dunroving

I think that generally, if you are currently a citizen and resident of the UK, you should be "entitled" (to NHS, free education, benefits, etc., etc.). Anything beyond that is a bonus.

As you say, making "exceptions" starts us down a slippery slope. I must say, though, that in the case of higher education, I do feel a bit sorry for children who, after all, didn't have a choice in whether they left the UK in the first place. But they are the rules and it's hardly Draconian. There just isn't enough money to be overly generous and flexible. Or as that twerp Liam Byrne put it, "There's no money left".

Giantaxe

And typically those children may have the option of going to college in the country where they reside (and may have been born, in fact). Although I'm disdainful of many immigration-related policies in the UK, this one feels about right (with some minor tweaks I've suggested before on BE).

bourbon-biscuit

Yes, but with no access to loans- make them pay the fees upfront at the start of each semester (as Australia does). In fact, with the new fee changes there's even more reason to adopt this approach as student contributions are so much higher.

WEBlue

This may not be such an easy alternative, considering universities in Japan that teach a whole course in English are few and far between. Unless the daughter is VERY good at speaking, reading and writing Japanese, which is a difficult language even for those foreigners who've lived in the country for a long time, there would be little choice. And it could be that those few universities that are able to take her on as an English-speaking student might require her to enroll as an international student for such a course.

ICU and Sophia uni are two that come to mind as possibilities.

nun

What about Irish Universities and it's pretty inexpensive to study in Holland if you are an EU citizen

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/study_in_the_netherlands.htm

Why limit yourself to the UK when you have access to all of the EU.....also Scotland is cheaper than England.

rebs

Not if you are from England - they are charged more

Not sure how it works for UK passport holders that are not currently resident anywhere in the UK....

killerhales

I'm not complaining, but just as an illustration, we are paying £16,750 per year versus the "home" fee of £9,000 per year.

So over three years the difference will be about £25K. As already said, the real difference is the fact that fees have to be paid up front, with no access to loans.

The plus side from my daughter's perspective is that she will have no loan to pay back!!!

jemima55

We did that for our son in the States and used to show him pictures of the luxury cars we could be buying! ; )

rebs

That is still quite a margin of difference, isn't it...

It does vary from university to university, so the difference would be less in some instances and it is less of a gap than when home fees were capped at £3000 per year.

Yes, that is good for your daughter to not have to pay what is effectively a 'graduate tax' when she starts earning over the threshold

Sue

Indeed, it does differ a lot from uni to uni doesn't it. My son's fees are only £1,000 a year more than the "home" rates.

Tel8

Hi there! I went through the same thing for my post grad degree, and am currently paying the overseas fee rate for the programme.

The short line is: there's not really any financial aid available for international students. There may be some bursaries available through the school, but they're most likely going to be highly competitive. Most banks that I know of don't do special loans or anything for students, and my particular bank wouldn't even give me the student overdraft protection because of that 'overseas' classification.

Now the good news: it's tricky, but it can still be done! You may be able to get a japanese education loan. I don't know how it works, but I was coming from the states, and the government student loan people just happen to work with my uni.

They were able to give me a loan to pay for my studies that goes directly to the uni without me having to worry about it. The downside is of course, the conversion rate. My uni charges 14k in overseas rates, and the dollar is about 1.50 to the pound right now. You can imagine. Still, you have to look at relative value. For me, that's pretty much the same amount I'd have paid per year for a two year progamme in the states.

How important is it for your daughter to study here? If she's really really unhappy with the idea of staying in Japan, then it's probably worth it to send her back and see how much money you can get in student loans from Japan. If she's okay either way, and the conversion rate is really unkind to JPY, then it's probably better for her to stay with you.

Hope that helps!

Sue

I don't know if it's of any help to you, but give Santander a try, they gave my son a student account with the overdraft protection and free insurance for his laptop and cell phone. He told them he was British, but had lived abroad for a number of years and was returning to attend university but they didn't ask about his student status at all (eg whether or not he was classed overseas student etc). He did use his grandparents address though initially, and then switched to his student hall address once he got that, and now all his statements etc are sent electronically anyway so he doesn't get snail mail from them at all.

dunroving

Just an FYI - Santander are #1 bank (worst) for customer complaints.

Sue

Maybe, but my son has had great service from them so far ... so he isn't complaining

I just wanted to offer is as an option to Tel8, as they were extremely helpful and accommodating as far as my son was concerned with regard to opening his student account. Compared to the two other banks he tried they were by far the best.

But as with everything, everyone's mileage may vary.

holly_1948

Everything is far from clear, but I had an exchange of emails with Britain's largest University and as far as I could discern - unlike other universities they seem to not have a three year residence rule to apply English rates to students who reside (since only recently) in England. There is a three year rule for Scots resident students and also a three year residence rule when it comes to the (new this year) loans for part time students.

Britain's largest University is, of course, The Open University, and their fees for undergraduate (Baccalaureate) students in England who take on a workload equivalent to full time (degrees in three or four years) is £5,000 per annum for students in England. For Scotland it is less than £1,700 per annum but the three year rule is applied.

Of course it is necessary to relocate to England before applying to the University (rather than the reverse) if one is to benefit from that route. OU may not be quite what you had in mind but it is a great "if all else fails" option.

And it opens the door to working and earning money at the same time as studying - though as others will attest, doing that resulting in having zero leisure time. This would be particularly valuable to anyone who intends work for a polyglot.