA.
If you have settled or pre-settled status before 31 December 2020, then you can typically apply to LIS (see the page on eligibility to study).
If you meet the criteria below you will be eligible for full student support:
(a) you must be settled in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
(b) on the first day of the first academic year of the course you must be ordinarily resident in England; and
(c) you must also have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the full three-year period before the first day of the first academic year of the course;
(d) the main purpose for your residence in the UK and Islands must not have been to receive full-time education during any part of the three-year period.
Should you be eligible to study at LIS but not eligible for student support, you can, of course, pay student fees directly to LIS should you choose. Unfortunately, in this instance, you will not be able to access the student support set out above.
As ever, if you feel that you have any questions, we would encourage you to get in touch hello@t-lis.org
It is important to note that none of the advice above should be taken as legal advice. It is intended to act as a short guide for students who are interested in studying at LIS and has no broader aim.