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UK University Fee Status Rules

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If you are going to a UK university, your fee status, i.e. whether you are charged home fees or overseas fees, is determined by a set of rules.

The rules are set by the government, but they are published online by a charity called UKCISA who support students in understanding their fee status eligibility. Anyone can access and read the rules online.

These rules differ in each of the four UK nations. The rules that apply to you are based on where the university you are applying to is located. For example, if you are applying to Scottish universities, you need to understand the Scottish fee status rules. If you are applying to English universities, you need to understand the English fee status rules and so on. If you are applying to universities in different parts of the UK you must apply all the relevant rules.

Here’s where to find them:

English fee status rules

Scottish fee status rules

Welsh fee status rules

Northern Irish fee status rules

The rules are largely derived from case law of previous immigration or student finance court cases. This is often where certain terms and definitions within the rules are defined so you may also want to read this information also.

Ordinary Residence Case Law

We understand that these rules can be confusing and it’s not always clear how your fee status would be determined.

UKCISA, who train us at UKSO and university staff on how to apply the fee status rules, offer free advice to students on their fee status and can be contacted here.

The UK Study Options team has extensive training and experience of fee status issues that specifically affect expat students. If you would like some feedback on your fee status case, complete our online form and we’ll get back to you.

PLEASE NOTE: The guidance on fee status rules is regularly updated and the link to the latest guidance may change. The above links are the latest guidance at the time of writing, May 2022.

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 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 fees?

Being a British citizen or holding a British passport is not enough to qualify you for Home fee status. Nor does owning property in the UK or having lived there previously. If you have left the UK and now live abroad or have recently returned to the UK 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 degree.

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 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 citizen,
  • Indefinite Leave to Enter/Remain in the UK,
  • A Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode in the UK,
  • Right of permanent Residence in the UK,
  • Republic of Ireland citizen.

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 country is your permanent home country even if you don’t currently live there. This can be demonstrated through a number of ways including, having a UK home and regularly visiting the UK, among 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 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, although there are always anomalies due to the interpretable nature of fee status assessment. Completing university applications and forms correctly and presenting the right evidence is vital for a successful outcome. Whether you have Home 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.

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 11 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 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 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 (which applies to students from all UK countries and the Common Travel Area) and Overseas.

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

Universities in Northern Ireland also have three fee statuses: Home (which applies to Northern Irish students), 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 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 students currently pay £1,820 per year for any course.  These Home places are capped so they can be very difficult to obtain by people with borderline eligibility. RUK students pay £9,250 per year for any course. Overseas fees range from £14,600 to £49,900.[2] Scottish undergraduate degrees are usually 4 years (at other UK universities they are typically 3 years depending on the course) – it’s important to factor this in when budgeting for university.

For universities in Northern Ireland, Home 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 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 4 places for Overseas students but will still receive hundreds of exceptional applications.

[1] Reddin Survey of University Tuition Fees 2020-21

[2] Reddin Survey of University Tuition Fees 2020-21

[3] Queen’s University Belfast 2020

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

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If you are a borderline case for Home 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.
  • Details of visits to the UK 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.

Higher education jargon explained

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Like every other walk of life, UK higher education has its own distinct terminology and jargon.  To help you make sense of this we have listed the most common terms that you are likely to come across when navigating the UK university process.

Admissions: A team of people in each university that process student applications.

Academic year: This is the university year, which usually runs from September to July.

BA: This is the abbreviation for Bachelor of Art. This is a type of degree traditionally awarded to those subjects based in the field of Art. However, this is a very broad category and can include subject areas such as Social Sciences and English.

Bachelors degree: A degree awarded by a college or university to a person who has completed undergraduate studies. They are typically 3 years for most degree subjects, 4 years for Engineering and 5 years for Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary.

BEng: This is the abbreviation for Bachelor of Engineering. This type of degree is awarded to those subjects based in the field of Engineering.

BSc: This is the abbreviation for Bachelor of Science. This type of degree is traditionally awarded to subjects based in the field of Science and Social Science. The BSc degree is not limited to traditional sciences.

Conservatoire: A provider of performance-based music, dance and drama courses.

Combined or Joint honours degree: A type of degree where you study two subjects.

Dissertation: A dissertation is normally a long report, based on research undertaken by the students themselves.

Entry requirements: a set of criteria that a student needs to meet to gain entry to a degree programme. This could include certain grades or to have previously studied certain subjects or to have a certain amount of work experience etc.

Fee Status: the status that determines what tuition fee a student will pay when they apply to university in the UK which is either Home/EU or Overseas.

First class honours: Most UK universities use a degree classification system. First class honours or a ‘first’ is the highest level degree awarded.

Foundation degree programme: This is a programme designed to prepare students who have acceptable qualifications for general university entry, but do not have the appropriate level or coverage for a specific degree programme.

Fresher: This is the term commonly used to describe students in their first year at university.

Graduate: This is the term used for a person who has completed and passed his or her degree and been awarded their qualification

HE (Higher Education): This is education and training for students of 18 years and older, who have completed the required amount of study in further education, (college or sixth form). Institutions such as universities often provide higher education in the form of degree programmes.

Honours degree (Hons): This is a degree programme taken at university. It is normally a first degree which lasts three or four years. An honours degree requires extra modules/units to be studied in comparison to an Ordinary Degree, often in the form of a dissertation.

Humanities: Typically covers ‘Arts’ subjects such as history, literature, Classics, theology film, modern languages and drama.

LLB: Bachelor of Laws. The accreditation given to Law degrees which allows for progression onto further training to become a barrister or solicitor.

Masters degree (MA, MSc, Meng, Med, MPhil): Masters degrees are taught courses which allow students to extend their learning for one to two years after they have graduated from their first (Bachelors) degree. MA is the abbreviation for Master of Arts, a postgraduate qualification, but it can also be an undergraduate degree studied at one of the UK’s ancient universities such as St Andrews, Oxford and Cambridge. An MSci is a Master of Science. An MEng is a Master of Engineering. An MEd is a Master of Education and is specific to education subjects. Confusingly an MPhil is a Master of Philosophy but rather than being in the subject of Philosophy, it is a research-focused masters and can be in any subject.

Module: A module is a unit of study that explores a specific area within a subject.

Ordinary degree: Generally this is a degree passed without honours. Some universities offer ordinary degree courses in their own right but ordinary degrees can also be awarded to those students who complete an honours degree but without achieving the conditions required to gain honours.

Placement year/ Sandwich year: This is a year of either work experience or study placement in another institution, which can be an optional or compulsory part of a university course. Students can opt to take their placement year in another country.

PhD: Also known as a doctorate, this is the highest form of degree awarded and involves you carrying out research with little or no teaching. You need to have completed at least an undergraduate degree to study at this level.

Postgraduate: A student who has completed an undergraduate degree and is studying for a higher degree such as a masters or PhD.

Second class honours: Most UK universities use a degree classification system. The highest level is ‘first’ with second class honours broken down into two further classifications – upper division (2:1) and lower division (2:2). An upper second or first class degree is often required for entry into postgraduate courses in the UK.

Single honours: This is an honours degree course in which a student studies a single subject.

Third class honours: Third class honours is typically the lowest degree classification awarded.

UCAS (The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service): An organisation that manages the application system for UK universities.

Undergraduate: A student studying for their first degree on a programme which normally lasts for three or four years.

Undergraduate masters: Four year degrees such as Masters of Engineering (MEng), Masters of Science (MSci) etc which comprise three years of undergraduate level study, with a further year to gain a Masters qualification.

University: A university is an institute of higher education which has the authority to award bachelors and higher degrees and which usually has research facilities.

University groups: institutions that form alliances when they share common goals, visions or characteristics.

Thinking of applying to Oxford or Cambridge?

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Students wishing to study at a university in the UK apply through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service), which allows students to apply to 5 courses at 5 universities. However, anyone interested in making an Oxford or Cambridge application will have to apply early (by 15th October) and choose which one of these prestigious institutions they wish to put down on their UCAS form (students are not allowed to apply to both).

Oxbridge is the term used to refer to two of the oldest universities in the UK – Oxford and Cambridge. Both offer traditional academic courses where formal assessment is often 100% based on examinations. Both stress the importance of their highly personalised teaching time led by subject experts, with Oxford calling these sessions tutorials and Cambridge referring to them as supervisions.

Colleges and ‘pool’ applications

In contrast to most UK universities Oxford and Cambridge are made up of colleges and applications are made to individual colleges (unless a student makes an open or ‘pool’ application where the student is allocated a college place).  Once a student is accepted at a college then that remains their home and central focus of teaching for much of their time at university.  Each college decides which applicants will be offered places, co-ordinates the tutorial system, provides accommodation and other facilities and takes overall responsibility for the students’ academic and pastoral care.  The university and its departments and faculties set and mark examinations, decide on course content and organise lectures, seminars and practicals. Both universities boast historic architecture and excellent facilities and are situated in attractive places to live, where students enjoy cycling and punting on the rivers.

Specialist subjects

Whilst Oxford and Cambridge share a reputation for world-renowned teaching and research in both arts and science subjects there are differences between them, particularly when it comes to course choice and course structure.  Many courses offered by both Institutions have a lot in common but there are particular subjects or combinations of subject that are only offered at one of the Universities.  For example, PPE (Politics, Philosophy and Economics) is offered at Oxford and HSP (Human, Social and Political Science) at Cambridge.  If you want to study Veterinary Science at Oxbridge then you must apply to Cambridge; those interested in Fine Art must head for Oxford.  Cambridge courses (or Triposes) cover subject areas very broadly in the initial years and then offer a wide range of options in which to specialize in the later years.  Most science subjects at Cambridge are taught within the Natural Sciences framework, which gives students a broad first year before allowing specialization in the following years.  This is in contrast to Oxford where science specialisms are studied from day one.

Supra-curricular requirements

It is important that both students and schools are aware of the knowledge, preparation and research necessary to make a successful application to either of these very competitive universities. Students need to be aware that there are likely to be additional requirements and different deadlines involved. All UCAS applications require evidence of academic achievement (results of examinations that have already been taken) alongside predicted results for forthcoming exams and the personal statement.  Oxford and Cambridge may also require students to provide written work and/or sit an admissions test and no student is offered a place without a formal, academic interview.  Schools are required to provide predicted grades for any forthcoming examinations and a reference that reflects the academic potential of the student for the relevant course.

Admissions Tests and/or extra work required

In most subjects, at both Oxford and Cambridge, students are now asked to sit admissions tests either prior to being invited to interview or (for some subjects at Cambridge) on the day of the interview. The tests are about applying the knowledge that students might reasonably have been expected to have gained from their school curriculum to new problems. Potential applicants will need to check the registration deadlines and familiarise themselves with the format of the relevant test by looking on the websites.

Anyone applying for a humanities subject may also be asked to submit 1 or 2 essays that they have written at school. These should showcase not only their ability to express academic ideas in writing but also their ability to work through complex ideas in a systematic way.

Supplementary Application Questionnaire

Any student applying to Cambridge University is also asked to complete a SAQ (Supplementary Application Questionnaire), which is submitted online shortly after the UCAS application.  The SAQ collects additional information such as which topics have been studied at school and allows students to submit an alternative personal statement, which should focus on the Cambridge course rather than the more general subject area covered by all the UCAS choices.

Interviews
Having looked at the all the information at their disposal Oxbridge admissions tutors decide who should be called for interview.  These interviews are different at Oxford and Cambridge from most other universities. Students are interviewed on their own with 2 or 3 academics asking questions and posing problem-solving scenarios that are always relevant to the course applied to.  The purpose of the interview is to assess how students think and how they use their current knowledge alongside any additional information given during the interview to solve new problems.

Students living outside the UK/EU – even temporarily

Students attending an international school need to be aware that they may also need to complete some extra elements. Anyone applying to Cambridge who is living outside of the EU at the time of application must complete a COPA (Cambridge Online Preliminary Application) prior to submitting the UCAS form. Students who are not taking UK school qualifications (which include the IB) will need to check the entry requirements very carefully and are likely to be asked to submit a transcript of their high school academic results.  Evidence of English language skills will be required and any student receiving an offer must apply for a student visa if from outside the UK.

Overseas v UK fee status
The cost of studying at Oxford or Cambridge is dependent upon whether the student is assessed as an ‘overseas’ or UK home student. At Oxford and Cambridge overseas fee payers are required to pay ‘College fees’ (which cover academic facilities and other services provided by Colleges) in addition to the usual undergraduate tuition fees.  This is on top of accommodation and living costs.

UK Study Options specializes in helping students apply to Oxford or Cambridge. See what university application support we can offer you to help you secure a place at one of these excellent institutions.

UK University Fee Status Myths and Assumptions

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Myths and assumptions made by expats

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 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 fees. The FSQ forms are for prospective undergraduate and postgraduate students.

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

No, British citizenship is just one of the factors for consideration. It is not enough to have a British 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. You don’t have to be a British citizen to be eligible for Home fees – asylum seekers, ‘Leave to Remainers’ and refugees may also be entitled to UK fees.

Myth: we don’t need to worry about fee status until my son/daughter applies to university.

The later you think about fee status, the less chance you have of building a strong case for Home fees. You should be planning for fee status 3-4 years before the start of university so that you can adapt your living/working/travel plans to make sure you have a rock solid case when you do go to apply.

Myth: being overseas on a visa means that I have to return to my home country and therefore should be entitled to UK 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 fees when starting university in the UK.

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

Not necessarily. It may help to own a property but alternative homes can be used depending on a family’s circumstances. The important thing to to have a ‘home base’ of some sorts.

Myth: visiting the UK each year for three years before university will ensure UK fee status.

Returning to the UK is an important part of maintaining your eligibility by establishing a pattern of ‘ordinary residence’ for at least three years prior to the start of university. However, some universities  ask for evidence of visits back to the UK for a longer period – for the duration you have lived abroad or even as far back as the student’s birth! It depends on the university’s fee status policy and how strict they are.

Rarely does one element of your case, such as the ‘home base’ or visits to the UK, alone decide your case, rather it is better to think of fee status as an assessment of multiple factors that determine how you case looks overall. Establishing UK 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 future.

 

UK Study Options are experts in UK University Fee Status who provide personalised advice to expat families helping them to achieve Home fee status. Complete our online form to see if you need a Fee Status Appraisal.

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

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

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