Tag Archive for: international

UK University Fee Status – The Basics Part 1

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

Beyond London – Great universities outside the capital

The UK is renowned for its quality higher education – it has almost 400 institutions and attracts 458,000 students from around the world each year. Typically, students from outside the UK immediately look to study in London, as it’s a globally recognised city that they will have been exposed to through media, film, politics or may have already visited. But are there any good universities beyond London?

London is a fantastic place to study and boasts some of the best universities in the world; UCL, LSE, Imperial College London, King’s College London etc, but the university experience can be quite different to that outside of the capital. Often students might be studying and living in different parts of the city rather than in a campus setting. It suits a student who is already quite mature, independent and used to living in a large city. Most of our students at UK Study Options don’t fit this profile and instead seek an undergraduate experience that introduces them softly into the ‘real world’ after living with family their whole life. There is a wealth of universities outside London that rival the capital’s education, diversity, history and fun that don’t get fair consideration as future study destinations.

So here are some of our non-London suggestions that teach a wide range of different degree subjects that we recommend you explore when thinking about university in the UK.

Warwick University – located in central England, this university offers top ranking education on a US-style campus so students can study, live, work and socialise within a safe, but diverse and vibrant environment. They are quite unique in having a theatre, cinema, concert hall and art gallery all on campus. Not far from Birmingham International Airport, it is well connected with the rest of the world.

University of Bristol – Bristol is a trendy and creative city with good access to the South West of England and the coast – great if you love water sports. The uni has the largest student union in the country and hosts 100s of societies and clubs. The city also has its own airport, flying to some international destinations.

Durham University – Durham is a small, beautiful northern England city, steeped in history. This collegiate university does consistently well in student satisfaction and employability surveys. Among UK students it’s a popular alternative to Oxford and Cambridge. They have over 200 sports teams, it’s a great location for outdoor pursuits. It’s also very close to Newcastle International Airport.

University of Edinburgh – an academically outstanding Scottish university that is over 400 years old. As another historically significant place, the city is packed with Medieval and Georgian architecture. It hosts the famous Edinburgh Arts Festival every August which offers students low-cost tickets to comedy, theatre and music shows.

There are plenty more excellent study destinations around the country. The key to selecting the right university, is to look at the whole package of what they offer and see if this is compatible with your criteria. You might discover a city or university that you have never heard of that is perfect for you! Ask yourself:

  • Is it ranked highly for the subject I want to study?
  • Is it easy to get home from? (Many cities have international airports.)
  • Can I practice the sport/activity that I love in the university or the local area?
  • Does it offer the right level of independence/security for me?
  • Does it fit my budget? (Living costs can vary widely in different parts of the country.)
  • What’s the weather like there? (Weather can also vary widely in different parts of the country!)

We always recommend that students visit their shortlisted universities to get a feel for if they are right for them. It’s difficult to know what a place is like from a website but in person you will immediately get a sense of if it’s where you want to be.

At UK Study Options we work closely with students to help identify the right course and university for them as individuals. Get in touch to learn about our university application support.

University league tables explained

League tables of universities and colleges are a common feature of higher education across the world as well as in the UK. Ranking tables can be a helpful source of information if you are applying to study at a university or college. They are, however, far from perfect and, if read uncritically can be misleading. It is certainly worth knowing something about how universities are ranked and how the different league tables compare.

World Rankings

Students (particularly international students who are considering studying in the US or the UK) may look at the World University Rankings. The QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) World University Rankings give an indication of how the UK universities compare to their counterpart institutions around the world. However, students are often puzzled as to why a number of universities that regularly feature in the top ten of British university league tables are surprisingly low down in the worldwide tables. This disparity can be explained by the differences in the methodology and criteria used by the league table.

The London School of Economics (LSE), for example, has stated that ”all of the global rankings suffer from inbuilt biases in favour of large multi-faculty universities with full STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) offerings, and against small, specialist, mainly non-STEM universities such as LSE.” In short, international university rankings include criteria such as the number of citations per faculty and alumni prize winners – factors that may be particularly interesting to postgraduate applicants, whereas the UK rankings give most weighting to the undergraduate student experience.

UK Rankings

Three national rankings of universities in the UK are published annually – by The Guardian, The Times/Sunday Times (known as The Good University Guide) and by The Complete University Guide. In addition to ranking the universities overall, each guide also ranks universities on their strength in individual subjects which can be a more useful indicator of reputation within a particular sector. The quality of an individual degree course may not bear any relation to the overall position of the university in the league tables. Some university courses are very highly regarded even if the university features lower down an overall league table and vice versa.

All the league tables include measures of student satisfaction scores, student to staff ratios, graduate prospects and entry grades but then they start to differ. Always remember that different league tables measure different things and you will need to check whether the table you are looking at actually measures the things you are most interested in. Different tables also assign different weights to the criteria they measure, and you should know which of the topics they cover they consider to be more important. For instance, in contrast to the other tables The Guardian does not include any contribution from research rankings, as it believes that research does not help in understanding the typical experience of an undergraduate student. Instead The Guardian gives more weight to student feedback and includes a ‘value added’ factor, which compares students’ degree results with their entry qualifications.

While a consistent performance across a range of league tables can give a reasonable indication of a university’s overall standing in UK higher education it does not mean that a particular institution is the right choice for an individual applicant simply because of its league table position. It is worth remembering that league tables can only ever give you part of the picture.

UKSO has extensive knowledge of UK universities, we can advise on the best university for a student based on their individual needs, aspirations and academic achievements. Get in touch for a free consultation.

Higher education jargon explained

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.

Visiting your shortlisted universities this summer

Browse a university’s marketing materials and they will all say the same “world-leading research”, “cutting-edge facilities”, “outstanding teaching”, “vibrant and diverse community” etc. And it’s all true – universities in the UK do offer all of this and more but beyond the marketing speak, how do you know which one is right for you?

The answer is simple. Go there. At UK Study Options we always recommend that people visit their shortlisted universities before making their final decisions. No website or prospectus can tell you how a place is going to make you feel, if you’re going to connect with it and enjoy your time there. For somewhere where you are going to spend 3-4 years of your life, possibly longer, it needs to be right – your studies will prosper all the more for it.

When to visit

The logical time to visit is the summer holidays before you apply (the year before you start uni). Universities are more likely to have planned tours and open day activities for school years 12 and 13 which means you will have more access to facilities, academics and students to get a real insight into what it’s like studying there.

Earlier than this and universities may only give you basic access to their campus facilities. Later than this, you will have already had to make your Firm and Insurance offer decisions in UCAS (May deadline) – decisions that will be made much easier by visiting the universities.

Check what events the universities have on and when, and create a plan for the day so you know you’re not missing out on anything. Make sure you book on to all the tours and talks that you want to go to, as they may fill up and this way you’ll receive all the pre-arrival information. If none of the dates they have are convenient, you can get in touch directly and they may arrange something personally for you. If you’re unable to arrange anything specific, it’s still worth going to have a look around, you can wander around most university campuses even if you can’t access all the facilities.

What to ask/find out/see

If it’s one of your shortlisted universities then you’ll probably know a lot about them already and the courses they offer. When you visit, go armed with a list of what you want to find out when you are there – preferably things that you couldn’t find out from the website. Here are some suggestions:

  • What facilities would I use on the course and can I see them?
  • How many students are in a lecture/class/seminar?
  • What’s a typical week on the course like?
  • How do you score on the Student Satisfaction Survey?
  • How far is the accommodation from the classroom?
  • What transport is available to help me get around? (If relevant)

You may also want to see the accommodation you’ll be staying in, the student union or other social areas, food outlets and supermarkets, the sporting and fitness facilities.

You will come into contact with students, alumni, academic and admissions staff at open days, so direct your questions to the right person and take advantage of them being available to speak with as you might not get another chance to talk to them. Students and alumni are arguably the best people to ask questions as they will give you real insight into what life is like to study there and can be franker and more open than staff members.

Don’t forget to plan a walk around the nearby city/town which might be away from the university itself, to make sure you also get a feel for the place where you might spend some of your time socialising or working.

At UK Study options we spend time getting to know our students to help them find the right course and university for them. See our University Application Support page for more information on how we can help you.

 

Use your summer wisely – get work experience!

The summer holidays are here, you’ve worked really hard at school and you’re looking forward to a break – perhaps you have some travel booked. But if you are thinking about applying to university in the UK, the holidays are an important time to get work experience, internships or volunteering that will contribute to a more competitive UCAS application, not to mention enhance your career opportunities.

Assume that admissions receive more applications than there are places on the course and that everyone who applies has met the academic entry criteria – what is going to make your application more compelling than the next? What you have done outside your studies that will win you a place on an oversubscribed course?

Universities favour work experience as it shows that you are serious about your future and are able to pursue multiple interests. It doesn’t necessarily need to be directly related to your studies (unless you are applying to Medicine, Veterinary or Law).

Why is this important?

  1. Work experience, internships and volunteering will give you a whole range of skills that are desirable to universities, such as commitment, self-motivation, time management, team working, negotiation and organisational skills, not to mention role-specific skills. These skills can all be applied to enrich your studies.
  2. The experience you gain will prove invaluable in the classroom, helping you to connect academia with the ‘real’ world. It can add context and insight to your studies and a different perspective.
  3. Work experience helps you to form realistic career expectations and goals which universities like to see in their prospective students. It also allows you to try out certain sectors and roles to see if you like them before making big decisions about your career.
  4. Having some professional experience before you graduate will help make the transition from studying to working easier and will increase you chances of getting the job you apply for. Universities love employable alumni – it reflects well on the university and improves their employability stats. The Careers Centre at your destination university will offer a great deal of support including: compiling your CV, application letter writing, gaining the competitive edge when it comes to beating the opposition!
  5. You can get ahead in building a professional network that you can call on for career support and job opportunities after you graduate.

How do you get work experience?

There are many ways you can secure work experience and volunteering work. It depends on what you are interested in and where you live but an obvious place to start is in your local area. Reach out to local businesses, organisations, public services etc to see if they have opportunities. You may be able to use family connections or friends to help you secure informal experience. It’s great if you can get practical experience but even the chance to shadow a member of staff will give you some insight into your chosen role/sector – it’s better than nothing.

UCAS recommend several resources to get you started – so get exploring and get ahead of your peer group!

www.ucas.com/alternatives/internships/internships-and-volunteering

UK Study Options supports students with enrichment activities that boost their profiles and enhance their applications to university. We also offer services such as CV and cover letter guidance and proofing, as well as, conduct mock interviews and more to prepare students for internships, university and beyond! Read about our services on our University Application Support webpage.

Why apply for a foundation programme as an international student?

International foundation courses prepare international students for study at a UK university when they do not meet all the necessary academic or English Language requirements. Sometimes there can be a misconception that foundation programmes are for students whose school results are not high enough for direct entry.

In reality many international students with excellent grades need to complete a foundation course simply because of the differences in school education around the world. Some countries have 12 years of pre-university education, followed by 4-year undergraduate degrees. If these students want to go to university in a country which has 13 years of pre-university education followed by a 3-year undergraduate degree (such as the UK), they will usually be required to take a foundation programme.

Most UK one year foundation programmes are offered either directly by a university or through a partnership with a corporate provider such as INTO or Kaplan. Corporate providers may deliver the programmes either on the university campus or use their own centre facilities. Student attendance will be monitored and plenty of weekly contact hours provided. Completion of a foundation programme does not result in a formal qualification. Instead, most providers form partnerships with universities to allow progression onto an undergraduate degree (subject to achieving required results during the foundation course).

Unfortunately there is no standardisation in the way foundation courses are named or marketed, however the most common terms used are ‘foundation programme’, ‘foundation year’, or ‘undergraduate pathway’.

All foundation programmes generally have 4 main strands: academic content, English language tuition, study skills and cultural adaptation but the proportion of time allocated to each differs significantly between programmes. In addition, most foundation courses aim to prepare students for a specific area of study – the most popular disciplines are Business & Economics and Engineering & Technology. This is done in a variety of formats e.g. some market one programme in which the student can select different modules in order to focus on a particular area, whereas others market multiple programmes where the study content is controlled by the university and the subject focus is pre-determined.

Some foundation courses will also accept international students who have studied A-levels or IB but who haven’t quite achieved the required grades to apply for direct entry to an undergraduate course.  King’s College, for example, will take students on some of their specialised subject pathways but not all of them.

The variety of courses on offer by a multitude of providers means it is necessary to really do your research in order to select a programme that is suitable for you as an individual and that is likely to give you the best opportunity to gain entry to your preferred undergraduate degree course.

Have further questions or queries regarding foundation courses?  Contact the UKSO team for informed and independent advice.

Home tuition fees for expatriate Medical/Veterinary students

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

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

Get in Touch

Email
hello@ukstudyoptions.com

Phone
+44 (0)208 1871865