UK University Fee Status: British Overseas Territory
In the UK, universities and colleges charge different tuition fees based on students’ fee status. Generally, students classified as “Home” students are eligible for lower tuition fees, while those categorised as “Overseas” students are subject to higher fees.
It can be difficult to work out your fee status when living in a British Overseas Territory. There are many categories of eligibility, and each of the four UK nations (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) has its own set of fee status rules.
A main part of the fee status assessment is your ordinary residence. It can be possible for British nationals (or those with no immigration restriction on the length of stay in the UK) and relevant family members living in British Overseas Territory to be eligible for Home status based on where they live. This is the case for those ordinarily resident in specified British Overseas Territories when they are applying to universities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The ‘specified British overseas territories’ are:
- Anguilla
- Bermuda
- British Antarctic Territory
- British Indian Ocean Territory
- British Virgin Islands
- Cayman Islands
- Falkland Islands
- Gibraltar
- Montserrat
- Pitcairn
- Henderson
- Ducie and Oeno Islands
- South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
- St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
- Turks and Caicos Islands
To be eligible for Home fee status, you must be ordinarily resident in these specified British Overseas Territories and/or the UK for the full three-year period prior to starting your university course in the UK. You must be able to show this residence is not mainly for the purpose of full-time education (relevant for those children in a boarding school where their parents live elsewhere).
The rules when living in a British Overseas Territory
The rules in this category for Home fees include some very specific requirements. They say that, as well as the requirement above, you need to be ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first academic year. This means you need to demonstrate your ordinary residence in the UK on 1st September in the year in which your course starts (if your course start date is anytime between 1st August and 31st December). However, you don’t have to meet this extra requirement if you have a relevant family member (parent, grandparent or spouse) that has no restriction on the length of their stay in the UK (eg British national or Irish citizen).
What about Scotland?
In Scotland, the rules for university tuition fees include no provision for those that live in one of these British Overseas Territories. Applicants to Scottish universities would pay the much higher Overseas fees unless they fit into a specific category of the Scottish rules. This means that if you are applying to a university in Scotland you would need to look at an alternative route to Home fee status. This could be by demonstrating that although you live outside the UK you continue to have an ordinary residence in the UK (or the Republic of Ireland) or that otherwise, your absence from the UK is only temporary due to yours or your parent’s employment.
Where can I get further advice on your eligibility for Home fees while living in a British Overseas Territory?
Make sure you understand the rules and check your eligibility for Home fees while living in a British Overseas Territory as early as possible before your university application. It is important to note that there are additional eligibility categories for those living in Gibraltar, including applicants to Scottish universities. UKSO are the leading independent experts in UK University Fee Status for expats. We have been advising schools, families, and students worldwide on this complex topic for 11 years and have helped thousands of expat families with their fee status queries. Get in touch for a personalised Fee Status Appraisal
