England: FE fee status

Last modified: 13 August 2024

Before you look at this page, you should read our introductory information about 'Home' and 'Overseas' fees and find out if your course is higher education (HE) or further education (FE). If your course is a HE course, please refer to the England: HE fee status page instead.

 

 

Further Education for 16 - 18s

Last modified: 22 July 2024

Further education (FE) courses include GCSEs, AS and 'A' levels (and their equivalents), NVQs, GNVQs, BTECs, and Access courses. The information below explains the conditions you need to meet to be entitled to pay tuition fees at the ‘home’ rate on ESFA (Education and Skills Funding Agency) funded FE courses in England. Check with your institution as to whether or not your course is funded by the ESFA. If not, then your institution should assess you under The Education (Fees and Awards) (England) Regulations 2007 (see our HE info). Check if your course is in higher education (HE) or FE.

You will be eligible as a 'home' student in the 2024/25 academic year if you come within one, or more, of the categories below and you are:

  • studying a FE course (which is not an Apprenticeship course) in England; and
  • aged 16-18 years on 31 August in the funding year in which you start your course.

A 'funding year' runs from 1 August in one year to 31 July in the calendar year which immediately follows.

In order to be eligible for funding, you must also have the legal right to be resident in the UK at the start of your course.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is responsible for drawing up the funding rules. Further guidance on their funding criteria can be found on the ESFA's website.

1. EEA citizens and family

2. People with the Right of Abode in the UK

3. People with no restrictions on working in the UK (eg people with Indefinite Leave)

4. People accompanying/joining specified family members in the UK

5. Children of diplomats

6: Asylum seekers or those under the care of a local authority

7. People with Refugee status, and specified family members

8. People with Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary/Exceptional Leave in the UK, and specified family members

9. Recently settled

10. Children of Turkish Workers

11. People granted leave under the ‘Dubs’ amendment to the Immigration Act

12. Apprenticeship students

13. Exceptional circumstances

14. Calais leave

15. People with British National Overseas (BNO) visas

16. Those granted immigration permission under either the Afghan or Ukrainian schemes

Further Education for 19 and older

Last modified: 13 August 2024

Further education (FE) courses include GCSEs, AS and 'A' levels (and their equivalents), NVQs, GNVQs, BTECs, and Access courses. The info below explains the conditions you need to meet to be entitled to pay tuition fees at the ‘home’ rate on courses of FE in England. Check if your course is in higher education (HE) or FE.

If you reside and wish to pursue a course of study in a devolved authority area, each devolved authority area has produced their own set of funding rules. You can access the relevant rules for each area by following the links below:

If you live outside of, and wish to pursue a course of study outside of a devolved authority area, The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) are responsible for drawing up the funding rules that will apply to you. The ESFA's funding rules also continue to apply to continuing learners.

The information that we detail below is from the ESFA guidance. Further details of the ESFA's funding criteria can be found here

You will be eligible as a 'home' student in the 2024/25 academic year if you come within one, or more, of the categories below and you are:

  • studying a FE course (which is not an Apprenticeship course) in England; and
  • aged 19 years or over on 31 August in the funding year in which you start your course.

A 'funding year' runs from 1 August in one year to 31 July in the calendar year which immediately follows.

1. EEA and Swiss nationals in the UK

2. Joining family members of EEA and Swiss nationals

3. Family members of EEA or Swiss nationals

4. UK nationals in the EEA and Switzerland

5. EEA and Switzerland Frontier workers

6. Irish citizens in the UK or Republic of Ireland

7. Irish citizens in the EEA and Switzerland

8. Family members of an eligible person of Northern Ireland

9. UK nationals and family, and people with the Right of Abode in the UK and family

10. People with Indefinite Leave to Enter/Remain in the UK

11. People with Refugee Status, and family

12. People with Humanitarian Protection, Discretionary Leave, Leave Outside the Rules, and family

13. Long Residence

14. Leave under one of the Afghan schemes

15. Leave under a Ukraine scheme, and family

16. Other non-UK nationals

17. Asylum seekers

18. Stateless leave, and family

19. Child of a Turkish worker

20. Apprenticeship students

21. 'Dubs' amendment leave

22. Calais leave

23. British Indian Ocean Territory status, and family

24. Armed forces personnel

Further Education: Apprenticeship courses

Last modified: 09 August 2024

If you are on an Apprenticeship course, you will be eligible as a 'home' student in the 2024/25 academic year if you come within one, or more, of the categories below and you are:

  • studying an Apprenticeship course in England; and
  • aged 16 years or over.

A 'funding year' runs from 1 August in one year to 31 July in the calendar year which immediately follows.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is responsible for drawing up the funding rules. Further guidance on their funding criteria can be found in the main providers document on the gov.uk website.

1. UK nationals and family, and other persons with a right of abode

2. UK nationals and family in the EEA and Switzerland

3. EEA and Switzerland nationals in the UK

4. Family members of EEA or Swiss nationals

5. Irish citizens in the UK or the Republic of Ireland

6. Irish citizens in the EEA and Switzerland

7. Family members of an eligible person of Northern Ireland

8. Joining family members under the EU Settlement Scheme

9. People with Indefinite Leave to Enter/Remain in the UK

10. People with Refugee Status, and family

11. People with Humanitarian Protection, Discretionary Leave, Leave Outside the Rules, and family

12. People granted leave under the ‘Dubs’ amendment to the Immigration Act

13. Calais leave to remain

14. People granted leave under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance policy (ARAP), or the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS)

15. People granted leave under the Ukraine schemes

16. British nationals evacuated from Afghanistan

17. British Indian Ocean Territory status, and family

18. Non-UK nationals

19. Asylum seekers

20. Child of a Turkish worker

21. Stateless leave, and family

22. Students aged 16-18 years

Definitions: for fee status assessment

Last modified: 14 July 2023

This section has explanations about words and terms which occur in the information above. These explanations should not be read in isolation but, instead, combined with the appropriate fee status category.

Afghan or Ukrainian schemes

Continuing learners

Devolved Authority Area

EEA or Switzerland Frontier Worker

Eligible person of Northern Ireland

European Economic Area (EEA)

European Union (EU)

Ordinary residence

Overseas Territories

Pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme

Settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme

Settled

UK and Islands


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