UK University Fee Status – The Basics Part 2

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Baffled by UK university fee status and not sure how it applies to you? Get to grips with the basics with our two-part blog on fee status.

This blog post answers the question:

  • Who is eligible for Home/EU fees?

See our blog UK University Fee Status – The Basics Part 1, to answer the questions:

  • What is a fee status assessment?
  • What are the different fee statuses?
  • What are the tuition fee and funding options for the different fee statuses?

Who is eligible for Home/EU fees?

Being a British/EU citizen or holding a British/EU passport is not enough to qualify you for Home/EU fee status. Nor does owning property in the UK/EU or having lived there previously. If you have left the UK/EU and now live abroad or have recently returned to the UK/EU after a period away, you may have lost your eligibility. Too many people take it for granted that when they return to the UK, they will automatically get Home fees but the reality is, it’s very easy to lose your Home status and have to pay much higher Overseas tuition fees for your UK university course.

If you want to fully understand the rules and regulations around fee status, then we recommend that you visit UKCISA who publish them in full detail. They are quite dense and complicated, so here we give you a brief overview.

Firstly, to be eligible for Home/EU fees, you must meet the necessary immigration criteria by having one of the following statuses (this is a bare minimum of what is required):

  • A British/EU citizen,
  • Indefinite Leave to Enter/Remain in the UK,
  • A Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode in the UK.

Secondly, you need to demonstrate that you have been ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK for at least three years prior to starting university. This means having a “regular and habitual mode of life in a particular place, the continuity of which has persisted despite temporary absence” (UKCISA), i.e. maintaining strong connections that demonstrate that the UK/EU country is your permanent home country even if you don’t currently live there. This can be demonstrated through a number of ways including, regularly visiting your home country, owning property, having family based there and others.

Thirdly, if it’s not clear whether someone has ordinary residence in the UK, then universities will look to see that any absence from the UK/EU home country is of a temporary nature and that it is your (or your family’s) intention to return to the UK at some point. For this, universities will look at the parents’ current and previous employment, property ownership, rental agreements etc. There is no concrete rule about how long ‘temporary’ is – universities will take a different stance on this; some will have a strict cut off period and others will be flexible based on the student’s circumstances.

Generally, if a student fulfils the criteria for ordinary residence and temporary absence and is able to provide solid evidence for this, then they will be perceived as Home/EU, although there are always anomalies! Completing university applications and forms correctly and presenting the right evidence is vital for a successful outcome. Whether you have Home/EU fee eligibility is dependent on your specific background and living and working circumstances. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that if your friend got home status, so will you. Every family’s circumstances are unique and fee status assessments are made on individual, case-by-case bases.

At the moment, the above applies to students from the EU until the academic year 2020/21. However, due to Brexit, after this time, it is not yet clear how EU students will be categorised or effected.

UKSO are the leading experts in UK University Fee Status. We have been advising schools, families and students around the world on this complex topic for 10 years and have helped over 1,000 expat families with their fee status queries. Get in touch for a personalised Fee Status Appraisal.

UK University Fee Status – The Basics Part 1

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Baffled by UK university fee status and not sure how it applies to you? Get to grips with the basics with our two-part blog on fee status.

This blog post answers the questions:

  • What is a fee status assessment?
  • What are the different fee statuses?
  • What are the tuition fee and funding options for the different fee statuses?

See our blog UK University Fee Status – The Basics Part 2, to answer the question:

  • Who is eligible for Home fees?

What is a fee status assessment?

The fee status assessment is part of the Admissions process of all UK universities which aims to establish what fees a student should pay based on where the student is from. They need to make this distinction because they receive funding (tax-payer money) for Home students but not for Overseas students and therefore, Overseas students will pay more for their degree than Home students. The process of assessing a student’s fee status is to determine if they are eligible for that funding or not.

In order to do this, universities apply a set of rules and regulations published by UKCISA to a range of different student backgrounds and circumstances. UKCISA do not write the rules, they simply publish them to help universities understand the relevant government legislation which can be quite complicated.

For the most part, this assessment is quite straight forward but for some ‘borderline’ students it may be harder to assign a fee status. Such students might be British/European citizens living overseas (expats), refugees, asylum seekers or leave to remainers, for example. Here universities use their discretion and interpretation of the rules to determine fee status.

In these instances, universities may automatically assign an Overseas status and leave it to the student to contest it or they may require students to submit further information to assist with the assessment of their fee status. Because each university is using their discretion in these instances (and therefore, applying a slightly different policy), it’s often the case that a student will receive some Home/EU offers and some Overseas.

What are the different fee statuses?

There are two factors that determine the different fee statuses; firstly, where in the UK (i.e. which UK country) is the university that the student is applying to. Secondly, where is the student themselves from.

Fee statuses differ depending on whether the university is in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. At the moment, they are categorised in the following way, however, once Brexit takes effect, the EU fee status is likely to change but as of yet, we are not sure how. Universities have fixed their fees until 2020 for EU students.

Universities in England and Wales have two fee statuses; Home/EU (which applies to students from all UK countries and the EU) and Overseas.

Universities in Scotland have three fee statuses; Home (which applies to Scottish students and EU students), Rest of UK (which applies to students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and Overseas.

Universities in Northern Ireland have four fee statuses: Northern Irish, EU, GB (which applies to students from England, Scotland and Wales) and Overseas.

All UK countries follow the same government legislation but may differ slightly in their assessment criteria and processes.

What are the tuition fees and funding options for the different fee statuses?

Tuition fees differ depending on where in the UK the student is applying to university. For universities in England, Home/EU fees are currently set at £9,250 per year for any course. In Wales, they may be a little lower at £9,000 per year. Overseas fees range from £14,950 to £58,600 per year depending on the course and university.[1] Generally speaking, the more competitive the course or university, the higher the Overseas fees.

For universities in Scotland, Home/EU students currently pay £1,820 per year for any course. RUK students pay £9,250 per year for any course. Overseas fees range from £14,600 to £49,900.[2]

For universities in Northern Ireland, NI and EU students pay £4,275 per year for any course. Students from England, Wales and Scotland pay £9,250 per year for any course. Overseas students can expect to pay between £16,000 and £38,000. [3]

In any of the four countries, most students who are eligible for Home/EU fees are also eligible for a student loan (and sometimes a grant) to cover or part-cover their tuition and maintenance costs. Depending upon where the student lives, applications for student loans have to be made via the relevant student loans company such as Student Finance England  http://www.sfengland.slc.co.uk,  Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) www.saas.gov.uk, Student Finance Wales www.studentfinancewales.co.uk or Student Finance Northern Ireland www.studentfinanceni.co.uk. Student loan companies will make their own fee assessment of each student who applies for a loan, they do not always concur with the fee status concluded by the university. It is not uncommon for a university to categorise a student as Home but the student loans company to categorise them as Overseas and therefore, reject their application for a loan.

Overseas students may have to pay additional fees, such as college fees at Oxford or Cambridge, that can be around £10,000 per year on top of tuition fees. Maintenance (or living) costs for all students are around £10,000+ per year of study.

Overseas students cannot apply for student loans to cover their tuition or maintenance costs, so their funding options are very limited. They also may be required to pay more of their tuition fees upfront and/or pay an interest fee if they wish to pay in instalments.

An additional factor to consider is that some courses, such as Medicine, cap the number of places available to Overseas students and therefore, the competition to get in is much higher. Some Medical degrees have as few as 7 places for Overseas students but will still receive hundreds of exceptional applications.

[1] Reddin Survey of University Tuition Fees 2018-19

[2] Reddin Survey of University Tuition Fees 2018-19

[3] Queen’s University Belfast 2019

Getting the Fee Status Questionnaire Right – Dos and Don’ts

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If you are a borderline case for Home/EU fees when applying to UK university, you may receive a Fee Status Questionnaire (FSQ) from one or more of the universities you are applying to. Borderline cases will be anyone who has lived outside the UK/EU for any period of time during your life. The FSQ form aims to get more information about you and your family’s background on which the university can make their final decision on your fee status. They will also ask for corresponding evidence to match what you write on the form.

Each university produces their own form and may ask for different information. Some will ask for information and evidence for the three years prior to the start of university (the most important years for establishing Ordinary Residence), others may ask for the last five years or even as far back as the birth of the student. So be prepared to explain your circumstances over a decade or more and dig out the evidence ahead of time so you’re not searching for it when you’re up against a tight deadline!

Most FSQs will ask for the following information:

  • Your immigration status.
  • Your residential history – and an explanation for any time lived outside the UK or EU.
  • Details of visits to the UK/EU (wherever is your home country) when living outside of the UK/EU.

Dos for completing this form:

  • Explain your background fully yet succinctly – preferably use bullets points rather than paragraphs so it can be quickly read and understood.
  • Only include information/evidence that the university has asked for or that you think is very relevant.
  • Keep details/evidence in chronological order.
  • Be explicit – spell out strong evidence so they don’t miss it and explain any gaps or missing evidence.
    Clearly label corresponding evidence so it’s easy to find.
  • Get someone to sense check the form before you submit it to make sure it’s clear and logical.
  • Be aware of the deadline to return the form by.
  • Be transparent and honest.

Don’ts for completing this form:

  • Don’t lie on the form – if it unravels, you’ll jeopardise your university offer, not just your fee status.
  • Don’t waffle or write in long paragraphs which are hard to follow and time-consuming to unpick.
  • Don’t send masses of documents that have not been asked for or that are not absolutely relevant. There should be an opportunity to send further evidence later on, if necessary. If you’re not sure what is needed, give a list of available evidence on request/if required or call up the university and clarify what they need.
  • Don’t expect universities to work stuff out, hunt for information or fill in the gaps themselves. The onus is on you to explain your circumstances clearly.

UK Study Options are leading experts on UK university fee status and we have helped over 1,000 families with their fee status queries. We offer personalised support pre and post application. Get in touch for a Fee Status Appraisal or see our other blogs on Fee Status.

Three Tips for Appealing a Fee Status Decision (for UK/EU expats)

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The UCAS applications are in and your son or daughter has started receiving offers, but you’re surprised and disheartened by the fact that the offers are for overseas fees and not home/EU.

You’re now facing anything between a £14,250[1] and £171,250[2] increase in tuition fees depending on the course, and with no access to student loans, the added prospect of funding their degree completely yourselves. For many students, this may even amount to not being able to take up those offers, despite how hard they worked to get a place.

At UK Study Options, we deal with hundreds of fee status cases a year and we see this all the time. Unfortunately, after receiving an offer, it’s harder to change your fee status but you can ask the reason for the fee status given and appeal the decision on the grounds that you have additional information or evidence that could change the status.

It’s important to understand that universities must undertake due diligence to ensure that public funding goes to the correct students, i.e. home or EU students. To make their assessment, they apply the rules and regulations published by UKCISA[3] as best as possible to a whole range of different student backgrounds and circumstances. For those who are genuinely eligible for home/EU fees and may be subject to an incorrect fee assessment, here are three tips for appealing the decision.

One

Your son or daughter has been eagerly awaiting an offer from their top choice university but no matter how tempting, don’t let them accept the overseas offer until you have followed the appeals process to the end. Once you accept the offer, you are accepting the fee status given and there is no going back.

Two

Some universities may simply ask you to put your reasons for appeal in writing, others may have an online process you need to follow. Establish what the university’s appeals process is, initiate the process in writing and follow the process to the letter, keeping good records of all correspondence between you and the university throughout.

Three

Make it as easy as possible for the university to review your case by organising your information and available evidence into a digestible form. This may mean using tables to explain dates/visits, bulleted lists to explain relevant circumstances. Admissions staff won’t appreciate long paragraphs where they have to hunt for the information they need. And don’t send actual evidence through unless they request it – some university email accounts block emails with many or large attachments.

It’s always better to prepare your information and evidence well in advance of applying so that your son or daughter gets assigned the fee status that they are eligible for at the time of offer. But if you do wish to appeal a decision, the above tips should make the process easier for both you and the university.

We are experts in fee status who have received the same UKCISA training as university staff assessing your son or daughter’s fee status. We are a small team of ex admissions officers who understand the process from both inside the university and from the student’s perspective. This means we are best placed to help you with your fee status queries – get in touch for personalised support pre or post application.

[1] Based on the difference between the lowest home/EU fees and the lowest overseas fees in the UK i.e. Art, Humanities or Social Science fees in Wales in 2018.
[2] Based on the difference between the highest home/EU fees and the highest overseas fees in the UK i.e. Dentistry in England in 2018.
[3] www.ukcisa.org.uk/Information–Advice/Fees-and-Money/Home-or-Overseas-fees-the-basics

UK University Fee Status Assessments Myths and Assumptions

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Myths and assumptions made by expatriates

So, the UCAS application is in at last and now you are receiving emails from individual universities asking you to fill in a Fee Status Questionnaire (FSQ). In this blog we tackle some of the myths that expatriate families may have about fee status.

Universities are part funded by the UK Government. They have to undertake due diligence in identifying students who have a right to UK/EU tuition fees (and subsequently student loans). Particular scrutiny is given to students applying for costly degrees such as lab-based courses, veterinary, dentistry and medicine. Fee status forms are sent to students who are based overseas and some who are based in the UK to establish which category of student they are and whether they are entitled to UK/EU fees. The FSQ forms are for prospective undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Myth: a UK/EU passport is enough to entitle my son/daughter to Home/EU fees.

No, British or EU citizenship is just one of the factors for consideration. It is not enough to have a British or EU passport, you also need to show that you maintain your ‘ordinary residence’ in your home country by visiting as a family often enough and for long enough each year.
Asylum seekers, ‘Leave to Remainers’ and Refugees may also be entitled to UK/EU fees.

Myth: being overseas on a visa means that I have to return to my home country and therefore should be entitled to UK/EU fee status.

Thousands of expat families are based overseas on a visa which is re-issued every two years or so. Being on a visa does not mean that your son/daughter is automatically entitled to UK/EU fees when starting university in the UK. Universities want to know how you maintain your connections to the UK/EU – do you return to the same place, as a family (at least one parent, student and siblings) for a number of weeks each year?

The actual time recommended to spend in the UK/EU is not specified – this is one of the many questions open to interpretation by a Fee Status Admissions Team. While one admissions person may think that six weeks a year is required, another may be of the opinion that three weeks a year is sufficient.

Myth: owning property in the UK/EU should ensure Home/EU fee status.

No. In actual fact, you don’t have to own property in the UK to be eligible for Home/EU fees at a UK university. It does help though if you do have a property and even better if you have a property that is vacant for sole family use each year.

Myth: returning to the UK for long enough each year for the three years before the university application will ensure UK/EU fee status.

Simply returning to the UK may help but it is important to show that you have a single ‘home base’ in order to establish a pattern of ‘ordinary residence’. The universities may also ask for evidence of visits back to your home base before the three years prior to university entry. Some may want to go as far back as the student’s birth.

Establishing UK/EU fee status is not a simple tick box exercise. It is necessary to demonstrate commitment to your home country, showing that you maintain strong family links with a clear intention to return at some point in the near future.

UK/EU Expats – don’t lose your eligibility for Home fees!

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Being eligible for Home or EU fees isn’t quite as straightforward as many expats think. Families assume that having British and/or EU citizenship and owning property in the UK or EU is enough to get an offer as a Home or EU fee payer. It’s not …but read on….!

Here are some points to help you understand what the universities are looking for when the UCAS applications go in each year:

  • The universities have to undertake due diligence to identify students who are eligible for a Home OR an EU offer.
  • Most students who are at school overseas will receive a Fee Status Questionnaire in order to gather the information necessary to assess the student’s eligibility. This document may be extensive to include other categories of students such as asylum seekers or immigrants who may also be eligible as well as expats.
  • You need to prove that your permanent residence is in one country: the UK OR EU and that you maintain your status by travelling back as a family for extensive periods of time each year to one particular place. (One parent and siblings should be enough).
  • You will need a permanent home address – only one! You can’t make a case for having a permanent home in say an EU country AND England. Each of the four UK countries has a different fee structure and loan company. Depending upon your offer you may then apply to the relevant loans company. International students are not eligible for student loans.
  • Initially, the universities look back at the student’s whereabouts for three years prior to the first day of the first academic term. A student applying for 2018 entry will have to show where they lived between 2015 and 2018. If the information is not clear the universities will request information about the student’s whereabouts since birth.
  • The rules and regulations governing fee status allow for a student to be temporarily based overseas if they maintain strong links to their home by returning for perhaps a month or so each year to one address.
  • There is provision for the parents being temporarily based overseas due to their work and therefore the student having to be based with the parents.
  • Each university may ask for a variety of documents as proof of your ‘ordinary residence’ in the UK or EU such as e-tickets in and out, utility bills, property deeds or rental agreements etc even shopping transactions in one place!

Problems arise when students and parents are not clear about their ‘ordinary residence’. Many expat families that we deal with have multi-national families and could ostensibly make a case for being either UK (Scotland, England, N Ireland or Wales) with regards to their ‘ordinary residence’ as well as perhaps an EU address. I have a number of families that have several properties and/or addresses they could use in the UK and perhaps an alternative property in the EU where they may spend several weeks each year. In this case students are at risk of losing their eligibility by not maintaining links to one particular place – their ‘ordinary residence’!

Problems also arise as the rules and regulations are open to interpretation and there is no blanket policy across the universities as to information they need from the student. If a university or course is competitive they are likely to have a large team dealing with Fee Status Questionnaires. The outcome from each institution as well as the evidence they ask for varies a great deal.

Be Prepared! Contact us for your personal fee status assessment

Home tuition fees for expatriate Medical/Veterinary students

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UKStudyoptions.com offers a Fee Status Appraisal specifically for expatriate families based overseas to prepare students and their families BEFORE they apply via UCAS. By completing a brief Fee Status Form we can assess the strengths and weaknesses of your case and offer you tips and advice to maximise your eligibility for Home/EU fees.

  • International student fees for medicine and veterinary reaches £300,000 (five years)
  • Home/EU fees in England totalling £45,000 (five years)
  • Scottish/EU students pay just £9,100 (five years) RUK pay £45,000

Many expats don’t realise that they are at risk of losing their eligibility because they have been based overseas on a succession of ongoing ‘temporary’ contracts. The rules and regulations governing Fee Status decisions are for guidance only and they are open to interpretation. It is therefore incumbent on each institution to decide on acceptable criteria and the basis on which they decide whether a student should be categorised as a Home or Overseas fee payer.

In addition, although the rules and regulations governing Home/EU fees versus overseas have not changed, there is a new immigration law in England that has recently come into being. This will, in due course, impact upon the length of time a student is able to be temporarily out of the UK without losing their rights for Home/EU fees and a student loan. This new law currently states that a student should be in the UK half their life or seven years, whichever is the greater. This law is currently being adopted in England and is expected to be rolled out to other UK countries.

Many expat families are confident in obtaining Home/EU fees without realising that they are at risk of losing their eligibility quite easily by not being proactive in maintaining their ‘ordinary residence’ in the UK by returning to their ‘home’ regularly (for extended periods of time as a family) and keeping track of the evidence they need to support their case.

Maintaining eligibility for Home/EU fees is particularly crucial for medical students as the difference between being admitted as a Home/EU student can amount to £250,000 with no student loans available for international students. In addition just 7.5% of places are allocated to international fee paying medical students due to the tie in with the NHS.

We conduct Fee Status Appraisals for potential students in order to prepare them in advance of their application – contact us at hello@ukstudyoptions.com for details.

Fee status top tips

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Each year I visit international schools where many students are UK/EU expats. I try to give accurate and updated advice to students and their families regarding fee status for university study.

Although there are no guarantees it does help you if know a little about the rules and regulations, whether you meet the criteria for Home/EU fees and, if you are eligible, how to compile a clear and strong case. You need to prepare in advance as once the UCAS forms go in it can become a stressful waiting game particularly if the institutions are waiting for information and evidence from you before making an offer.

It’s not just about having a UK/EU passport – you need to show the universities and the student loans companies that you actively live in the UK during the run up period of three years before the course starts.

British_passport_2002The rules and regulation governing Fee Status are published by each of the four UK countries; England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The outcome of your Fee Status may depend upon where your home is based and which country you are planning to study in.

Technically a student must be ‘settled’ in the UK on the first day of the first term of the course and ‘ordinary resident’ in the UK and have been ‘ordinary resident’ in the UK for three years prior to the first day of the first term of the course to be eligible for Home/EU fees at a UK university. Ordinary residence must not be for the purpose of receiving full time education so, even if the student has been in the UK at boarding school whilst the family remain overseas, this will not count as being ‘ordinary resident’.

Many expats ‘temporarily’ live overseas. Quite often temporary contracts of several years are extended many times so a student may actually have never lived in the UK at all!

Here are my top tips for the new 2016/17 academic year.

Decide where your home is!

It may seem obvious but I come across many UK students who have lived the expat life since birth. They may have family scattered over the UK to visit each year and perhaps a holiday home in Europe. Decide where your natural and habitual mode of living is with your family and stay there regularly, as a ‘family’ (at least one parent and siblings) for a number of weeks or months each year.

Return regularly to your home for substantial amounts of time as a family.

You do not need to own a home (it may help if you do) but you will need to have a regular, mode of family life in one place. You will be asked to provide documentation to support your case. In the past families have provided: family deeds, rental agreements, Council Tax Statements, Utility Bills – anything to show a strong connection to one place in particular. The documents will have your family name on – utility bills may even show the difference in electricity and gas usage in the months you claim to be in the UK compared to the months you are not. Some institutions have accepted shopping bills or bank statements showing transactions from one particular place.

Keep e-tickets and travel documentation for each family member when travelling to and from the UK.

It really helps to show for instance that each summer the applicant and any siblings and at least one parent travel into the UK and out again at the end of the summer. If you travel regularly on one particular airline you will have a record of your flights along with your air-miles. If you don’t think you have any records it is worth going back into your email accounts to find them!

Gather documentation to support your temporary absence from the UK.

There is no definition in the case law or legislation to define what is meant by ‘temporary’ absence from the UK. This is where is gets tricky as the rules and regulations governing Fee Status are open to interpretation by the institution as to what they think is a temporary absence. Some universities have used a cut-off point in the past of six years – so anyone who has lived outside the UK over six years will be treated as an overseas fee payer whether they are a UK national or not!

Some universities will ask to see the parent’s work contract. It helps if this contract is awarded before the family travel outside the UK to live and it states that on completion of the contract the family will be repatriated to the UK. This shows a clear intention of returning to the UK and may well support your case.

Fee Status outcome depends upon the student giving correct, clear information about their circumstances, providing comprehensive supporting documentation and showing a regular, habitual mode of living in the UK as a family for substantial amounts of time each year.

The fact that the rules and regulations are interpreted slightly differently by each country and each institution means that students may be given different fee status decisions by their five universities.

Geraldine Raison’s team at UKStudyOptions offer a Fee Status appraisal as well as ongoing help and support for students if required. The UKStudyOptions team are members of UKCISA and receive regular training along with UK university admissions staff. We can help get you prepared and ready by offering a personal appraisal, explaining the rules and regulations, looking at your strengths and weaknesses and giving you a check list of documentation to gather before you apply!

Email: hello@ukstudyoptions.com for details

EU Referendum

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EU Referendum: What it means for EU students

www.ukcisa.org.uk/studentnews/802/EU-Referendum-What-we-know-for-EU-students

UKCISA have written a briefing paper to clarify the issues and to set out what they do and do not know at this point.

Precise points of law will have to be debated and clarified over the coming few years however UKCISA advises students to check their own position on:

  • fee status eligibility with the institution at which they are studying or intending to study; and
  • student finance with the appropriate agencies.

Student Finance

  • EU students currently on courses and receiving student finance will remain eligible to do so.
  • The funding bodies in England, Scotland and Wales have sought to reassure EU nationals about continuing student finance eligibility. UKCISA states that students who are planning to commence university study on an eligible course this Autumn will be eligible for student finance in the normal way. Those people will then continue to be eligible for student finance for the duration of their study on that course.
  • Student Finance NI has not as yet made an announcement but it is expected shortly.
  • There has been no announcement on eligibility for student finance for those planning to commence study in 2017.

Fee Status

  • It is UKCISA’s understanding that a number of universities are guaranteeing that fee status will not be reassessed during the duration of the course for those starting in 16/17 even if the UK leaves the EU before their course ends and they will continue to be charged the Home/EU rate rather than the significantly higher Non-EU rate.
  • You should contact your institution directly to confirm their policy but there is clearly an intention and commitment from institutions to do whatever is in their power to enable as many EU Students as possible to continue to study in the UK in the future.

Many British expats are shocked to find that they may be expected to pay overseas fees when their son or daughter is applying to university in the UK.

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Overseas fees can range from around £12,000 a year to up to £27,000 for a lab based degree (including Maths) at Imperial and £35,000 plus for medicine or veterinary.

Many expats are still eligible for Home Fees: being settled in the UK and meet the main residence requirements – having a British or EU passport is just one aspect of eligibility, there are many others. The universities will also look at where the student has been residing in the three years prior to the first day of their university degree, if this is overseas, they will ask for details of your ‘ordinary residence’ in the UK and want to know why the student and family are based overseas, which may include information about the parent’s work contract, as well as seeking general background information. They may also ask for evidence to support a case for Home Fees and can go back to the students birth date if necessary.

Most people don’t realise until after the university applications are submitted to UCAS that they are going to have to make a case for Home Fees and send in evidence to show that they have active connections to the UK. The rules and regulations governing Home and EU fee status are vague, based on case law dating to the early 1980s and are open to interpretation by the university admissions staff. This year (2016 entry) many students have been given a deadline of three weeks by their university choices to provide relevant evidence to support their case – not meeting the deadline may mean the universities will cancel their application. To complicate matters the UK has four governments, four countries that approach establishing a student’s fee status in a different manner and if a student is successful in obtaining Home/EU fee status at the university they have to go through a second process when they apply for student tuition fee loans.

With the real cost of an undergraduate degree estimated to be around £16,000 per head per annum, the universities are looking for students who have cut ties to their UK or EU base and have lost the right to being subsidised by the UK taxpayers. Recruiting overseas fee payers is an important income stream for universities. The Scottish Referendum in 2014 and the General Election in 2015 highlighted the issue of student fees and funding which is politically and economically driven.

Don’t be one of the families that have let their eligibility slide – make sure you know what to do to maintain your eligibility and what evidence you need to have to support your case.

I advise over a hundred families each year on their eligibility for UK/EU Fee Status – many of them are confused as to what constitutes eligibility and what evidence they need to send in to support their case. Don’t be caught out – contact www.ukstudyoptions.com for a Fee Status appraisal now.

Get in Touch

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hello@ukstudyoptions.com

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