Higher education (HE) courses include HNC and HND courses, undergraduate degrees (for example, BA, BSc, BEd), and postgraduate degrees (for example, MA, MSc, PhD). The info below explains the conditions you currently need to meet to be entitled to pay tuition fees at the 'home' rate for study on a HE course at a HE institution in Northern Ireland. Check if your course is in HE or further education (FE).
There is one set of fees regulations in Northern Ireland - The Student Fees (Qualifying Courses and Persons) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 - which, since publication, has been amended five times: see 2007 No.375; 2011 No.70; 2011 No.376; 2013 No.37; and 2019 No.35.
We understand from the Northern Ireland Government that publicly funded educational institutions in Northern Ireland will charge one of three levels of fee:
- a ‘home’ fee (£3,575); or
- a middle rate capped fee which certain, specified students who are not eligible for the 'home' fee may qualify for. By virtue of No.376, above, students who started a course on/after 1 September 2012 are assessed differently, in a small number of ways, to those who began their course before that date. Institutions have agreed with the Northern Ireland Government to cap this middle rate fee at £9000; or
- a top-rate, uncapped ‘overseas’ fee for all other students.
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be settled in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
(b) you must satisfy one of the following:
- you must be ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on the first day of the first academic year of the course. However, if you are ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland because you moved from England, Wales, Scotland, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man, to undertake a course then you are considered to be ordinarily resident wherever you moved from, and not in Northern Ireland. If this applies to you, you will not qualify for 'home' fees under this category but you might qualify for the middle rate capped fee if you meet the conditions in (a), (c) and (d); or
- if you are continuing a course that you started in an academic year before 2012-13, you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course;
and
(c) you must also have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the full three year period before the first day of the first academic year of the course. For example, if your course begins in October 2018, you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands from 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2018; and
(d) the main purpose for your residence in the UK and Islands must not have been to receive full-time education during any part of that three-year period.
Note: It is not necessary to have had settled immigration status in the UK for three years.
British Overseas Territories Citizens (BOTCs)
Many British Overseas Territories Citizens (BOTCs) are also British Citizens. If this is your situation, but you have not been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the full three-year period before the first day of the first academic year of the course, check Category 3. Category 3 requires three years’ ordinary residence in a wider residence area which includes the British Overseas Territories.
Students from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man
If you moved to the UK for your course of study (or a course of study you finished immediately before it), you will be treated as being ordinarily resident in the Islands and as not ordinarily resident in the UK. You will therefore be unable to meet (b) above. If you are in this position, check with your institution about what fee rate they will charge you (they might have a special 'Islands' rate).
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be settled in the UK; and
(b) you have left the UK and exercised a right of residence having already been settled in the UK
Note: A right of residence covers those people and their family members who are in the EEA and/or Switzerland as workers, self-employed people, students, or self-sufficient people, and, in all cases, their family members; or people who have gone to the state of which they are, or their family member is, a national;
and
(c) you must satisfy one of the following:
- you must be ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on the day on which the first term of the first academic year of your course begins. However, if you are ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland because you moved from England, Wales, Scotland, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man, to undertake a course then you are considered to be ordinarily resident wherever you moved from, and not in Northern Ireland. If this applies to you, you will not qualify for 'home' fees under this category but you might qualify for the middle rate capped fee if you meet the conditions in (a), (b), (d), and (e); or
- if you are continuing a course that you started in an academic year before 2012/13, you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course;
and
(d) you have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories for the full three year period before the first day of the first academic year of the course. For example, if your course begins in October 2015, you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands from 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2015; and
(e) in a case where the ordinary residence referred to in (d) above was wholly/mainly for the purposes of receiving full-time education, you have been ordinarily resident in the EEA/Switzerland immediately before that three-year period.
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) on the first day of an academic year of your course:
1. you must be:
- a non-UK EU national; or
- the relevant family member of a non-UK EU national, where that non-UK EU national is in the UK as a self-sufficient person, student, or worker; and
- ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland. However, if you are ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland because you moved from England, Wales, Scotland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, to undertake a course then you are considered to be ordinarily resident wherever you moved from, and not in Northern Ireland, and would fail this requirement. If this applies to you, you will not qualify for 'home' fees under this category but you might qualify for the middle rate capped fee if you meet the conditions in (b) and (c);
or
2. if continuing a course that you started in an academic year before 2012/13, you must be:
- an EU national; or
- the relevant family member of a non-UK EU national, where that non-UK EU national is in the UK as a self-sufficient person, student, or worker; or
- the relevant family member of a UK national;
and
(b) you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories for the three years before the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
(c) the main purpose of your residence in the EEA/Switzerland (or the overseas territories if applicable) must not have been to receive full-time education during any part of the three-year period.
Note: If you become, or a relevant family member becomes, an EU national after the start of your course, you can become entitled to 'home' fees from the start of the following academic year as long as:
-
you have satisfied the residence conditions in (b) and (c), above, on the first day of the first academic year of your course; and
- [for the family member of an EU national] the EU national meets the requirements in (a), above, on the first day of whichever subsequent academic year the reassessment is being made for.
For the purposes of the residence conditions, any country that joins the EU is considered always to have been part of the EEA.
British Overseas Territories Citizens (BOTCs)
Many British Overseas Territory Citizens (BOTCs) are also British Citizens. If this is your situation, then as a British Citizen, you are also an EU national. As an EU national, you will be eligible under this category but only if you meet the residence requirements at (a)(2), and (b), and (c), above.
Special Provision: For people studying on courses which start on or after 1 September 2013
You do not have to meet the Category 3 (b) or (c) criteria (above) if your course starts/started on/after 1 September 2013 and:
- you are the relevant family member of a non-UK EU national, and that non-UK EU national is in the UK as a self sufficient person, student, or worker; and
- your relevant family member has been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories for the three years before the first day of the first academic year of the course that you are studying.
Changes to this category summary
The outline provided here was updated on 20 October 2017. Under the heading "Special Provision: For people studying on courses which start on or after 1 September 2013", the words "or worker" were added to the first bullet.
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you are a non-UK EU national on the first day of the first academic year of the course. If you are a national of a country that joins the EU after the start of your course you will be treated as meeting this requirement in the next academic year; and
(b)
- you were ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on the first day of the first academic year of the course. However, if you were ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on that day because you moved from England, Wales, Scotland, or the Islands, to start a course then you are considered as ordinarily resident in the part of the UK that you came to Northern Ireland from, not Northern Ireland. If this applies to you, you will not qualify for 'home' fees under this category but you might qualify for the middle rate capped fee if you meet the conditions in (a), (c) and (d); or
- if you are continuing a course that you started in an academic year before 2012/13, you were ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course;
and
(c) you were ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the three-year period before the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
(d) if during any part of the three year period, the main purpose for your residence was to receive full-time education, you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories immediately prior to the three-year period of ordinary residence in the UK and Islands.
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you have the right of permanent residence in the UK under European Community (EC) law on the first day of an academic year of the course; and
(b)
- you were ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on the first day of the first academic year of the course. However, if you were ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland on that day because you moved from England, Wales, Scotland, or the Islands, to start a course then you are considered as ordinarily resident in the part of the UK that you came to Northern Ireland from, not Northern Ireland. If this applies to you, you will not qualify for 'home' fees under this category but you might qualify for the middle rate capped fee if you meet the conditions in (a), (c) and (d); or
- if you are continuing a course that you started in an academic year before 2012/13, you were ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course;
and
(c) you were ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the three-year period before the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
(d) if any of your ordinary residence in (b) was for the main purpose of receiving full-time education, you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories immediately prior to that three-year period.
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) on the first day of an academic year of your course you must be a non-UK EEA national, or a Swiss national, and resident in the UK as a worker, or the relevant family member of such a worker; and
(b) you must be ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course unless you are an EEA or Swiss frontier worker or relevant family member of a frontier worker; and
(c) you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories for the three years before the first day of the first academic year of the course.
Notes:
- If you fail to meet requirement (c), and you are the family member of a non-UK EU national (that is, excluding nationals of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland), see category 3 (above) for a 'special provision' which allows a non-UK EU national to meet the residence requirement on behalf of their student family member.
- If you are the child of an EEA worker who is no longer working or living in the UK, you may still be entitled to pay 'home' fees if you have, at some point, lived in the UK as the child of that person whilst he/she exercised his/her right to reside as a worker (but not a self-employed worker). It does not matter if you are now over 21 and are no longer dependent on him/her. You should seek advice from your institution, from your Students' Union, or by telephoning our students' advice line, if you would like to explore this option.
- If you or a relevant family member become an EEA or Swiss migrant worker part-way through your course, you might become entitled to pay 'home' fees. You should seek advice on this, as above.
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) on the first day of an academic year of your course you must be the child of a Swiss national and your Swiss parent must be exercising a right of residence in the UK (for example as a self-sufficient person, a worker, or a student); and
(b) you must be ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
(c) you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories for the three years before the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
(d) if the main purpose for your residence in (c) above, was wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education, you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland immediately before that three-year period.
Note: If you become the child of a Swiss national part-way through your course, you might become entitled to pay 'home' fees – you can seek advice on this from an adviser at your institution, your Students' Union or telephone our students' advice line.
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be the child of a Turkish national; and
(b) your Turkish national parent must be ordinarily resident in the UK and must be, or have been, lawfully employed in the UK; and
(c) you must be ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
(d) you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland and/or Turkey and/or the overseas territories for the three years before the first day of the first academic year of the course.
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
(b) on the first day of an academic year of the course, you must be:
- a refugee recognised by the UK Government; or
- the spouse or civil partner of such a refugee and you must have been the spouse or civil partner of that person on the date on which their asylum application was made; or
- the child or step-child of such a refugee and at the time the refugee made the asylum application you must have been the under-18-year-old child or step-child of the refugee
and
(c) you have not ceased to be ordinarily resident since you were recognised as a refugee or, if you are a spouse, civil partner, child or step-child, since you were given leave to remain in the UK.
Becoming eligible
If you are, or if your parent (or your parent's spouse / civil partner) is, or if your own spouse / civil partner is, recognised as a refugee after the start of the course, you will be entitled to 'home' fees from the start of the next academic year if you meet the requirements above.
Refugee Status: where someone gains British citizenship
The Immigration Rules revoke someone's Refugee Status once s/he subsequently obtains a new nationality, eg when a refugee gains British citizenship. If you have, or a relevant family member has, Refugee Status and you are, or the person with that status is, considering applying for British (or any other) citizenship, you should be aware that such an application could have an effect on your fees status or your eligibility for Student Support.
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
(b) you must be:
1. a "person with leave to enter or remain", which means a person:
- who has been informed by the Home Office that, although he/she is considered not to qualify for recognition as a refugee, it is thought right to allow him/her to enter or remain in the UK; and
- who has been granted leave to enter or to remain accordingly [This can be in the form of any type of immigration leave, for example humanitarian protection or discretionary leave, but these are only examples]; and
- whose period of leave to enter or remain has not expired, or has been renewed and the period for which it was renewed has not expired, or in respect of whose leave to enter or remain an appeal is pending; and
- who has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since he/she was granted leave to enter or remain;
or
2. the spouse or civil partner of a "person with leave to enter or remain (as above), and you must have been the spouse or civil partner of that person on the date on which they applied for asylum; or
3. the child of a "person with leave to enter or remain" (as above), or a child of that person's spouse or civil partner, and, at the time the person with leave to enter or remain applied for asylum, you must have been under 18 years old and the child of that person or of someone who was the spouse or civil partner of that person on that date.
Becoming eligible
If you are, or if your parent or spouse or civil partner is, granted permission to stay in the UK after the start of the course, you will be entitled to 'home' fees from the start of the next academic year if you meet the requirements above.
This category is only for students who started a course on or after 1 August 2019.
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the full three-year period before the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
(b) you must be ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
(c) on the first day of an academic year of the course, you must be either:
1. a person with Section 67 leave (it doesn’t matter if the Section 67 leave is for a limited period, or an indefinite period); or
2. a dependent child of a person with Section 67 leave, who has been granted leave for the same period.
