The Education (Student Support, etc.) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022

Made: 11th August 2022

Coming into operation-: 1st September 2022

The Department for the Economy[^f00001] in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 3 and 8(4) of the Education (Student Support) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998[^f00002] and Articles 4(8) and 14(4) of the Higher Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2005[^f00003] makes the following Regulations.

PART 1

Introductory

Citation, commencement and application

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Education (Student Support, etc.) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022.

• (2) These Regulations come into operation on 1st September 2022.

• (3) The following regulations apply in relation to the provision of support to a student in relation to a course which begins on or after 1st August 2022, whether or not anything done under these Regulations is done before, on, or after that date—

• (a) regulation 3 to 10 (Evacuated or assisted British nationals from Afghanistan).

• (4) The following regulations apply in relation to the provision of support to a student in relation to an academic year which begins on or after 1st August 2022, whether or not anything done under these Regulations is done before, on, or after that date—

• (a) regulation 11 to 33 (Persons from Ukraine).

• (5) In paragraph (3) an “academic year” is the period of twelve months beginning with 1st January, 1st April, 1st July or 1st September of the calendar year in which the academic year of the course in question begins, according to whether the academic year of the course in question begins—

• (a) on or after 1st January and before 1st April;

• (b) on or after 1st April and before 1st July;

• (c) on or after 1st July and before 1st August; or

• (d) on or after 1st August and on or before 31st December.

Interpretation

2

In these Regulations —

• (a) “the 2009 Regulations” means the Education (Student Support) (No.2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009[^f00004].

• (b) “the 2007 Regulations” means The Student Fees (Qualifying Courses and Persons) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007[^f00005].

PART 2

CHAPTER 1 — Evacuated or assisted British nationals from Afghanistan

Amendments to the 2009 Regulations

3

In regulation 5(2)(a)[^f00006] (eligible students), for “and 14” substitute “, 14, 15 and 16”.

4

In regulation 105(2)(a)[^f00007] (eligible distance learning students), for “and 14” substitute “, 14, 15 and 16”.

5

In regulation 122(2)(a)[^f00008] (eligible part-time students), for “and 14” substitute “, 14, 15 and 16”.

6

In regulation 139(3)(a)(i)[^f00009] (eligible postgraduate students), for “and 14” substitute “, 14, 15 and 16”.

7

In regulation 149 (2)(a)[^f00010] (eligible master’s, etc. students), for “and 14” substitute “, 14, 15 and 16”.

8

In Schedule 2 (eligible students)—

• (a) in paragraph 1(1), after the definition of “European Economic Area”, insert—

• “evacuated or assisted British national from Afghanistan” means a person—who is a British citizen, a British overseas territories citizen, a British National (Overseas), a British Overseas citizen, a British subject under the British Nationality Act 1981 or a British protected person within the meaning of that Act;who was either—evacuated from Afghanistan by or on behalf of the United Kingdom, a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member state, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iran or Qatar during the period of the operation known as Operation Pitting, which began on 14th August 2021 and ended on 28th August 2021; orassisted by or on behalf of the United Kingdom, after 28th August 2021 and before 6th January 2022, to leave Afghanistan; andwho has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands since they were evacuated from or otherwise left Afghanistan;

• (b) after paragraph 14[^f00011], insert—

(15) An evacuated or assisted British national from Afghanistan who is ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on the first day of the first academic year of the course.

Amendments to the 2007 Regulations

9

In regulation 5 (prescribed description of a qualifying person)—

• (a) in paragraph (1)(c)[^f00012], after “4G,” insert “4H,”;

• (b) in paragraph (1A)(a)[^f00013], after “4G,” insert “4H,”;

10

In the Schedule—

• (a) in paragraph 1(1), after the definition of “European Economic Area”, insert—

• “evacuated or assisted British national from Afghanistan” means a person—who is a British citizen, a British overseas territories citizen, a British National (Overseas), a British Overseas citizen, a British subject under the British Nationality Act 1981 or a British protected person within the meaning of that Act;who was either—evacuated from Afghanistan by or on behalf of the United Kingdom, a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member state, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iran or Qatar during the period of the operation known as Operation Pitting, which began on 14th August 2021 and ended on 28th August 2021; orassisted by or on behalf of the United Kingdom, after 28th August 2021 and before 6th January 2022, to leave Afghanistan; andwho has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands since they were evacuated from or otherwise left Afghanistan;

• (b) after paragraph 4G[^f00014], insert—

(4H) An evacuated or assisted British national from Afghanistan who is ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom on the first day of the first academic year of the course.

CHAPTER 2 — Persons from Ukraine

Amendments to the 2009 Regulations

11

In regulation 2(1) (interpretation),

• (a) after the definition of “person granted leave under one of the Afghan Schemes”[^f00015], insert—

• “person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes” means a person granted leave under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, a person granted leave under the Ukraine Extension Scheme or a person granted leave under the Ukraine Family Scheme;

• (b) after the definition of “person granted leave under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme”[^f00016], insert—

• “person granted leave under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme” means a person—who has leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom—under paragraph UKR 19.1 of Appendix Ukraine Scheme of the Immigration Rules as defined in section 33(1) of the Immigration Act 1971; oroutside the Immigration Rules as defined in section 33(1) of the Immigration Act 1971 where the person—was residing in Ukraine immediately before 1st January 2022; andleft Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion which took place on 24th February 2022; andwho has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands throughout the period since the person was granted such leave;
• “person granted leave under the Ukraine Extension Scheme” means a person—who has leave to remain in the United Kingdom under paragraph UKR 27.1 of Appendix Ukraine Scheme of the Immigration Rules as defined in section 33(1) of the Immigration Act 1971; andwho has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands throughout the period since the person was granted such leave;
• “person granted leave under the Ukraine Family Scheme” means a person—who has leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom—under paragraph UKR 9.1 of Appendix Ukraine Scheme of the Immigration Rules as defined in section 33(1) of the Immigration Act 1971; oroutside the Immigration Rules as defined in section 33(1) of the Immigration Act 1971 where the person—was residing in Ukraine immediately before 1st January 2022; andleft Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion which took place on 24th February 2022; andwho has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands throughout the period since the person was granted such leave;

12

In regulation 5[^f00017] (eligible students)—

• (a) after paragraph (11E), insert—

(11F) Where— (a) the Department determined that, by virtue of being a person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes, a person (“A”) was— (i) an eligible student in connection with an application for support for an earlier year of the current course, an application for support for a course in relation to which the current course is an end-on course or an application for support in connection with a designated part-time course, designated distance learning course or other designated course from which A’s status as an eligible student, eligible part-time student or eligible distance learning student has been transferred to the current course; or (ii) a qualifying student in connection with an application for support for an earlier year of the qualifying course or other qualifying course from which A’s status as a qualifying student has been transferred to the qualifying course in respect of which the student is applying for support; and (b) as at the day before the academic year in respect of which A is applying for support begins, the period for which the person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes is allowed to stay in the United Kingdom has expired and no further leave to enter or remain has been granted, A’s status as an eligible or qualifying student terminates immediately before the first day of the academic year in respect of which A is applying for support.

13

In regulation 18[^f00018] (events)—

• (a) in paragraph (m) omit the terminal “or”;

• (b) in paragraph (n) for “.” substitute “; or”;

• (c) after paragraph (n) insert—

(o) the student becomes a person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes.

14

In regulation 39(7)[^f00019] (general qualifying conditions for grants for living and other costs) for “or (n)” substitute “, (n) or (o)”;

15

In regulation 42(6)[^f00020] (amount of the disabled students’ allowance) for “or (n)” substitute “, (n) or (o)”;

16

In regulation 46(11)[^f00021] (childcare grant) for “or (n)” substitute “, (n) or (o)”;

17

In regulation 50A(2)(grants for travel – general) [^f00022] for “or (n)” substitute “, (n) or (o)”;

18

In regulation 57(5)[^f00023] (qualifying conditions for the maintenance grant) for “or (n)” substitute “, (n) or (o)”;

19

In regulation 59(5)[^f00024] (qualifying conditions for the special support grant) for “or (n)” substitute “, (n) or (o)”;

20

In regulation 74(2)[^f00025] (students becoming eligible in the course of an academic year)—

• (a) in paragraph (l) omit the terminal “or”;

• (b) in paragraph (m) for “.” substitute “; or”;

• (c) after paragraph (m) insert—

(n) the student becomes a person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes.

21

In regulation 105[^f00026] (eligible distance learning students)—

• (a) after paragraph (11E), insert—

(11F) Where— (a) the Department determined that, by virtue of being a person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes, a person (“A”) was an eligible distance learning student in connection with— (i) an application for support for an earlier year of the current course, or (ii) an application for support in connection with a designated course, designated part-time course, or other designated course from which A’s status as an eligible student, eligible part-time student or eligible distance learning student has been transferred to the current course; and (b) as at the day before the academic year in respect of which A is applying for support begins, the period for which the person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes is allowed to stay in the United Kingdom has expired, and no further leave to enter or remain has been granted, A’s status as an eligible distance learning student terminates immediately before the first day of the academic year in respect of which A is applying for support.

22

In regulation 106[^f00027] (students becoming eligible in the course of an academic year)—

• (a) in paragraph 1A for “or (o)” substitute “, (o) or (p)”;

• (b) in paragraph 2 for “or (o)” substitute “, (o) or (p)”;

• (c) in paragraph 3 for “or (o)” substitute “, (o) or (p)”;

• (d) in paragraph (4)—

• (i) in sub-paragraph (n) omit “or”;

• (ii) in sub-paragraph (o) after “Schemes” for “.” substitute “; or”;

• (iii) after sub-paragraph (o), insert—

(p) the student becomes a person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes.

23

In regulation 122[^f00028] (eligible part-time students)—

• (a) after paragraph (10E), insert—

(10F) Where— (a) the Department determined that, by virtue of being a person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes, a person (“A”) was an eligible part-time student in connection with— (i) an application for support for an earlier year of the current part-time course, or (ii) an application for support in connection with a designated course, designated distance learning course, or other designated course from which A’s status as an eligible student, eligible part-time student or eligible distance learning student has been transferred to the current course; and (b) as at the day before the academic year in respect of which A is applying for support begins, the period for which the person granted leave under one of the Schemes is allowed to stay in the United Kingdom has expired and no further leave to enter or remain has been granted, A’s status as an eligible part-time student terminates immediately before the first day of the academic year in respect of which A is applying for support.

24

In regulation 123[^f00029] (students becoming eligible during the course of an academic year)—

• (a) in paragraph 1A for “or (o)” substitute “, (o) or (p)”;

• (b) in paragraph 2 for “or (o)” substitute “, (o) or (p)”;

• (c) in paragraph (3)—

• (i) in sub-paragraph (n) omit “or”;

• (ii) in sub-paragraph (o) after “Schemes” for “.” substitute “; or”;

• (iii) after sub-paragraph (o), insert—

(p) the student becomes a person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes.

25

In regulation 130(7)[^f00030] (disabled part-time students’ allowance) for “or (o)” substitute “, (o) or (p)”.

26

In regulation 139[^f00031] (eligible postgraduate students)—

• (a) after paragraph (12E), insert—

(12F) Where— (a) the Department determined that, by virtue of being a person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes, a person (“A”) was an eligible postgraduate student in connection with— (i) an application for support for an earlier year of the current postgraduate course, or (ii) an application for support in connection with another designated postgraduate course from which A’s status as an eligible postgraduate student has been transferred to the current postgraduate course; and (b) as at the day before the academic year in respect of which A is applying for support begins, the period for which the person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes is allowed to stay in the United Kingdom has expired and no further leave to enter or remain has been granted, A’s status as an eligible postgraduate student terminates immediately before the first day of the academic year in respect of which A is applying for support.

27

In regulation 140(2)[^f00032] (students becoming eligible in the course of an academic year)—

• (a) in paragraph (l) omit the terminal “or”;

• (b) in paragraph (m) for “.” substitute “; or”;

• (c) after paragraph (m) insert—

(n) the student becomes a person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes.

28

In regulation 149[^f00033] (eligible master’s, etc. students)—

• (a) after paragraph (11E), insert—

(11F) Where— (a) the Department determined that, by virtue of being a person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes, a person (“A”) was an eligible Master’s, etc. student in connection with— (i) an application for support for an earlier year of the current Master’s etc. course, or (ii) an application for support in connection with another designated Master’s etc. course from which A’s status as an eligible Master’s etc. student has been transferred to the current course; and (b) as at the day before the academic year in respect of which A is applying for support begins, the period for which the person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes is allowed to stay in the United Kingdom has expired and no further leave to enter or remain has been granted, A’s status as an eligible Master’s, etc. student terminates immediately before the first day of the academic year in respect of which A is applying for support.

29

In regulation 151[^f00034] (events)—

• (a) in paragraph (m) omit the terminal “or”;

• (b) in paragraph (n) for “.” substitute “; or”;

• (c) after paragraph (n) insert—

(o) the student becomes a person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes.

30

In Schedule 2 (eligible students), after the newly inserted paragraph 15, insert—

(16) A person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes, who is ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on the first day of the first academic year of the course.

Amendments to the 2007 Regulations

31

In regulation 5(1)(c)[^f00035], after the newly inserted “4H,” insert “4I,”;

32

In regulation 5(1A)(a), after the newly inserted “4H,” insert “4I,”;

33

In the Schedule—

• (a) in paragraph (1) after the definition of “person granted leave under one of the Afghan Schemes”[^f00036], insert—

• “person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes” means a person granted leave under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, a person granted leave under the Ukraine Extension Scheme or a person granted leave under the Ukraine Family Scheme;