EU applicant advice

Brexit refers to the UK's formal withdrawal of its EU membership, which occurred on 31 January 2020. A transition period started immediately, during which trade, travel and freedom of movement remained largely unchanged. The transition period ended on 31 December 2020 when new rules commenced, affecting trade, travel, and freedom of movement.

This depends on where you are, what your status is, and when your programme commences. Read on to find out more.

No, Irish students will not be affected by Brexit. You will continue to be eligible for home fee and you do not need a visa to study in the UK thanks to the Common Travel Area.

No, the two parties involved in the Brexit process are the UK and the EU. If you are not from the EU/EEA/Switzerland, you will not be impacted by this process. The University of Kent will continue to welcome students from all over the world.

As an EU, other EEA or Swiss national with settled status, you will continue to have access to home fee status, a tuition fee loan and maintenance support for study in the UK, on the same basis as domestic students, subject to meeting the usual residency requirements.

 Please check the UK government's official FAQs for more information.

EU students who start their programmes in 2023/24 academic year, will pay a special EU fee. This special EU fee status will be guaranteed for the duration of your programme. 

The special EU fee is a time-limited offer that the University of Kent provides its new EU students to support their study at Kent. 

The special EU fee will be between £13,500 and £16,400 for the majority of our standard lab-based and classroom-based programmes that commence in September 2023. More information can be found on our tuition fee pages.

Please note the following programmes are not eligible for the special EU fee.

• Medicine
• Pharmacy
• Postgraduate research programmes
• Programmes delivered by our Centres based outside the UK

Please note that Year in Industry and Year Abroad are not covered by the Special EU fee. For example, if you are on our BSc (Hons) Accounting and Finance and Economics with a Year in Industry programme, the three years during which you are based on campus are covered by the special EU fee whereas the Year in Industry during which you are away from campus is not covered.

The need for a UK visa to study at Kent depends on your situation.

If you have pre-settled or settled status, you do not need a visa to study with us.

If you arrive in the UK on or before 31 December 2020, you do not need a visa to study with us as long as you obtain your pre-settled status by 30 June 2021.

If you arrive in the UK after 31 December 2020, you will need to apply for a Student Visa to study with us. But do not worry. We have a dedicated team to guide and support you every step of the way.

You will not need to have applied for a visa before your arrival if your short-term study is less than 6 months in duration. As a non-visa national, you will be given permission to enter as a short-term student at the border. You will also be able to use eGates if you meet the requirements.

The UK government has published a dedicated webpage for EU nationals. The information is also applicable to EEA and Swiss nationals.

The UK government has announced that from 1 January 2022, EU full-time students studying in the UK can apply for a reimbursement of the immigration health surcharge (IHS). For more details, visit gov.uk website.

If you would like to remain in the UK for work after you complete your study at Kent, the Graduate Route Visa is perfect for you.

According to the UK's government latest plan, the Graduate Route Visa will go live on 1 July 2021. Students who began their studies in September 2020 have until 21 June 2021 to enter the UK in order to be eligible for the Graduate Route.

For more information, visit the UK Government website and their fact sheet.

The Turing Scheme is the UK government’s scheme to provide funding for international opportunities in education and training across the world. For more information, please visit the Turing Scheme website.

Students studying for postgraduate degrees at our European Centres will continue to be able to receive appropriate Schengen visas, either through our own legal registration or through our partners.  All degrees delivered at the centres will continue to be fully accredited in the United Kingdom.

UK degrees are recognised in many countries around the world, and there are a number of agreements between different countries that support this. Some of these are not related to the European Union which means that after the UK leaves the EU, most academic qualifications will still be recognised. Recognition of some professional qualifications is more complicated, but UK universities are hoping that the mutual recognition of professional qualifications will continue. If you are concerned about this, please get in touch.

We are monitoring the situation closely and will keep you informed.

Click here to find out what we are doing to keep our students and staff safe on campus.

Make sure you check the UK government's travel guidance before you finalise your arrival plan.

If the situation requires, requests to study remotely will be accommodated wherever possible. You will receive guidance on the request process if it is applicable to you.

Kent Union (Canterbury): Visit 'Advice for EU students' or email advice@kent.ac.uk for immigration advice and support

GK Unions (Medway): Email advice@gkunions.co.uk for immigration advice and support

Student Support and Wellbeing: Visit the webpage for information and advice relating to your personal wellbeing

Erasmus: erasmus@kent.ac.uk

All other enquiries: Please email studentEUqueries@kent.ac.uk

For more information, visit our Brexit homepage.