Intercantonal Agreement on Universities of Applied Sciences (FHV)

## Explanations regarding the Student Personal Data Form

The student personal data form is designed to determine which canton is responsible for funding your studies according to the Intercantonal Agreement on the Universities of Applied Sciences. Since large sums of money are involved in funding your studies, please make sure that you answer all questions accurately. As soon as an answer refers you to a listed item (A, B, C, D, E1, E2) on the back of the form, no further questions need to be answered. If you have any queries, please consult the contact person at your university or college. Persons from the Principality of Liechtenstein have the same rights as Swiss nationals and are therefore not regarded as foreign nationals.

####### All confirmations of residency submitted must be originals. They must be dated no more than 3 months prior to the commencement of your studies. A settlement permit is not valid as confirmation of residency.

1 commencement of studies: The official start date of a semester at a university of applied sciences is the first day of calendar week 8 for the spring semester and calendar week 38 for the autumn semester.

### 2 parents or holders of parental authority:

- Parents or holders of parental authority refers to your father or mother. It is not necessary to provide confirmation of residency for both parents. If your parents live in different cantons, enclose confirmation of residency for the parent who had the sole parental authority until your majority or in case of joint parental authority for the parent with whom you mainly lived. - If this parent’s name is different from your own name, please enclose a copy of an official document confirming the parental status.

### 3 financially independent (question 2):

- The factor determining financial independence is a period of at least 24 months during which you were financially independent of your parents, i.e. you had your own income which was sufficient to cover your basic needs (living expenses, rent, tuition fees, etc.). - In order to prove that you were financially independent, you are required to give details of your employment (name of employer) or other form of occupation. - Other forms of occupation include running a household, completing military service, receiving unemployment benefits, disability benefits or social welfare, completing an internship (but not as part of a programme of study), etc. Unpaid holiday is not considered to interrupt this period of 24 months as long as you continued to be financially independent of your parents; however, unpaid holiday of this kind must be listed under item D. - An internship is classified as employment rather than formal training if you were financially independent of your parents during this time. - ‘prior to the commencement of your studies’ does not mean that the period of financial independence must have taken place immediately before you begin your studies. It can have taken place earlier. Time spent doing an apprenticeship is not classified as financial independence.

### 4 24 consecutive months (question 3):

- The determining factor is whether your place of residence under civil law was in the same canton for at least 24 months during the period in which you were financially independent. If you were resident in more than one canton during this time, please enter the canton in which you resided during the time closest to the commencement of your studies. Please enclose confirmation of residency from the municipality in which you were resident for the most recent period of 24 consecutive months before the commencement of your studies. If you were resident in more than one municipality in the same canton during this time, please enclose confirmation of residency for each of the municipalities concerned.

### 6 Question 7:

- If one of your parents lives in Switzerland, please answer ‘no’. - If you have more than one place of origin, the first-named place of origin applies. Otherwise, the last place of origin in which citizenship was acquired applies.