This information explains the conditions you need to meet to be entitled to pay tuition fees at the ‘home’ rate on courses of further education (FE) in Scotland. The Scottish Government provides funding to FE institutions for 'home' students.
This information also applies to you if you are a higher education (HE) student and your university considers that you are a 'new deferred student' or a 'continuing student'.
Certain categories of FE-only student are eligible for a complete fee waiver, irrespective of their fee status under the regulations. We have included these categories of student here, too, as they would effectively be funded by the Scottish Government as 'home' fee payers. But note that these categories do not apply to '(new) deferred' and 'continuing' HE students.
This information is based on the provisions of the Education (Fees and Awards) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 (as amended). The Scottish Government has advised that FE fee assessors can use the Education (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (as amended) for FE fee assessment. The 2011 regulations are used for HE fee assessment and most of the categories contain a larger number of conditions than their equivalent in the 2007 regulations. It is our understanding that the Education (Fees and Awards) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 have not yet been revoked and, therefore, are still in force alongside the 2011 regulations. We have asked the Scottish Government about this situation, and we are waiting for clarification from them. In the meantime, your institution may have been advised to use the 2011 regulations instead of the 2007 regulations.
To be eligible for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be settled in the UK on 1 August, 1 January, 1 April or 1 July closest to the beginning of the first term of your course; and
(b) you must be ordinarily resident in the UK on the date in (a); and
(c) you must also have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the full three year period before the date in (a), eg, if your course begins in September 2017, the date in (a) above will be 1 August 2017 and you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands from 1 August 2014 to 31 July 2017; 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 UNLESS you are someone with the right of permanent residence. People with the right of permanent residence are allowed to have had a main purpose of full-time education as long as you were ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland immediately prior to your five-year period of residence in the UK which led to you obtaining the right of permanent residence.
Students from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man
If you are in receipt of an award from your Island authority, you are treated differently; there is an agreement between the Island authorities and UK higher education institutions.
To be eligible for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) On 1 August, 1 January, 1 April or 1 July closest to the beginning of the first term of your course, you must be:
- settled in the UK; or
- the settled/non-settled family member of a UK national;
and
(b) you have left the UK and exercised a 'right of residence' in the EEA and/or Switzerland but were settled in the UK immediately before leaving
Note: If you are the settled/non-settled family member of a UK national then you do not have to have been settled in the UK immediately before that person exercised a right of residence. A 'right of residence' covers those people, and their family members, who are in the EEA and/or Switzerland as workers and/or self-employed people and/or students and/or self-sufficient people;
and
(c) you have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland for the three years preceding on 1 August, 1 January, 1 April or 1 July closest to the beginning of the first term of your course; and
(d) in a case where the ordinary residence referred to in (c) above was wholly or mainly for the purposes of receiving full-time education, you were ordinarily resident in EEA/Switzerland immediately before that three-year period.
To be eligible for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) On 1 August, 1 January, 1 April or 1 July closest to the beginning of the first term of your course, you must be:
- an non-UK EU national, or be the relevant family member joining or accompanying that EU national in the UK; or
- a UK national who has exercised a right of residence (as a worker or self-sufficient person or student) outside the UK in another EEA member state and/or Switzerland, or be the relevant family member of such a person;
A 'dual national' who has UK nationality and another EU nationality cannot use their non-UK EU nationality to meet paragraph (a)[1] above. Such a UK/EU 'dual national' can only be eligible under this category if they meet the conditions of paragraph (a)[2] above. For such a UK/EU 'dual national', the exercising of a right of residence can include time spent in the non-UK EU country of which the student is a national;
and
(b) you, or the EU national that you are a relevant family member of, must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA, Switzerland, and/or the EU overseas territories, for the three years before the date in (a); and
(c)
- if you are the person who has been ordinarily resident in the EEA, Switzerland, and/or the EU overseas territories, for the three years before the date in (a), the main purpose of your residence in that area must not have been to receive full-time education during any part of the three-year period; or
- if you are the relevant family member of the person who has been ordinarily resident in the EEA, Switzerland, and/or the EU overseas territories, for the three years before the date in (a), the main purpose of your relevant family member's residence in that area must not have been to receive full-time education during any part of the three-year period.
Update to this category summary
The wording in this category summary was amended on 20 May 2019 to make explicit that a 'dual national' who has UK nationality and another EU nationality cannot use their non-UK EU nationality to meet paragraph (a)[1] above.
To be eligible for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you are an EU national (but not a UK national), or the family member of such a person, on 1 August, 1 January, 1 April or 1 July closest to the beginning of the first term of your course; and
(b) you are ordinarily resident in Scotland on the date in (a); and
(c) you were ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the three-year period before the date in (a); and
(d) if your residence described in (c) was mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education, you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA/Switzerland immediately prior to the three-year period of ordinary residence in the UK and Islands.
Note: Where a country of which you are, or your family member is, a national joins the EU after the date in (a), then you are treated as having been a national of that country on the date in (a).
To be eligible 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 on 1 August, 1 January, 1 April or 1 July closest to the beginning of the first term of your course; and
(b) you are ordinarily resident in the UK on the date in (a) above; and
(c) you were ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the three-year period before the date in (a) above; 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 the three-year period.
Changes to this category summary
We amended the title of this category on 17 May 2018 because we realised that, whilst the category content was correct, the title incorrectly excluded non-EU EEA nationals.
To be eligible for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be an EEA national (but NOT a UK national), or a Swiss national, in the UK as a worker, or the relevant family member of such a worker; and
(b) you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland for the three years preceding 1 August, 1 January, 1 April or 1 July closest to the beginning of the first term of your course.
Note: 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). 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.
To be eligible for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be the child of a Swiss national; and
(b) you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland for the three years immediately before 1 August, 1 January, 1 April or 1 July closest to the beginning of the first term of your course; and
(c) if the main purpose for your residence in the EEA/Switzerland, as in (b) 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
Notes: There is no requirement that your Swiss parent is, or has been, economically active in the UK. 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 UKCISA's Students' Advice Line.
To be eligible 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 Scotland and must be, or have been, lawfully employed in the UK; and
(c) you must be ordinarily resident in Scotland on 1st August, 1st January, 1st April or 1st July closest to the beginning of the first term of your course; and
(d) you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland and/or Turkey for the three years before the date in (c) above.
To be eligible for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must have been recognised as a refugee by the UK Government and have remained ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands since then, or you must be the spouse or civil partner or child of such a person.
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.
If you apply for asylum and the Home Office decides that you do not qualify for refugee status but that you should be allowed to stay in the UK, it will, for example, grant humanitarian protection, discretionary leave or some other type of immigration leave (immigration permission).
To be eligible for 'home' fees under this category, you must:
(a) have been refused refugee status but granted leave as above and have remained ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands since the Home Office decision; or
(b) be the spouse / civil partner of such a person, above; or
(c) be the child of such a person, above.
To be eligible for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be the child of an asylum seeker, or be an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child; and
(b) you must be living in Scotland on 1st August, 1st January, 1st April or 1st July closest to the beginning of the first term of your course; and
(c) you must have been living in Scotland for the three-year period immediately before the date in (b); and
(d) you must have been under 18 years old on the date the asylum application was made, and that application must have been made before 1 December 2006; and
(e) be under 25 years old on the date in (b).
If you are studying in the UK on the basis of a formal student exchange between your institution in your own country and your UK place of study, you will not normally have to pay fees. If you do have to pay fees, these will be at the ‘home’ rate.
To be eligible for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a)
- you must be an Iraqi national who has been granted indefinite leave to enter the UK, under the Locally Engaged Staff Assistance Scheme (Direct Entry) operated by the Home Office; and
- you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands at all times since you were first granted such indefinite leave to enter the UK;
or
(b) you must be the spouse, civil partner or child of a person in (a).
To be eligible for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be a person who has been granted temporary protection; and
(b) you must be younger than 18 years old prior to the first day of the current academic year for which you are being assessed; and
(c) you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands at all times since you were first granted temporary protection.
To be eligible for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be a British Overseas Territories national, or the family member of such a national; and
(b) you must have been ordinarily resident in either the UK or any of the British Overseas Territories throughout the 3 year period prior to 1 August, 1 January, 1 April or 1 July closest to the beginning of the first term of your course.
This category applies only to FE students and not to '(new) deferred' or 'continuing' HE students.
To be eligible for ‘home’ fees under this category:
(a) you must be:
- an asylum seeker, or the spouse or child of an asylum seeker, who is living in Scotland; and
- studying on a full-time/part-time English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) course, or a part-time non-advanced/advanced course, at a college.
or
(b) you must be:
- someone who is not seeking asylum (a "non-asylum seeker"); and
- living in Scotland; and
- studying on a part-time ESOL course; and
- someone whose main purpose for being in the EEA is not to receive education.
You should speak to your college if you are unsure if your course is a full-time ESOL course or a part-time non-advanced or advanced course.
This category is only for use from 1 August 2016 onwards, and should not be used for assessments for 2015/16.
To be eligible for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be a Syrian national who has been:
- granted humanitarian protection (HP) to enter the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme; and
- ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands at all times since first being granted that HP to enter the UK.
or
(b) you must be the spouse / civil partner, or child, of a person in (a).
This category is for students commencing an academic year on/after 1 August 2017.
To be eligible for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be:
1. under the age of 18 and have lived in the UK throughout the seven-year period preceding the relevant date; or
2. aged 18 years old-or-above and, preceding the relevant date, have lived in the UK throughout either half your life or a period of twenty years.
and
(b) you must be ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date. However, if you are ordinarily resident in Scotland because you moved from elsewhere in the UK and Islands to undertake a course, then you are considered to be ordinarily resident wherever you moved from; and
(c) your ordinary residence in Scotland on the relevant date must not be attributable to / connected with any period of residence in Scotland that was wholly/mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education within the immediately preceding three-year period; if it is, then you will not be eligible under this category unless you acquired the right of permanent residence in the UK "as a result of residence for full-time education which has led to" this right; and
(d) you must also have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the full three year period before the relevant date, eg if your course begins in October 2017, the date in (a) above will be 1 August 2017 and you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands from 1 August 2014 to 31 July 2017; and
(e) 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. However, if you have the right of permanent residence you are excluded from this 'main purpose' test, as long as you were ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland immediately prior to the five-year period of UK residence which led to you obtaining this right.
This category is only for students commencing an academic year on/after 1 August 2018.
In order to qualify for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be an Afghan national who:
1. has been granted limited leave to remain in the UK under the Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme [that is, a Home Office Scheme for people made redundant as a direct consequence of the UK’s reduction of military presence in Afghanistan]; and
2. has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands at all times since first being granted that leave; and
3. is ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date;
or
(b) you must be:
1. the spouse / civil partner, or child, of a person in (a); and
2. ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date.
This category is only for students commencing an academic year on/after 1 August 2018.
In order to qualify for ‘home’ fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be a person who:
1. has been granted limited leave to remain in the UK as a stateless person under the immigration rules; and
2. has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands at all times since first being granted that leave; and
3. is ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date;
or
(b) you must be:
1. the spouse / civil partner, or child, of a person in (a); and
2. ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date.
This category came into effect on 6 April 2019
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be a person who has been granted discretionary leave to remain in the UK due to being identified as a victim of modern slavery; and
(b) you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands at all times since first being granted that discretionary leave; and
(c) you must be ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date
For the purposes of this category, 'modern slaver' includes human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour.
