How to Apply for UK University with Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)

Indefinite Leave to Remain means you have no time limit on your right to live, study, and work in the UK. For higher education, this is significant:

• You are charged home tuition fees (currently capped at £9,535/year for most courses).
• You can apply for a tuition fee loan covering your full fees.
• You can apply for a maintenance loan for living costs.
• You qualify for university bursaries reserved for home students.

The one extra requirement: you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the three years before your course starts.

UCAS asks two crucial immigration questions: residential category and fee status. Get either wrong and the university will quote international fees.

1. Under Residential category, choose "UK Settled" or "UK Indefinite Leave to Remain".
2. Under Fee status, select "Home".
3. Be ready to send your BRP, eVisa share code, or settled status confirmation to the university's admissions office for verification.

Open your account at gov.uk/student-finance from February for a September start. SFE will ask:

• Date you were granted ILR
• Evidence of ILR (BRP, eVisa share code, or vignette)
• Three years of UK address history
• Household income (for means-tested maintenance)

Maintenance loans are means-tested. If your household income is under £25,000, you'll receive the maximum (around £10,544/year outside London, £13,762 in London for 2025/26 — figures update annually).

• BRP (front and back) or eVisa share code valid for SFE
• Passport bio page
• Three years of address evidence (council tax, tenancy, GP letters)
• Parents' P60 or HMRC tax summary if you're under 25 and means-tested

Mark these in your calendar:

• Late January — equal-consideration UCAS deadline.
• Late May — Student Finance England deadline for guaranteed funding by term start.
• 30 June — final UCAS deadline before Clearing.
• Mid-September — most universities require fee evidence before enrolment.