Petition · Department for Education
Revise calculation of student loan repayments for overseas graduates
Open for signatures
59 signatures
What the petition asks
Calculate the monthly repayment amount for overseas graduates according to post-tax rather than pre-tax income.
(I.e. scale monthly repayments to match those of UK residents with the same take-home pay.)
This would prevent the effective burden of repayment from being higher in high tax countries.
(I.e. scale monthly repayments to match those of UK residents with the same take-home pay.)
This would prevent the effective burden of repayment from being higher in high tax countries.
Repayments are calculated as 9% gross income over a threshold.
Different tax systems mean that graduates living abroad can face higher monthly repayments relative to their take-home pay than their UK counterparts.
For example, a UK resident with a Plan 1 loan earning £40,000 p.a. would pay £639 tax/NI and £104 to student finance, taking home £2589 per month.
For the same salary, a graduate in Denmark would pay £1095 in tax, take home £2236, and still have to pay £104 to student finance.
Different tax systems mean that graduates living abroad can face higher monthly repayments relative to their take-home pay than their UK counterparts.
For example, a UK resident with a Plan 1 loan earning £40,000 p.a. would pay £639 tax/NI and £104 to student finance, taking home £2589 per month.
For the same salary, a graduate in Denmark would pay £1095 in tax, take home £2236, and still have to pay £104 to student finance.
Timeline
| 8 Apr 2026 | Petition opened for signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
59
Status
Open for signatures
Department
Department for Education
Opened
8 Apr 2026
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 26 Jul 2026.