Nursing and midwifery students - support: 2021 to 2022

Eligibility

Student eligibility for Nursing and Midwifery courses is determined by the Nursing and Midwifery Student Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2007. Eligibility for Paramedic Science courses is determined under the Student Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2007, as amended. This booklet is only intended to guide students to the main eligibility criteria set out in these regulations; it is not intended to be exhaustive.

Students undertaking courses inpre-registration Nursing and Midwifery and Paramedic degree courses in Scotland leading to the award of a degree may be eligible under the PNMSB scheme. Eligibility for support depends on THREE conditions:

•  that your course is eligible;
•  that you have not had previous NMSB funding (as an exception this does not apply to those on a paramedic course in 21/22)
•  that you meet the residence requirements.

Course Eligibility

Bursaries are for eligible students attending courses which:

• lead to initial registration on the Professional Register maintained by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which may include degree, honours and masters levels; and
• are partly or wholly funded by the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates (SGHSCD).
• lead to the award of a BSc Paramedic Science.

Funding Eligibility

You may not be eligible for a bursary if you have been in receipt of NMSB funding in the past for a pre-registration nursing or midwifery course; eligibility will depend on the type and level of funding previously received.

Students Resident in UK Countries – Reciprocal Arrangement

• Students from England, Wales or Northern Ireland, who started their course from 2017/18 and thereafter and choose to study in Scotland, should apply to their home country funding body for their tuition fees, bursary and income-assessed living cost loan.
• New Scottish students who started their course from 2017/18 and thereafter and choose to study nursing or midwifery in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, will not be able to access the non-repayable, non-income-assessed PNMSB package. Instead these students should apply to SAAS for the standard undergraduate package of a tuition fee loan and an income-assessed living cost loan while studying nursing and midwifery in other UK countries. Students can also apply for an Independent Students' Bursary, Young Students' Bursary and other living-cost grants, where eligible.

Residence Eligibility

To be eligible for the PNMSB you must have been ordinarily resident^* in the UK for the three years immediately before the relevant date (the first day of the first academic year of the course), and ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date. This date will be 1 August 2021. You must also be on a course that leads to registration on the Professional Register maintained by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) or a paramedic degree.

Generally to qualify for support you must be:

• ordinarily resident (see Note 1 below) in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man, for three years immediately before the first day of the first academic year of the course;
• settled in the UK as described in the Immigration Act 1971;
• ordinarily resident in Scotland on the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
• studying full-time in higher education.

If you don't meet the general residence conditions above, you may still be eligible to apply to SAAS for funding in certain circumstances.

The residence eligibility conditions can be complicated. If you are in any doubt about your residence status, you should contact SAAS for advice or visit their website for more information.

*Note 1.

Ordinarily resident has been defined in the courts as 'habitual and normal residence in one place'. It basically means that you live in a country year after year by choice through a set period, apart from temporary or occasional absences such as holidays or business trips. Living here totally or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education does not count as being ordinarily resident.

Students from the European Union

EU students coming to Scotland to study in 2021/22 are not eligible for support. EU students who started their course in 2020/21 or earlier will continue to be funded for the duration of their course.

Different arrangements apply for Irish Nationals coming from Republic of Ireland to study, UK nationals living elsewhere in the EU and students from Gibraltar. You should consult SAAS for details.