# The Higher Education (Qualifying Courses and Qualifying Persons) (Wales) Regulations 2026, Paragraph 1: Interpretation

Extent: E+W

(1) For the purposes of this Schedule—
“the 2020 Citizens’ Rights Regulations” (“Rheoliadau Hawliau Dinasyddion 2020”) means the Citizens’ Rights (Application Deadline and Temporary Protection) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020;
“Directive 2004/38” (“Cyfarwyddeb 2004/38”) means Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States amending Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 and repealing Directives 64/221/EEC, 68/360/EEC, 72/194/EEC, 73/148/EEC, 75/34/EEC, 75/35/EEC, 90/364/EEC, 90/365/EEC and 93/96/EEC;
“EEA EFTA separation agreement” (“cytundeb gwahanu EFTA yr AEE”) has the meaning given by section 39(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020;
“EEA frontier self-employed person” (“person hunangyflogedig trawsffiniol AEE”) means an EEA national who—
(a) is a self-employed person in the United Kingdom, and
(b) resides in Switzerland or the territory of an EEA State and returns to the national’s residence in Switzerland or that EEA State daily or at least once a week;
“EEA frontier worker” (“gweithiwr trawsffiniol AEE”) means an EEA national who—
(a) is a worker in the United Kingdom, and
(b) resides in Switzerland or the territory of an EEA State and returns to the national's residence in Switzerland or that EEA State daily or at least once a week;
“EEA migrant worker” (“gweithiwr mudol AEE”) means an EEA national who is a worker, other than an EEA frontier worker, in the United Kingdom;
“EEA national” (“gwladolyn AEE”) means a national of an EEA State;
“EEA self-employed person” (“person hunangyflogedig AEE”) means an EEA national who is a self-employed person, other than an EEA frontier self-employed person, in the United Kingdom;
“employed person” (“person cyflogedig”) means an employed person within the meaning of Annex 1 (Free Movement of Persons) to the Swiss Agreement;
“employment” (“cyflogaeth”) means full-time or part-time employment;
“EU national” (“gwladolyn UE”) means a national of a Member State of the European Union;
“European Economic Area” (“Ardal Economaidd Ewropeaidd”) means the area comprised by the EEA States;
“European Union” (“yr Undeb Ewropeaidd”) means the territory comprised by the Member States of the European Union as constituted from time to time;
“family member ” (“aelod o deulu”) means—
(a) in relation to an EEA frontier worker, an EEA migrant worker, an EEA frontier self-employed person, an EEA self-employed person or a relevant person of Northern Ireland who is treated as an EEA migrant worker or an EEA self-employed person by virtue of paragraph 12(3)—
(i) that person’s spouse or civil partner,
(ii) direct descendants of the person or of the person’s spouse or civil partner who are—
(aa) under the age of 21, or
(bb) dependants of the person or the person’s spouse or civil partner, or
(iii) dependent direct relatives in the ascending line of the person or the person’s spouse or civil partner;
(b) in relation to a Swiss employed person, a Swiss frontier employed person, a Swiss frontier self-employed person or a Swiss self-employed person—
(i) the person’s spouse or civil partner, or
(ii) the person’s child or the child of the person’s spouse or civil partner;
(c) in relation to an EU national who falls within Article 7(1)(c) of Directive 2004/38 or, for the purposes of paragraph 18, in relation to a relevant person of Northern Ireland who would fall within Article 7(1)(c) of Directive 2004/38 if that person were an EU national or solely an EU national—
(i) the national’s spouse or civil partner, or
(ii) direct descendants of the national or the national’s spouse or civil partner who are—
(aa) under the age of 21, or
(bb) dependants of the national or the national’s spouse or civil partner;
(d) in relation to an EU national who falls within Article 7(1)(b) of Directive 2004/38 or, for the purposes of paragraph 18, in relation to a relevant person of Northern Ireland who would fall within Article 7(1)(b) of Directive 2004/38 if that person were an EU national or solely an EU national—
(i) the national’s spouse or civil partner,
(ii) direct descendants of the national or the national’s spouse or civil partner who are—
(aa) under the age of 21, or
(bb) dependants of the national or the national’s spouse or civil partner, or
(iii) dependent direct relatives in the national’s ascending line or of the national’s spouse or civil partner;
(e) in relation to a United Kingdom national, for the purposes of paragraphs 17, 19 and 23 and for the purposes of paragraphs 21 and 22 in relation to persons settled in the United Kingdom—
(i) the national’s spouse or civil partner, or
(ii) direct descendants of the national or the national’s spouse or civil partner who are—
(aa) under the age of 21, or
(bb) dependants of the national or the national’s spouse or civil partner;
“immigration rules” (“rheolau mewnfudo”) means the rules laid before Parliament by the Secretary of State under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971;
“IP completion day” (“diwrnod cwblhau’r cyfnod gweithredu”) has the meaning given in section 39(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020;
“the Islands” (“yr Ynysoedd”) means the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man;
“overseas territories” (“tiriogaethau tramor”) means Anguilla; Bermuda; British Antarctic Territory; British Indian Ocean Territory; the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten); Cayman Islands; Falkland Islands; Faroe Islands; French Polynesia; French Southern and Antarctic Territories; Gibraltar; Greenland; Mayotte; Montserrat; Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; St-Barthélemy; St Helena; Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; St Pierre et Miquelon; the Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies; Turks and Caicos Islands; Virgin Islands; and Wallis and Futuna;
“person with protected rights” (“person sydd â hawliau gwarchodedig”) means—
(1) (a) a person within the personal scope of the citizens’ rights provisions who—
(i) has leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom granted by virtue of residence scheme immigration rules,
(ii) is an Irish citizen who, pursuant to section 3ZA of the Immigration Act 1971, does not require leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom,
(iii) is an applicant for the purposes of regulation 4 of the 2020 Citizens’ Rights Regulations where the relevant period, within the meaning of that regulation, has not expired, or
(iv) otherwise has rights deemed to apply by virtue of any citizens’ rights deeming provisions, or
(v) a family member of a relevant person of Northern Ireland for the purposes of residence scheme immigration rules, where that family member has leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom granted by virtue of residence scheme immigration rules;
(2) In paragraph (1)(a)(iv) “citizens’ rights deeming provisions” means—
(a) Article 18(2) and (3) (issuance of residence documents) of the EU withdrawal agreement,
(b) Article 17(2) and (3) (issuance of residence documents) of the EEA EFTA separation agreement, or
(c) Article 16(2) and (3) (issuance of residence documents) of the Swiss citizens’ rights agreement;
“refugee” (“ffoadur”) means a person who is recognised by His Majesty’s Government as a refugee within the meaning of the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28 July 1951 as extended by the Protocol thereto which entered into force on 4 October 1967;
“relevant person of Northern Ireland” (“person perthnasol o Ogledd Iwerddon”) has the meaning given by residence scheme immigration rules;
“residence scheme immigration rules” (“rheolau mewnfudo’r cynllun preswylio”) has the meaning given by section 17(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020;
“self-employed person” (“person hunangyflogedig”) means—
(a) in relation to an EEA national, a person who is self-employed within the meaning of Article 7 of Directive 2004/38 or the EEA Agreement, as the case may be, or
(b) in relation to a Swiss national, a person who is a self-employed person within the meaning of Annex 1 (Free Movement of Persons) to the Swiss Agreement;
“settled” (“wedi setlo”) has the meaning given by section 33(2A) of the Immigration Act 1971;
“Swiss Agreement” (“Cytundeb y Swistir”) means the Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other, on the Free Movement of Persons signed at Luxembourg on 21 June 1999 and which came into force on 1 June 2002;
“Swiss citizens’ rights agreement” (“cytundeb ar hawliau dinasyddion Swisaidd”) has the meaning given by section 39(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020;
“Swiss employed person” (“person cyflogedig Swisaidd”) means a Swiss national who is an employed person, other than a Swiss frontier employed person, in the United Kingdom;
“Swiss frontier employed person” (“person cyflogedig trawsffiniol Swisaidd”) means a Swiss national who—
(a) is an employed person in the United Kingdom, and
(b) resides in Switzerland or in the territory of an EEA State and returns to the national’s residence in Switzerland or that EEA State daily or at least once a week;
“Swiss frontier self-employed person” (“person hunangyflogedig trawsffiniol Swisaidd”) means a Swiss national who—
(a) is a self-employed person in the United Kingdom, and
(b) resides in Switzerland or in the territory of an EEA State and returns to the national’s residence in Switzerland or that EEA State daily or at least once a week;
“Swiss self-employed person” (“person hunangyflogedig Swisaidd”) means a Swiss national who is a self-employed person, other than a Swiss frontier self-employed person, in the United Kingdom;
“United Kingdom national” (“gwladolyn o’r Deyrnas Unedig”) has the meaning given by Article 2(d) of the EU withdrawal agreement;
“worker” (“gweithiwr”) means a worker within the meaning of Article 7 of Directive 2004/38 or the EEA Agreement as the case may be;
“the Workers Regulation” (“y Rheoliad Gweithwyr”) means Regulation (EU) No. 492/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on freedom of movement for workers within the Union.
(2) For the purposes of this Schedule, a reference to a “Member State” or “State” in Article 7 of Directive 2004/38 is to be read as including the United Kingdom.
(3) For the purposes of this Schedule, “parent” includes a guardian, any other person having parental responsibility for a child and any person having care of a child and “child” is to be construed accordingly.
(4) For the purposes of this Schedule, a person (“P”) is to be treated as ordinarily resident in an area if P would have been so resident but for the fact that—
(a) P,
(b) P’s spouse or civil partner,
(c) P’s parent, or
(d) in the case of dependent direct relatives in the ascending line, P’s child or child’s spouse or civil partner,
is or was temporarily employed outside the area in question.
(5) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (4), temporary employment includes—
(a) in the case of members of the regular naval, military or air forces of the Crown, any period which they serve outside the United Kingdom as members of such forces,
(b) in the case of members of the regular naval, military or air forces of the Republic of Ireland, any period which they serve outside the territory comprising the United Kingdom, the Islands and the Republic of Ireland as members of such forces,
(c) in the case of members of the regular armed forces of an EEA State or Switzerland, any period which they serve outside the territory comprising the United Kingdom, Gibraltar, the European Economic Area and Switzerland as members of such forces, and
(d) in the case of members of the regular armed forces of Turkey, any period which they serve outside the territory comprising the United Kingdom, Gibraltar, the European Economic Area, Switzerland and Turkey as members of such forces.
(6) For the purposes of this Schedule, an area other than the United Kingdom or Gibraltar which—
(a) was previously not part of the European Union or the European Economic Area, and
(b) at any time before or after these Regulations come into force has become part of either or both of these areas,
is to be considered to have always been a part of the European Economic Area.
(7) For the purposes of this Schedule, a person who is ordinarily resident in Wales, England, Scotland or Northern Ireland having moved from one of those areas for the purpose of undertaking—
(a) the present course, or
(b) a course which, disregarding any intervening vacation, the person undertook immediately before undertaking the present course,
is to be considered to be ordinarily resident in the place from which the person moved.
(8) For the purposes of this Schedule, a person is within the personal scope of the citizens’ rights provisions if that person falls within—
(a) Article 10 (personal scope) of the EU withdrawal agreement,
(b) Article 9 (personal scope) of the EEA EFTA separation agreement, or
(c) Article 10 (personal scope) of the Swiss citizens’ rights agreement.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2026/52/schedule/paragraph/1 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/higher-education-qualifying-courses-and-qualifying-persons-wales-regulations-2026/schedule/paragraph-1
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.