This part of the webpage is about the conditions you need to meet to be entitled to pay tuition fees at the 'home' rate if you are studying a course at a FE institution in Northern Ireland. This includes courses of higher education (HE) as well as courses of further education (FE).
For those studying a course at a FE institution in Northern Ireland, the categories of persons eligible for 'home' fees status are summarised in a guidance document published by Northern Ireland's Department for the Economy, FE Circular 04/24 - Further Education Residency and Funding Requirements. To read the criteria for each eligibility category, see Appendix 1, paragraphs 1-8 inclusive, on pages 5-10 of that document.
'FE Circular 04/24' (above) indicates that the residence requirements outlined in its Appendix 1 are provided for by the Further Education (Student Support) (Eligibility) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012, as amended. This is legislation laid by Northern Ireland's Department for the Economy. UKCISA members can access a consolidated version of these regulations, including up-to-date amendments, in the UKCISA Manual - see Northern Ireland FE institution fees.
The regulations provide the legal foundation for defining which people must be charged a 'home' fee when studying a course at a FE institution in Northern Ireland.
The circular "clarifies the student residency requirements to be eligible for ‘Home Fee’ status and support/maintenance funding". In many cases, the circular explains the residency requirements in a more reader-friendly way than in the regulations. As with previous versions of the circular(s), the current circular may also include eligibility for some students not covered by the regulations-alone.
