This is the latest instalment in the long-running tale about students who are not eligible for student loans because of their immigration status.

In the summer, the Supreme Court found that a student loans eligibility requirement that a student be settled in the UK breached their rights under Article 14 read with Article 2 of the First Protocol of the ECHR: R (Tigere) v Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills [2015] UKSC 57. I posted it about the decision here: in summary, the Court found that the settlement criterion for student loans discriminated on ground of immigration status in the enjoyment of the right to education. The regulations in question pursued a legitimate aim, namely targeting resources on those students who were likely to stay in the UK to complete their education and afterwards contribute to the UK economy through their enhanced skills and the taxes they pay. However, the means chosen to pursue that legitimate aim were not rationally connected to it; Ms Tigere had discretionary leave to remain in the UK and an established private life here.  A bright line rule which more closely fitted the legitimate aims of the measure could have been chosen. Read more »