Job Discussion Forums

[adrianmark]

I am a British national but have lived outside England for 5 years now and are still living in Asia. My son, a British national, will attend a UK university in 2010. Will he be classed as a 'home' student or 'overseas' and thus have to pay the far higher charge?

Thanks so much.

[stillnosheep]

If there is a problem I am sure you have relatives in the UK at whose address your son has been living for most of the last 5 years (except of course for those months abroad that conicide with exam times etc) .

[Dedicated]

Universities are really clamping down now on Home Resident Status. You need to prove that you /your son were resident in the UK for a 3 year period prior to the start of the course. ..and the main purpose of your /his residence in the UK for those 3 years must NOT have been to receive full-time education (eg. like boarding school).

They can (and do) ask for UK tax details and evidence of utility bills in your name.

If your son lists "A" levels obtained at a foreign institution, such as an international school, then they will be immediately suspicious. If he did "A" levels in the UK, at a UK school, then you may get away with it by putting address of grandparents.

[adrianmark]

Thanks for the reply.

Basically you are saying that in order to receive 'home' resident status you must be in the UK for three years prior to starting your university course.

Which means that every UK passport holding student who does their GCSEs and A Levels overseas must pay 'international' fees. Meaning that their are thousands of UK passport holding students who were born in the UK but are paying three times as much as a UK student who never left the UK simply because their parents were working overseas.

Is this really the situation?????????????

[Dedicated]

Just having a UK passport does not necessarily or automatically entitle you to Home Status.The 3 year rule applies. However, if the parents work overseas in the Diplomatic Service or the services (Army/Navy etc), then they will be classed as Home Students.

If parents work overseas for a UK company and pay UK tax (and can produce records to prove so) then they will classed as Home students.

However, if for example, parents work in Dubai for a foreign company, and kiddy-winkles go to an international school there, then they are classed as non-Home Students and will pay higher fees.

[Mr_Monkey]

When I came back from 5 years Japan in 2007, I only needed to demonstrate that I hadn't been permanently resident there for the previous five years - I had a limited term visa, without unlimited leave to remain, and my work contracts were always for one year or less.

The argument I made was that if I wasn't permanently resident abroad, I could only be permanently resident in the UK. It seemed to work.