scrubbedexpat020

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education...-Scotland.html

For those that collect citizenships, a way past paying UK international fees.

MadMuvva

Although I live in Scotland, I am English and this makes me MAD! (Madmuvva!). Why do English students have to pay when EU students don't? Is England not part of the EU?

Ethelred_the_Unready

I'm glad that Scotland didn't do what England did with tuition. Makes me proud to be 1/4 Scottish. If Scotland becomes independent, it should seek to forge alliances with the Nordic nations and seek to emulate their social models.

formula

It was the Scot's MPs' who pushed through the student tutiton fees in England and Wales. They even stayed late on a Friday (which was strange for them as they usually leave early on a Friday) for this vote. Without them, Labour would not have been able to bring in those tutition fees. Never has a party treated it's own voters so badly as Labour did.

It also looks like there is a challange in the EU courts regarding the English and Welsh getting free university education in Scotland, but some Brit parents who live and work in other EU countries, can get free education in Scoltand too. Although the Barnett formula will have to be removed at some point.

Will those Nordic nations want to? Scotlands past (was bankrupt so asked to join the union England and Wales already had) and their present (nearly brought the UK to it's knees on their watch in power in Westminster) make them attractive to other countries to forge alliances or unions with? Norway saved their oil money while the Scottish Ministers in Westminster spent the oil money, sold off the UKs gold reserves at low prices; created lax banking laws and pushed up house prices in 2005 to create a feel good factor; borrowed so much money that the UK now has more debts than we had after WW2; etc.

MadMuvva

Yes, totally agree last poster. Scotland couldn't afford Norway's social models! Also, can't see Scots wanting to pay higher taxes to fund those.

JAJ

As far as I can tell, this only affects Irish citizens who live in the EEA states (and have done so for 3+ years). Those from outside the EEA do not appear to benefit. But I could be wrong.

Why is this so? The reason is that the EEA-rules force authorities to treat other EEA citizens on a par with "local" citizens. However, in a country with multiple jurisdictions, they do not force "local" benefits to be given to citizens of the same country from a different region/territory.

It was established some time ago that those who hold another EEA nationality as well as local nationality can claim to be treated on the basis of their EEA nationality if they wish.

Noteworthy of the Scottish government policy is that even those born in Scotland or of Scottish parentage are excluded from benefits if living in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

CPW

No, you are right.

Now, I may be wrong about this, but I think, moreover, that British citizens who have been living in another EEA country [i.e. not the UK (leaving aside Scotland)] for 3 years or more similarly benefit from the same concessions as citizens of other EEA countries; and similarly again, non-EEA citizens who have been living in Scotland for 3 years or more.

Pistolpete2

See this from Edinburgh University's website:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergr...-eu/definition

and

http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/funding-facts/cost

and the drill-down for RUK (rest of Uk) students:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergr.../uk/definition

By inference, if you have resided in the EU, the EU overseas territories, elsewhere in the EEA or Switzerland for the three years immediately before the first day of the first academic year of your course and do not qualify for UK Home fees, you qualify for Scottish first degree free uni education.

http://www.saas.gov.uk/student_suppo...ligibility.htm

"you may still be eligible to apply for payment of your fees if:

you were born in and have spent the greater part of your life in the EU, the EU overseas territories, elsewhere in the EEA or Switzerland."