2026/27 residency policy changes

Afghanistan Response Route (ARR) and their family members

This policy change will allow persons with leave under the ARR and their family members to be eligible to apply for all student finance products (FE, UG and PG) without 3 years of ordinary residence in the UK and Islands. This brings them into line with the treatment of students in other protection-based categories, including those with leave under the ARAP and the ACRS and their respective family members.

New and continuing learners

The change applies to all new and continuing students from AY 2025/26.

Continuing students will not be eligible for any funding under this category for the years of their course prior to the change taking effect. However, if funding is awarded to ALL learners, funding is for the whole learning aim.

Eligibility requirements

All applicants, whether ARR leave holders or family members, must:

be ordinarily resident in England on the first day of the course; and
have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period from the date their most recent leave was granted.

There will be no 3-year ordinary residence requirement for those who are eligible under this category. However, if the applicant has broken their ordinary residence in the UK and Islands since their most recent leave was granted (that is they’ve spent a period of time overseas which is not considered a temporary absence), they would have to satisfy the 3-year residence requirement that applies as standard to most settled persons in the UK.

The following family members of ARR leave holders will also be eligible to apply for funding under this category.

A person who is the spouse or civil partner of the ARR leave holder (and who was the spouse or civil partner of the ARR leave holder on the leave application date);
A person who is the child* of the ARR leave holder (and who was the child of the ARR leave holder on the leave application date);
A person who is the child* of the spouse or civil partner of the ARR leave holder (and who was the child of the spouse or civil partner of the ARR leave holder on the leave application date).

* In the case of a child or stepchild applicant, there is no requirement for the applicant to be under 18 or dependent on the leave holder when applying for student funding, however, the applicant would need to have been under 18 on the date of application for leave with the Home Office.

Afghan nationality is not a student funding requirement; the requirement is that the applicant has leave under the ARR or is an eligible family member.

Becoming eligible as an event

Students who are granted leave under the ARR and their family members can become eligible as an event after the start of their course, provided the event occurs from AY 2025/26 in England.

Although the ARR scheme was closed to new applicants on 4 July 2025, the applications of some individuals were still to be processed as of September 2025.

Where a student becomes eligible as an event under this category, they will qualify for full funding for the learning aim where the event occurs on any day after the first day of the learning aim and on or before the final day of the learning aim.

Where a student becomes eligible as an event under this category, the student will be treated as if they were ordinarily resident (that is they are lawfully resident) in the place where they were resident on the first day of the course.

Evidence requirements

ARR leave holders are not issued paper evidence of their immigration status. We’ll check an applicant’s immigration status with the Home Office.

Where the applicant is the family member of the ARR leave holder, the following evidence is also required:

proof of relationship (current relationship status and proof that the relationship was existing when the leave was applied for); and
proof of the applicant’s ID and lawful status in the UK.