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 in England. Check if your course is in higher education (HE) or further education (FE).
There are two relevant sets of fees regulations in England:
The regulations are amended by the Government from time-to-time. Keep an eye on this page as we will update it whenever amendments are made.
If you meet all the criteria required by any one category, including any residence requirements, your institution must charge you a 'home' fee 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 on 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) 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 the full three years. You only need to show that you have it on, at the latest, the first day of the first academic year of the course.
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.
The easiest way to show you are a British Citizen is to have a passport that lists your nationality as 'British Citizen'. If you do not have one, the UK Department for Education indicates in its Assessing eligibility guidance 2018/19 (paragraph 3.1.3) that any of the following will be acceptable instead:
- a British Overseas Territories Citizen passport issued before 21 May 2002; or
- a British Dependent Territories Citizen passport issued before 21 May 2002; or
- a British Overseas Territories Citizen passport issued on or after 21 May 2002, but only if you also provide evidence that you or your parent was born in a British overseas territory, or evidence that you or your parent was registered or naturalised as a citizen (for example, as a British Subject, a Citizen of the UK and Colonies, a British Citizen, a British Dependent Territories Citizen, or a British Overseas Territories Citizen) before 21 May 2002.
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).
This category covers people who are British Citizens, or otherwise settled, and who move from the UK to elsewhere in the residence area, then return to the UK.
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you are 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 or self-employed people, or as students or self-sufficient people and, in all cases, their family members or people who have gone to the state of which they or their family member is a national.
and
(c) you are ordinarily resident in the UK on the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins; and
(d) you have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories for the three years preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
(e) in a case where the ordinary residence referred to in (d) above was wholly or mainly for the purposes of receiving full-time education, you have been ordinarily resident in 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, you must be:
- an EU national; or
- 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; 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 (if you do not meet this requirement, see the Special Provision below); and
(c) the main purpose of your residence in the EEA/Switzerland/overseas territories residence area must not have been to receive full-time education during any part of the three-year period (if you do not meet this requirement, see the Special Provision below).
Notes:
- 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 as from the start of the following academic year as long as you satisfy the residence conditions in (b) and (c) above on the first day of the first academic year of your course (see the next note too);
- 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 provided that you meet the residence requirements at (b) and (c) above.
The easiest way to show you are a British Citizen is to have a passport that lists your nationality as 'British Citizen'. If you do not have one, then the UK Department for Education has said in 2017/18 guidance (paragraph 3.1.3, page 14) that any of the following will be acceptable instead:
- a British Overseas Territories Citizen passport issued before 21 May 2002; or
- a British Dependent Territories Citizen passport issued before 21 May 2002; or
- a British Overseas Territories Citizen passport issued on or after 21 May 2002, but only if you also provide evidence that you or your parent was born in a British overseas territory, or evidence that you or your parent was registered or naturalised as a citizen (for example, as a British Subject, a Citizen of the UK and Colonies, a British Citizen, a British Dependent Territories Citizen, or a British Overseas Territories Citizen) before 21 May 2002.
Special Provision for people studying on courses which started on or after 1 September 2011
You do not have to meet the Category 3 (b) or (c) criteria (above) if you are studying on a course which started on or after the 1 September 2011 and:
1) 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; or
- UK national, and that UK national has exercised a right of residence in another EU member state for more than three months as a self-sufficient person, student, worker, or a family member accompanying one of these types of people;
and
2) 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.
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you are an 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 the UK on 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 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 (c) 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:
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 an EU national (that is, excluding nationals of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland), see category 3 (above) for a 'special provision' which allows an 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;
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 / 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 of such a refugee or of a refugee's spouse or civil partner and at the time the refugee made the asylum application you must have been the under-18-year-old child of the refugee or of the refugee's spouse or civil partner;
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, or child, of a refugee, since you were given leave to remain in the UK.
Becoming eligible
If you are, or if your parent or spouse or 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) on the first day of an academic year of the course, you must be:
1. a "person granted humanitarian protection", which means a person:
- who has been granted leave to remain in the UK under the Immigration Rules, on the grounds of 'humanitarian protection'; and
- whose leave to remain is 'extant', or in respect of whose leave to remain an appeal is pending; and
- who has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being granted their humanitarian protection;
or
2. the spouse or civil partner of a "person granted humanitarian protection" (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 granted humanitarian protection" (as above), or a child of that person's spouse or civil partner, and, at the time the person granted humanitarian protection 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.
New guidance about this category in March 2020
If you are an undergraduate student, and the academic year you are being assessed for started on or after 1 August 2019, then the regulations currently require that 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. However, that requirement was newly introduced for academic years that started on/after 1 August 2019 and it did not apply before that. Your course provider will probably not have applied the requirement to you if you were already on your course before 1 August 2019. Furthermore, the Department for Education (DfE) has now advised fee assessors to no longer apply this requirement to any student who would otherwise be eligible under this category. See our news item Humanitarian Protection: good news on fees and finance (27 March 2020).
Becoming eligible
If you are, or if your parent (or your parent's spouse / civil partner) is, or your own spouse / civil partner is, granted humanitarian protection 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 are commencing a course on/after 1 August 2018.
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet 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 have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the three-year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course; and
(c) you must be:
1. a "person granted stateless leave", which means a person who has:
- extant leave to remain as a stateless person under the immigration rules [within the meaning given in section 33(1) of the Immigration Act 1971(c)]; and
- been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since [having been] granted such leave;
or
2. a person who is the spouse / civil partner of a "person granted stateless leave" and, on the leave application date, was the spouse / civil partner of a "person granted stateless leave";
or
3. a person who is the child of a "person granted stateless leave", or the child of the spouse / civil partner of a "person granted stateless leave", and on the leave application date was under 18 and:
- the child of a "person granted stateless leave" or
- the child of a person who, on the leave application date, was the spouse / civil partner of a "person granted stateless leave".
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) on the first day of the first academic year of the course, you must either be:
(i) under the age of 18 and have lived in the UK throughout the seven-year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course; or
(ii) aged 18 years old or above and, preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course, have lived in the UK throughout either:
(aa) half your life; or
(bb) a period of twenty-years;
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 UK and Islands throughout the three-year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course. See our definition of ordinary residence, including the need for residence to be / have been lawful;
and
(d) your residence in the UK and Islands must not have been, during any part of the period referred to in paragraph (c), wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education [unless you are to be treated as having been ordinarily resident in the UK & Islands due to either you, or a relevant family member, having been temporarily employed outside the UK & Islands].
You can also read our information on applying for Student Support in England (see Category 11). Just for Kids Law published two blogs, giving advice for people who were applying for the 2016/17 academic year.
This category is only for students who are starting a course on/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;
and
(d) you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being granted your leave.
This category is only for students who are starting a course on/after 1 August 2020. See our news item on 7 February 2020.
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 indefinite leave to remain in the UK under any of the following provisions of the immigration rules, as defined in section 33(1) of the Immigration Act 1971(4)
(i) paragraph 289B (victims of domestic violence);
(ii) paragraph D-DVILR.1.1. of Appendix FM (victims of domestic abuse); or
(iii) paragraph 40 of Appendix Armed Forces (victims of domestic violence: partners of members of the armed forces);
(b) you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands since you were granted such leave; and
(c) you must be ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course.
This category is only for students who are starting a course on/after 1 August 2020. See our news item on 7 February 2020.
In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) you must be a person granted Calais leave, which means “a person who has extant leave to remain in the UK under paragraph 352J, 352K, 352L or 352T (Calais leave and “leave in line” granted by virtue of being a dependent child of a person granted Calais leave) of the immigration rules, as defined in section 33(1) of the Immigration Act 1971”;
(b) you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands since you were granted such leave; 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 UK and Islands for the full three-year period before the first day of the first academic year of the course.
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