cat22

I think it is the residency of the student that counts. My partner's parents went to Australia in the August before he started his degree, and have not lived in the UK since. The LEA asked whether my partner had been resident in the last 3 years on the intial form. When his parents moved 4 years ago he moved to his aunts, and that was his home address. He stayed mostly at uni though, and gave his uni address as the contact address. Every year the LEA reassess you, and every year his parents were in australia, and they were been fine about that. They convert the salarys from dollars to pounds etc. So I think all that matters is the residency of the (prospective) student. My partner was 20 when he went to uni though so I dont know if being over 18 makes a difference.

Bob

If you were posted abroad on a temporary basis for work etc, then that won't count against you.

Bob

That's true, once the person is over 16, it is that person who they take residency from, not necessarily the parents

dingbat

Unfortunately not an option I can exercise. LEA in UK are "reviewing" my case to see if they can waive the fees, given the circumstances under which I have been kept here. A Sixth Form college were happy to grant home student status...Universities, however, are less than willing to give up International £'s.

miss piggy

What really annoys me , & I am sure that this will apply to a lot of people, is that I am STILL paying taxes in the UK as we've left all our life savings there (knowing we were going to be going back eventually) yet despite this my kids are not eligible to be educated.

For anyone else's info I have heard of people who have made their employers agree to cover the 'gap' between home & overseas university fees as part of their ex-pat package - something to bear in mind when negotiating terms ( we couldn't do as it we're employed on a local terms & conditions packege here ).

Bob

As an ex-pat, why are you still paying UK taxes?

miss piggy

Up until very recently we've had rental income on our house.

Ozzidoc

I'm an Aussie (and Brit) studying Med in the UK. I agree with most things posted here.

I would however like to point out one thing...(without having a holier than though attitude - I promise!). Be very careful about any potential 'semi- dodgy" information such as claiming residency due to council tax payments etc. If incorrect (or not-quite-right) info is included on med school/UCAS application forms, it is grounds for a uni to retract an offer or boot out student.

Fudging/lying by doctors - even potential ones - is considered inappropriate behaviour by the GMC, as well as colleagues and the general public.

Feel free to pm me about courses etc.

shauninoz

I've lived in England for 25 years and paid tax since the age of 16. I chose to come over here (Aus) to experience something different for a couple of years. I now find that when I return to the UK i have to pay overseas fees??!! A German citizen who has NEVER lived in the UK can live in Germany their whole life and get home fees! How is this fair?

If you are a citizen of the UK you should get citizen privileges regardless of how long you've lived there imo. If they have to do a residency test surely one year for citizens (and spouses of citizens) and two years for other perm residents would be a lot fairer?

shauninoz

Has anyone done this? I wonder what proof they want? I came to Australia for work but have since got permanent residency...

Bob

But as a Brit, and if you lived in the UK, you go to any decent French, Dutch, German or Italian uni for free too, and there are good ones there too...

Bob

there's a few on this forum, but you have to be working for a Brit company that sends you abroad, if you get permanent residency in that country, that proves you ain't a resident of the UK.

shauninoz

It's not free education. It's still £3K a year minimum. I think a fair solution would be to charge a higher fee for people who are Citizens (but who have been away and cant satsify the 3yr requirement) but allow them to take out a low interest loan to pay for their fees. I want to do a teaching course - I cant get a loan to pay for my fees in either Aus or UK this is meaning I cant do this course for a number of years. Its ridiculous.

Bob

£3K is practically free though considering what the LEA pays up...and you can get low interest student loans, most banks do them for higher education, and there's the shitty SLC, though I don't think they cover mature students anymore.

honeymommy

They do charge a higher fee for UK citizens that don't satisfy the 3yr requirement. They are called international student fees...

The reason they don't allow student loans, is due to the fact some unscrupulous people would complete the course then leave the UK not paying their fees.

When I was in the USA I had to pay all the fees up front before starting each module. No loan there either.