UK University Fee Status for Those on a Temporary Visa
It can be confusing to understand what your fee status is at a UK university and therefore, what tuition fees you will pay for your degree. A common misunderstanding is that you must have Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK, to be eligible for the lower Home rate of fees, but that is not necessarily true. This article goes into more detail about those living in the UK on a a temporary visa or on Limited Leave to Remain when you start your course.
What is fee status?
Your fee status determines the level of tuition fees you will pay when you go to a public university in the UK. There are two levels of fee status – a lower ‘Home’ fee which is set at a capped amount by the government and an ‘Overseas’ fee which is set by individual universities, is often much higher and is not capped. In Scotland there is a middle level of fees – ‘RUK’ (Rest of UK) which covers you if you are from England, Wales or Northern Ireland attending a university in Scotland. Each university will follow regulations and guidance from the relevant UK government to determine each applicant’s fee status and charge tuition fees accordingly.
How do I know my fee status?
This is where it can get complicated. Each of the four UK nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) have a different set of fee status rules. Therefore, you will need to look at the rules that are relevant to the university you are applying for. If you apply to universities that are in different countries then, under each set of rules, it could be possible that you have a different fee status, for example, if you are applying to English and Scottish universities, it is possible that you are eligible for Home fees in England and not in Scotland, or vice versa. You can find the rules for each country on the UKCISA website but the rules are complex and open to interpretation.
Scotland
In Scotland it is possible to avoid paying higher Overseas tuition fees, even if you start your course whilst holding a temporary visa. Since 2023 the rules in Scotland allow for anyone who has been granted Leave to Enter or Remain to be considered for Home/RUK fees at Scottish universities. This includes any form of temporary visa except for a student visa – those who enter the UK on a study visa remain ineligible for Home or RUK fees. To get the lower Home or RUK fees there is an additional requirement to meet which is the Ordinary Residence requirement. You must be able to show that you have been ordinarily resident in the UK for the full three-year period prior to the start of your course.
See our Blog on Ordinary Residence to understand what this means.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
It is only possible to be considered for Home fee status if you are ‘settled’ in the UK which means both Ordinarily Resident and having no restriction on the length of your stay. Therefore, you will not be able to get Home fees in these parts of the UK if you have temporary visa status. However, recent changes to the rules mean that it is now possible to change your fee status after you start your course if you become ‘settled’. If you acquire your ILR in Year 1 of your course it could be possible for you to be get Home fees from Year 2 onwards. Again, it is crucial to remember that you must be able to show that you have been ordinarily resident in the UK for the full three-year period prior to the start of your course.
Fee Status Checker Tool
To make the process of determining eligibility even easier, we’ve introduced our new Fee Status Checker. This online tool allows families to quickly assess whether their child could be eligible for Home fees, providing instant results and relevant resources for further research. By simplifying this crucial first step, we ensure that families can move forward confidently with the university application process. Visit our Fee Status Checker to get started.
