UK University Fees
 

Just wondered if anyone recently has been successful when getting assessed for home fee status whilst living overseas for more than 3 years. My son will apply for UK university next year and we have been living overseas for 5 years.
I still have a lot of contact with UK by regularly paying into a UK bank account, mother & sisters live there, work for a British International School etc. What do you think my son's chances are of getting Home Fee Status? Btw, he's a UK citizen with UK passport.


Thanks a lot for any guidance you can give.

Re: UK University Fees
 

Depends largely on whether you were away on a clearly temporary posting such as military or diplomatic corps. Otherwise he's unlikely to be classified as a home student.

Re: UK University Fees
 

I've been away as a teacher in an international school.

Re: UK University Fees
 

What country are you based in, and do you have a permanent or temporary work visa for the country you live and work in?

Re: UK University Fees
 

I'm in China and have a temporary residency permit which I must renew every year.

Re: UK University Fees
 

In that case, as you have temporary residence he may qualify for home fees. However, depending on the university there isn't a large difference in the fees as there once was. For example at the university my son attends the tuition he is charged is only £1,000 more than home fees. Also bear in mind that although your son may qualify for home fees he may not be able to qualify for government backed student loans. So you should research that as well if your son was considering financing his studies that way.

Here are some links you may find useful:

http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/student/inf..._residence.php

http://ukcisa.org.uk/student/home_fees.php

http://ukcisa.org.uk/ukstudent/funding.php

Re: UK University Fees
 

Sue, I'm curious - in what circumstances would someone who was assessed as being a home based student NOT qualify for government student loans for tuition fees? (aka the 'graduate tax').

Re: UK University Fees
 

I've read a couple of instances of that happening on BE over the last couple of years but can't remember specifics. Hence why I said "may" as I don't know the full ins and outs of it. Just wanted to caution the OP so she/he looks at everything.

I recall one occasion when the parent and child had accepted the place offered at uni, was all ready to go and then found that they didn't qualify for any UK government student loans and they were panicking over how they were going to help their child fund her/his tuition. But as I say, I read so many posts on here, it's hard to remember all the details.

Re: UK University Fees
 

Yes, it certainly makes sense to fully research :)

Here's the page regarding eligibility for student loans - http://www.sfengland.slc.co.uk/full-...-eligible.aspx

My guess is, in those cases they were deemed to be international rather than home based.... maybe some one will chime in with their experiences...

Eligibility for student loans is really the key thing about getting home status as that is what gets a student the option for the preferential payment method. As you say, the headline figures on tuition fees are not that different.