Website of the UK government

Before you leave the UK

If you plan to leave the UK after you graduate or stop attending your course, let the Student Loans Company know in plenty of time.

The Student Loans Company can arrange for you to:

• start repaying your loan, or change your repayment details
• defer repayment

The information on this page only applies if you started your higher education course before 1998.

If you began your studies after 1998, repayment from overseas is different - follow the below link to find out more.

• Repaying student loans when you move overseas (courses starting after 1998)

Continuing repayment of your student loan

If you have an existing schedule of monthly loan repayments by direct debit, these payments will continue to be deducted from your bank account while you are overseas.

If you want to change the repayment arrangements, you can make payments by:

• bank card
• cheque
• postal order
• international bank transfer

Contact the Student Loans Company to arrange this.

Deferring repayment when you are overseas

If you took out a Student Loan for a course that started before 1998, you can apply to defer your repayments if your income falls below a certain threshold.

If you are earning income overseas in another currency, the Student Loans Company will use a currency convertor on the day it processes your application to see if the amount comes under the threshold.

To arrange deferment of your loan repayment from overseas, call the Student Loans Company on (+44) 141 306 2000 then ask to be transferred to the accounts maintenance line.

More useful links

• Britons living abroad section