Apprenticeship funding is not a public fund. Eligibility for apprenticeships is dependent immigration status and residency, not whether the person has access to public funds.
Both British and Irish citizens and people with the right of abode must be resident in the UK to qualify for funding. Non-UK nationals must have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least three years, and not resident for the purposes of education. The Department for Education defines ordinary residence as when a person is lawfully residing for a settled purpose in a given country.
EEA nationals who were granted leave under the EU Settlement Scheme can meet the residency requirements if they have been ordinarily resident in the UK or EEA for three years.
There are some categories of immigration status who do qualify for apprenticeships and who only need to have been ordinarily resident since they were granted leave to remain. These include people with:
People seeking asylum who have been granted permission to work are also permitted to undertake apprenticeships. You can read more on the eligibility criteria in Annex A of the government’s guidance.
