A court ruling could ultimately make it easier for EU students living in Denmark to qualify for Danish study grant money for studies outside Denmark.<\/p>\n
At present, foreign nationals are granted a Danish student grant (SU) and loan to study outside of Denmark, if they have lived and worked in Denmark for at least two years out of ten prior to starting a study abroad. <\/p>\n
However, a current case against the Netherlands in the European Court of Justice may make this residence requirement illegal.<\/p>\n
The Netherlands has a similar residence requirement to Denmark. EU students must have lived in the Netherlands for three out of the previous six years to qualify for a grant to study elsewhere. In Denmark, students must have lived in the country for a straight two years out of 10.<\/p>\n
But now the European Commission is taking the Netherlands to court, claiming that such residence rules are discriminatory against the rights of migrant workers or students under the EU free market for labour rules.<\/p>\n
Denmark\u2019s main interest in the case is to \u00bbcurtail a potential increase in access to SU for education abroad, for outgoing Danish families and international students\u00ab according to a memo from The Danish students’ Grants and Loans Scheme to the Danish parliament.<\/p>\n
The Danish government stand is that, when it comes to giving grants, the situation of overseas students in the Netherlands with little affiliation to the country should not be compared to students with permanent residency, the memo states.<\/p>\n
And even if the rules are indirectly discriminatory, they are still \u00bbappropriate and necessary\u00ab as well as \u00bbproportional\u00ab, since other requirements based on language, or geographical limits would be more complicated and difficult to administrate, according to the memo. <\/p>\n
Germany, Sweden and Belgium are expected to support the Danish and Dutch position on the issue.<\/p>\n