UKCISA - international student advice and guidance

1. LONG RESIDENCE

2a. REFUGEES, and family (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2023)

The requirements for this category were different in academic years that started before 1 August 2023. So it is important you look at category 2b too, if you started before 1 August 2023.

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 day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins (note this is a different date from the first day of the first academic year of the course);

Note: Usually you do not count as 'ordinarily resident' in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for requirement (a) in category 2a. They say that if you (or your parent, spouse or civil partner) is recognised by the UK Government as a refugee after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as 'ordinary residence' for the purpose of requirement (a).

and

(b) on the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for (unless you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, in which case use instead the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins) 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;

Note: Once you have qualified for this category for one year of your course, requirement (b) is less strict for later years of your course. So for later years of your course, it is acceptable if the refugee loses their refugee status, as long as they have some kind of leave to remain (or British or Irish citizenship) on the first day of whatever academic year you are paying fees for. This is a special adjustment to requirement (b) that the regulations make. It is available for academic years that start on or after 1 August 2024.

and

(c) you have not ceased to be ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands:

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.

Expiry date for refugee permission to stay

The refugee permission to stay might have an expiry date. If the person makes an application to extend or change their leave before it expires, and that application is not decided before the expiry date, then immigration law dictates that they carry on being treated as a refugee while they wait for a decision to be made (and if their application is refused, then also while they wait for an appeal or administrative review of the decision). They count as a 'refugee recognised by the UK Government' for fee assessment purposes during all of that time.

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

For academic years that start on or after 1 August 2024, there is no need to worry if the person with refugee status gains British citizenship. The note under requirement (b) explains why this is not a problem.

2b. REFUGEES, and family (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts before 1 August 2023)

3a. Those granted HUMANITARIAN PROTECTION, and family (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2023)

The requirements for this category were different in academic years that started before 1 August 2023. So it is important you look at category 3b too, if you started before 1 August 2023.

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 day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins (note this is a different date from the first day of the first academic year of the course);

Note: Usually you do not count as 'ordinarily resident' in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for requirement (a) in category 3a. They say that if you (or your parent, spouse or civil partner) became a 'person granted humanitarian protection' after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as 'ordinary residence' for the purpose of requirement (a).

and

(b) on the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for (unless you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, in which case use instead the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins), 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:

were the spouse or civil partner of that person on the date on which they applied for asylum; and
you have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being given your leave to enter or remain

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; and
you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being given your leave to enter or remain

Note: Once you have qualified for this category for one year of your course, requirement (b) is less strict for later years of your course. So for later years of your course, it is acceptable if the "person granted humanitarian protection" loses their humanitarian protection, as long as they have some kind of leave to remain (or British or Irish citizenship) on the first day of whatever academic year you are paying fees for. This is a special adjustment to requirement (b) that the regulations make. It is available for academic years that start on or after 1 August 2024.

There is no three-year residence test for this category

The Government attempted to introduce one in 2019 but then quickly changed its mind. If your fee assessor tells you that a three-year residence test applies in this category, show them this page and ask them to contact UKCISA for further information.

Expiry date for leave on grounds of humanitarian protection

The leave to remain might have an expiry date. If the person makes an application to extend or change their leave before it expires, and that application is not decided before the expiry date, then immigration law dictates that they carry on being treated as a person with leave to remain on the grounds of humanitarian protection while they wait for a decision to be made (and if their application is refused, then also while they wait for an appeal or administrative review of the decision). They count as a ‘person with leave to remain on the grounds of humanitarian protection’ for fee assessment purposes during all of that time.

Becoming eligible

If you are, or if your parent (or your parent's spouse / civil partner) is, or if 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.

3b. Those granted HUMANITARIAN PROTECTION, and family (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts before 1 August 2023)

The requirements for this category will become a little more generous on 1 August 2023, so look at category 3a too, for information about fees for academic years that start on or after 1 August 2023.

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 the academic year you are paying fees for, 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:

were the spouse or civil partner of that person on the date on which they applied for asylum; and
you have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being given your leave to enter or remain [but ignore this last bullet point for academic years starting before 1 August 2021]

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; and
you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being given your leave to enter or remain [but ignore this last bullet point for academic years starting before 1 August 2021]

There is no three-year residence test for this category

The Government attempted to introduce one in 2019 but then quickly changed its mind. If your fee assessor tells you that a three-year residence test applies in this category, show them this page and ask them to contact UKCISA for further information.

Expiry date for leave on grounds of humanitarian protection

The leave to remain might have an expiry date. If the person makes an application to extend or change their leave before it expires, and that application is not decided before the expiry date, then immigration law dictates that they carry on being treated as a person with leave to remain on the grounds of humanitarian protection while they wait for a decision to be made (and if their application is refused, then also while they wait for an appeal or administrative review of the decision). They count as a ‘person with leave to remain on the grounds of humanitarian protection’ for fee assessment purposes during all of that time.

Becoming eligible

If you are, or if your parent (or your parent's spouse / civil partner) is, or if 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 of category 3b or 3a.

4a. Those granted STATELESS LEAVE, and family (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2023)

The requirements for this category were different in academic years that started before 1 August 2023. So it is important you look at category 4b too, if you started before 1 August 2023.

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 day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins (note this is a different date from the first day of the first academic year of the course);

Note: Usually you do not count as 'ordinarily resident' in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for requirement (a) in category 4a. They say that if you (or your parent, spouse or civil partner) became a 'person granted stateless leave' after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as 'ordinary residence' for the purpose of requirement (a).

and

(b) on the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for (unless you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, in which case use instead the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins), 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; and
been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being granted such leave;

or

2. the spouse or civil partner of a "person granted stateless leave" (as above), and you:

were the spouse or civil partner of that person on the date on which they applied for stateless leave; and
you have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being given your leave to enter or remain;

or

3. a person who is the child of a "person granted stateless leave" (as above), or a child of that person's spouse/civil partner, and:

at the time the person granted stateless leave applied for their stateless leave, 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; and
you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being given your leave to enter or remain.

Note: Once you have qualified for this category for one year of your course, requirement (b) is less strict for later years of your course. So for later years of your course, it is acceptable if the "person granted stateless leave" loses their stateless leave, as long as they have some kind of leave to remain (or British or Irish citizenship) on the first day of whatever academic year you are paying fees for. This is a special adjustment to requirement (b) that the regulations make. It is available for academic years that start on or after 1 August 2024.

Expiry date for leave to remain as a stateless person

The leave to remain might have an expiry date. If the person makes an application to extend or change their leave before it expires, and that application is not decided before the expiry date, then immigration law dictates that they carry on being treated as a person with leave to remain as a stateless person while they wait for a decision to be made (and if their application is refused, then also while they wait for an appeal or administrative review of the decision). They count as a ‘person with leave to remain as a stateless person’ for fee assessment purposes during all of that time.

Becoming eligible

If you are, or if your parent (or your parent’s spouse / civil partner) is, or if your own spouse / civil partner is, granted stateless leave 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.

4b. Those granted STATELESS LEAVE, and family (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts before 1 August 2023)

The requirements for this category will become a little more generous on 1 August 2023, so look at category 4a too, for information about fees for academic years that start on or after 1 August 2023.

This category is only for students who commence their course on or 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) on the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for, 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; and
been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being granted such leave;

or

2. a person who is the spouse or civil partner of a "person granted stateless leave" (as above), and you:

were the spouse or civil partner of that person on the date on which they applied for stateless leave; and
you have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being given your leave to enter or remain [but ignore this last bullet point for academic years starting before 1 August 2021]

or

3. a person who is the child of a "person granted stateless leave" (as above), or a child of that person's spouse / civil partner, and:

at the time the person granted stateless leave applied for their stateless leave, 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; and
you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being given your leave to enter or remain [but ignore this last bullet point for academic years starting before 1 August 2021]

and

(c) Only if you are being assessed for an academic year starting before 1 August 2021:
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

Expiry date for leave to remain as a stateless person

The leave to remain might have an expiry date. If the person makes an application to extend or change their leave before it expires, and that application is not decided before the expiry date, then immigration law dictates that they carry on being treated as a person with leave to remain as a stateless person while they wait for a decision to be made (and if their application is refused, then also while they wait for an appeal or administrative review of the decision). They count as a ‘person with leave to remain as a stateless person’ for fee assessment purposes during all of that time.

Becoming eligible

If you are, or if your parent (or your parent’s spouse / civil partner) is, or if your own spouse / civil partner is, granted stateless leave 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 of category 4b or 4a.

5a. Those with SECTION 67 LEAVE (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2023)

The requirements for this category were different in academic years that started before 1 August 2023. So it is important you look at category 5b too, if you started before 1 August 2023.

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 be ordinarily resident in the UK on the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins (note this is a different date from the first day of the first academic year of the course);

Note: Usually you do not count as 'ordinarily resident' in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for requirement (a) in category 5a. They say that if you became a 'person with Section 67 leave' (or a dependent child granted leave for the same period) after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as 'ordinary residence' for the purpose of requirement (a).

and

(b) on the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for (unless you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, in which case use instead the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins), 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;

Note: Once you have qualified for this category for one year of your course, requirement (b) is less strict for later years of your course. So for later years of your course, it is acceptable if the Section 67 or dependant leave has stopped, as long as one of the two of you has any kind of leave to remain (or British or Irish citizenship) on the first day of whatever academic year you are paying fees for. This is a special adjustment to requirement (b) that the regulations make. It is available for academic years that start on or after 1 August 2024.

and

(c) you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being granted your leave.

Expiry date for leave

The leave might have an expiry date. If the person makes an application to extend or change their leave before it expires, and that application is not decided before the expiry date, then immigration law dictates that they carry on being treated as a person with the old leave while they wait for a decision to be made (and if their application is refused, then also while they wait for an appeal or administrative review of the decision). They count as a person with the old type of leave for fee assessment purposes during all of that time.

Becoming eligible

If you are, or if your parent is, granted section 67 leave 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.

5b. Those with SECTION 67 LEAVE (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts before 1 August 2023)

6a. Persons granted CALAIS LEAVE to remain (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2023)

The requirements for this category were different in academic years that started before 1 August 2023. So it is important you look at category 6b too, if you started before 1 August 2023.

This category is only for students who are starting a course on/after 1 August 2020.

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 academic year you are paying fees for (unless you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, in which case use instead the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins), 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"; and

Note: Once you have qualified for this category for one year of your course, requirement (a) is less strict for later years of your course. So for later years of your course, it is acceptable if the Calais leave or dependant leave has stopped, as long as one of the two of you has any kind of leave to remain (or British or Irish citizenship) on the first day of whatever academic year you are paying fees for. This is a special adjustment to requirement (b) that the regulations make. It is available for academic years that start on or after 1 August 2024.

(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 day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins (note this is a different date from the first day of the first academic year of the course);

Note: Usually you do not count as 'ordinarily resident' in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for requirement (c) in category 6a. They say that if you became a 'person granted Calais leave' after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as 'ordinary residence' for the purpose of requirement (c).

Expiry date for Calais leave

The leave might have an expiry date. If the person makes an application to extend or change their leave before it expires, and that application is not decided before the expiry date, then immigration law dictates that they carry on being treated as a person with Calais leave while they wait for a decision to be made (and if their application is refused, then also while they wait for an appeal or administrative review of the decision). They count as a ‘person with Calais leave’ for fee assessment purposes during all of that time.

Becoming eligible

If you are granted Calais leave 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.

6b. Persons granted CALAIS LEAVE to remain (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts before 1 August 2023)

7a. Person granted indefinite leave as a victim of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR ABUSE, and children (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2024)

The requirements for this category were different in academic years that started before 1 August 2024. So it is important you look at category 7b too, if you started before 1 August 2024. If you started before 1 August 2023 it is important you also look at category 7c.

This category is only for students who start a course on/after 1 August 2020.

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 day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins (note this is a different date from the first day of the first academic year of the course);

Note: Usually you do not count as 'ordinarily resident' in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for requirement (a) in category 7a. They say that if you or your parent became a 'person granted leave as a victim of domestic violence or abuse' after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as 'ordinary residence' for the purpose of requirement (a).

and

(b) on the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for (unless you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, in which case use instead the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins), you must fit 1 or 2:

1. a person with indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain as a victim of domestic violence or domestic abuse, under any of the following provisions of the Immigration Rules: paragraph VDA 9.1 of the Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse, paragraph 289B; Appendix FM paragraph D-DVILR.1.1; Appendix Armed Forces paragraph 40; and

- you have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being given your indefinite leave

2. the child of a person described in 1. You must have been their child at the time they made the immigration application that resulted in their leave as a victim of domestic violence or domestic abuse, and under 18 on that date; and

- you must have indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain; and
- you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being given your own indefinite leave

Note: Once you have qualified for this category for one year of your course, requirement (b) is less strict for later years of your course. So for later years of your course, it is acceptable if either one or both of you has lost your indefinite leave, as long as one of the two of you has any kind of leave to remain (or British or Irish citizenship) on the first day of whatever academic year you are paying fees for. This is a special adjustment to requirement (b) that the regulations make. It is available for academic years that start on or after 1 August 2024.

Becoming eligible

If your parent or you are granted indefinite leave 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.

7b. Person granted indefinite leave as a victim of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR ABUSE (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2023 but before 1 August 2024)

The requirements for this category were different in academic years that started before 1 August 2023. So it is important you look at category 7c too, if you started before 1 August 2023.

This category is only for students who start a course on/after 1 August 2020.

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 academic year you are paying fees for (unless you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, in which case use instead the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins), 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:

(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 day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins (note this is a different date from the first day of the first academic year of the course).

Note: Usually you do not count as 'ordinarily resident' in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for requirement (c) in category 7b. They say that if you became a 'person granted leave as a victim of domestic violence or abuse' after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as 'ordinary residence' for the purpose of requirement (c).

Becoming eligible

If you are granted indefinite leave as a victim of domestic violence or domestic abuse 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 or in category 7a.

7c. Person granted indefinite leave as a victim of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR ABUSE (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts before 1 August 2023)

8a. Those with indefinite leave as a BEREAVED PARTNER, and children (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2024)

The requirements for this category were different in academic years that started before 1 August 2024. So it is important you look at category 8b too, if you started before 1 August 2024. If you started before 1 August 2023 it is important you also look at category 8c.

This category is only for students who start a course on or after 1 August 2021.

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 day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins (note this is a different date from the first day of the first academic year of the course);

Note: Usually you do not count as 'ordinarily resident' in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for requirement (a) in category 8a. They say that if you or your parent became a person with indefinite leave as a bereaved partner after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as 'ordinary residence' for the purpose of requirement (a).

and

(b) on the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for (unless you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, in which case use instead the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins), you must fit 1 or 2:

1. a person with indefinite leave to remain as a bereaved partner, under any of the following provisions of the Immigration Rules: paragraphs 287(b) and 288; Appendix FM paragraph D-BPILR 1.1; Appendix Armed Forces paragraph 36; paragraphs 295M and 295N; and

- you have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being granted your leave to remain as a bereaved partner.

2. the child of person described in 1. You must have been their child at the time they made the immigration application that resulted in their leave as a bereaved partner, and under 18 on that date; and

- you must have indefinite leave to remain; and
- you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being given your own indefinite leave

Note: Once you have qualified for this category for one year of your course, requirement (b) is less strict for later years of your course. So for later years of your course, it is acceptable if either one or both of you has lost your indefinite leave, as long as one of the two of you has any kind of leave to remain (or British or Irish citizenship) on the first day of whatever academic year you are paying fees for. This is a special adjustment to requirement (b) that the regulations make. It is available for academic years that start on or after 1 August 2024.

Expiry date for leave as a bereaved partner

The leave to remain might have an expiry date. If the person makes an application to extend or change their leave before it expires, and that application is not decided before the expiry date, then immigration law dictates that they carry on being treated as a person with the old leave while they wait for a decision to be made (and if their application is refused, then also while they wait for an appeal or administrative review of the decision). They count as a person with the old type of leave for fee assessment purposes during all of that time.

Becoming eligible

If your parent or you are granted indefinite leave 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.

8b. Those with indefinite leave as a BEREAVED PARTNER (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2023 but before 1 August 2024)

The requirements for this category were different in academic years that started before 1 August 2023. So it is important you look at category 8c too, if you started before 1 August 2023.

This category is only for students who start a course on or after 1 August 2021.

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 day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins (note this is a different date from the first day of the first academic year of the course);

Note: Usually you do not count as 'ordinarily resident' in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for requirement (a) in category 8b. They say that if you became a person with indefinite leave as a bereaved partner after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as 'ordinary residence' for the purpose of requirement (a).

and

(b) on the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for (unless you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, in which case use instead the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins), you must be a person with indefinite leave to remain as a bereaved partner, under any of the following provisions of the Immigration Rules: paragraphs 287(b) and 288; Appendix FM paragraph D-BPILR 1.1; Appendix Armed Forces paragraph 36; paragraphs 295M and 295N; and

(c) you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since being granted your leave to remain as a bereaved partner.

Expiry date for leave as a bereaved partner

The leave to remain might have an expiry date. If the person makes an application to extend or change their leave before it expires, and that application is not decided before the expiry date, then immigration law dictates that they carry on being treated as a person with leave as a bereaved partner while they wait for a decision to be made (and if their application is refused, then also while they wait for an appeal or administrative review of the decision). They count as a ‘person with leave as a bereaved partner’ for fee assessment purposes during all of that time.

Becoming eligible

If you are granted leave as a bereaved partner 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 or in category 8a.

8c. Those with indefinite leave as a BEREAVED PARTNER (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts before 1 August 2023)

9a. Persons granted leave under the AFGHAN SCHEMES, and family (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2023)

The requirements for this category were very different in academic years that started before 1 August 2023 (particularly for spouses, civil partners and children). So it is important you look at category 9b too, if you started before 1 August 2023.

This category is only for students who start their course on or after 1 August 2022.

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 day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins (note this is a different date from the first day of the first academic year of the course);

Note: Usually you do not count as 'ordinarily resident' in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for requirement (a) in category 9a. They say that if you (or your parent, spouse or civil partner) became a 'person granted leave under one of the Afghan Schemes' after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as 'ordinary residence' for the purpose of requirement (a).

and

(b) on the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for (unless you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, in which case use instead the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins), you must be:

1. a "person granted leave under one of the Afghan Schemes", which means a person:

who has any one of these four types of leave (if they fit one, you can ignore the other three entirely):
1. indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain in the UK, outside the immigration rules, on the basis of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme
2. leave to enter the UK on the basis of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme (note that leave on the basis of the ‘Afghanistan Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme’ does not count for this, but see the section below headed 'If a biometric residence permit shows ALES' for an important warning)
3. indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain in the UK, outside the immigration rules, on the basis of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme (note that leave on the basis of the ‘Afghanistan Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme’ does not count for this, but see the section below headed 'If a biometric residence permit shows ALES' for an important warning)
4. indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain in the UK granted to them under the immigration rules for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy because of their own work in Afghanistan (not the work of a partner or parent). Note that leave on the basis of the ‘Afghanistan Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme’ does not count for this (but see the section below headed 'If a biometric residence permit shows ALES' for an important warning)

and

who has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since they were granted such leave.

or

2. the spouse or civil partner of a “person granted leave under one of the Afghan Schemes” (look above the definition). You must have been their spouse or civil partner at the time they made the application that resulted in them being given their leave, and:

you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since you were granted leave to enter or remain; and
you must be ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands

Note: Usually you do not count as 'ordinarily resident' in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for this second bullet point of requirement (b)2 in category 9a. They say that if you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, and your spouse or civil partner became a "person granted leave under one of the Afghan Schemes" after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as 'ordinary residence'.

or

3. the child of either:

a “person granted leave under one of the Afghan Schemes” (look above for the definition). You must have been their child at the time they made the application that resulted in them being given their leave, and under 18 on that date; or
the spouse or civil partner of a “person granted leave under one of the Afghan Schemes” (look above for the definition). At the time when the “person granted leave under one of the Afghan Schemes” made the application that resulted in them being given their leave:

- they must have been the spouse or civil partner; and
- you must have been the child of the spouse or civil partner; and
- you must have been under 18.

You (the child) must also:

have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since you were granted leave to enter or remain; and
be ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands.

Note: Usually you do not count as 'ordinarily resident' in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for this second bullet point of requirement (b)3 in category 9a. They say that if you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, and your parent became a "person granted leave under one of the Afghan Schemes" after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as 'ordinary residence'.

Note: Once you have qualified for this category for one year of your course, requirement (b) is less strict for later years of your course. So for later years of your course, it is acceptable if the "person granted leave under one of the Afghan Schemes" loses their Afghan Scheme leave, as long as they have some kind of leave to remain (or British or Irish citizenship) on the first day of whatever academic year you are paying fees for. This is a special adjustment to requirement (b) that the regulations make. It is available for academic years that start on or after 1 August 2024.

If a biometric residence permit shows 'ALES'

The letters 'ALES' are used on the biometric residence permits of two different groups of people:

People granted leave on the basis of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme
People granted leave on the basis of the Afghanistan Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme

The Home Office confirmed this to UKCISA.

So if you have leave on the basis of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme, do not just show your biometric residence permit. Show a letter or other document from a UK government department (for example, the Ministry of Defence or the Home Office) that mentions both the 'Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme' (or 'ARAP') and your name. This will act as confirmation that the leave was granted on the basis of that scheme.

Make sure you emphasise to the fee assessor from the beginning that the leave was issued on the basis of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme and not the Afghanistan Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme. You might want to send them a link to this paragraph, too.

Expiry date for the leave (immigration permission)

The leave (immigration permission) might have an expiry date. If the person makes an application to extend or change their leave before it expires, and that application is not decided before the expiry date, then immigration law dictates that they carry on being treated as a person with that type of leave while they wait for a decision to be made (and if their application is refused, then also while they wait for an appeal or administrative review of the decision). They count as a person with that leave for fee assessment purposes during all of that time.

Becoming eligible

If one of the four types of leave is granted 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.

9b. Persons granted leave under the AFGHAN SCHEMES (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts on any date in the period 1 August 2022 to 31 July 2023)

The requirements for this category will change on 1 August 2023 (particularly for spouses, civil partners and children). So look at category 9a too, for information about fees for academic years that start on or after 1 August 2023.

This category is only for students who start their course on or after 1 August 2022.

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 academic year you are paying fees for, you must be a person with any one of these six types of leave:

indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain in the UK, outside the immigration rules, on the basis of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme
indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain in the UK, outside the immigration rules, which was granted to you as:
- the spouse / civil partner / dependent child of a person who was granted indefinite leave on the basis of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme; or
- the dependent child of the spouse / civil partner of a person who was granted indefinite leave on the basis of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme
leave to enter the UK on the basis of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme (note that leave on the basis of the ‘Afghanistan Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme’ does not count for this, but see the section below headed 'If a biometric residence permit shows ALES' for an important warning)
indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain in the UK, outside the immigration rules, on the basis of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme (note that leave on the basis of the ‘Afghanistan Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme’ does not count for this, but see the section below headed 'If a biometric residence permit shows ALES' for an important warning)
indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain in the UK granted to you under the immigration rules for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy because of your own work in Afghanistan (not the work of a partner or parent). Note that leave on the basis of the ‘Afghanistan Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme’ does not count for this (but see the section below headed 'If a biometric residence permit shows ALES' for an important warning)
leave to enter or indefinite leave to enter the UK, which was granted to you under the immigration rules as:
- the spouse / civil partner / dependent child of a person who was granted leave on the basis of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme; or
- the dependent child of the spouse / civil partner of a person who was granted leave on the basis of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme

and

(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.

If a biometric residence permit shows 'ALES'

The letters 'ALES' are used on the biometric residence permits of two different groups of people:

People granted leave on the basis of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme
People granted leave on the basis of the Afghanistan Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme

The Home Office confirmed this to UKCISA.

So if you have leave on the basis of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme, do not just show your biometric residence permit. Show a letter or other document from a UK government department (for example, the Ministry of Defence or the Home Office) that mentions both the 'Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme' (or 'ARAP') and your name. This will act as confirmation that the leave was granted on the basis of that scheme.

Make sure you emphasise to the fee assessor from the beginning that the leave was issued on the basis of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme and not the Afghanistan Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme. You might want to send them a link to this paragraph, too.

Expiry date for your leave (immigration permission)

The leave (immigration permission) might have an expiry date. If the person makes an application to extend or change their leave before it expires, and that application is not decided before the expiry date, then immigration law dictates that they carry on being treated as a person with that type of leave while they wait for a decision to be made (and if their application is refused, then also while they wait for an appeal or administrative review of the decision). They count as a person with that leave for fee assessment purposes during all of that time.

Becoming eligible

If you are granted one of the six types of leave 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 of category 9b or 9a.

10a. Evacuated or assisted BRITISH NATIONALS FROM AFGHANISTAN (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2023)

10b. Evacuated or assisted BRITISH NATIONALS FROM AFGHANISTAN (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts before 1 August 2023)

11a. Persons granted leave under the UKRAINE SCHEMES, and family (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2023)

The requirements for this category were different in academic years that started before 1 August 2023. So it is important you look at category 11b too, if you started before 1 August 2023.

You can use this category for all the academic years that start on or after 1 August 2023, even if you paid 'overseas' fees for an earlier year of the same 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 day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins (note this is a different date from the first day of the first academic year of the course);

Note: Usually you do not count as 'ordinarily resident' in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for requirement (a) in category 11a. They say that if you (or your parent, spouse or civil partner) became a 'person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes' after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as 'ordinary residence' for the purpose of requirement (a).

and

(b) on the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for (unless you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, in which case use the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins), you must be:

1. a "person granted leave under the Ukraine Schemes", which means a person:

who has any of these five types of leave (if they fit one, you can ignore the other four entirely):

1. leave to remain granted under the immigration rules for the Ukraine Extension Scheme
2. leave to enter or leave to remain granted under the immigration rules for the Ukraine Family Scheme
3. leave to enter or leave to remain granted under the Ukraine Family Scheme, but outside the immigration rules. If it is type of leave iii, these two bullet points must also both be true:
  
  • the person was residing in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022; and
  • the person left Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion
4. leave to enter or leave to remain granted under the immigration rules for the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme
5. leave to enter or leave to remain granted under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, but outside the immigration rules. If it is type of leave v, these two bullet points must also both be true:

• the person was residing in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022; and
• the person left Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion

and

who has been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands since they were granted such leave.

There is a section further down the page titled 'What date does Ukraine Scheme leave start?', which explains when leave is granted.

or

2. the spouse or civil partner of a “person granted leave under the Ukraine Schemes” (look above the definition). You must have been their spouse or civil partner at the time they made the application that resulted in them being given their leave, and:

you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since you were granted leave to enter or remain; and
you must be ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands.

Note: Usually you do not count as 'ordinarily resident' in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for this second bullet point of requirement (b)2 in category 11a. They say that if you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, and your spouse or civil partner became a 'person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes' after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as 'ordinary residence' for the purpose of this second bullet point.

or

3. the child of either:

a “person granted leave under the Ukraine Schemes” (look above for the definition). You must have been their child at the time they made the application that resulted in them being given their leave, and under 18 on that date; or
the spouse or civil partner of a “person granted leave under the Ukraine Schemes” (look above for the definition). At the time when the “person granted leave under the Ukraine Schemes” made the application that resulted in them being given their leave:
- they must have been the spouse or civil partner; and
- you must have been the child of the spouse or civil partner; and
- you must have been under 18.

You (the child) must also:

have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands throughout the period since you were granted leave to enter or remain; and
be ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands.

Note: Usually you do not count as 'ordinarily resident' in a place unless your residence there is lawful. However, the regulations make a special adjustment to that for this second bullet point of requirement (b)3 in category 11a. They say that if you are being assessed for the first academic year of your course, and your parent became a 'person granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes' after the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually began, you get special treatment. The special treatment means you are treated as though your residence was lawful, even if it was unlawful. The residence can therefore count as 'ordinary residence' for the purpose of this second bullet point.

Note: Once you have qualified for this category for one year of your course, requirement (b) is less strict for later years of your course. So for later years of your course, it is acceptable if the "person granted leave under the Ukraine Schemes" loses their Ukraine Scheme leave, as long as they have some kind of leave to remain (or British or Irish citizenship) on the first day of whatever academic year you are paying fees for. This is a special adjustment to requirement (b) that the regulations make. It is available for academic years that start on or after 1 August 2024.

The special arrangements

The 'special arrangements' that were applied to academic years that started before 1 August 2023 (and which are described in 11b. Persons granted leave under the Ukraine Schemes) are gone.

If you are already on a course where you relied on the 'special arrangements' to make you a 'home' fee payer for the period August 2022 to July 2023, but you do not meet the requirements for category 11a, ask your institution if they will carry on charging you 'home' fees because of their own policy.

What date does Ukraine Scheme leave start?

Note that if you were issued with ‘entry clearance’ or a ‘letter from the Home Office confirming you could travel to the UK under the Ukraine Scheme’, then immigration law dictates that your leave did not start (and was not granted) until the date you actually arrived in the UK. In other words, your leave did not start (and was not granted) on the date you were issued with the entry clearance or letter.

Remember to notice that some of the requirements refer to the day on which the first term of the first academic year actually begins, whilst others refer to the first day of the academic year. These two dates are different from each other. The first day of the academic year does not mean the date that you actually start the year, instead it means a standard date set out in regulations (for example, for every person who starts a year on any date that falls between 1 August and 31 December inclusive, the standard date that counts as the ‘first day of the academic year’ is 1 September).

Expiry date for the leave (immigration permission)

The leave (immigration permission) might have an expiry date. If the person makes an application to extend or change their leave before it expires, and that application is not decided before the expiry date, then immigration law dictates that they carry on being treated as a person with that type of leave while they wait for a decision to be made (and if their application is refused, then also while they wait for an appeal or administrative review of the decision). They count as a person with that leave for fee assessment purposes during all of that time.

Becoming eligible

If one of the five types of leave is granted 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.

11b. Persons granted leave under the UKRAINE SCHEMES (use this category only if the academic year you are paying fees for starts on any date in the period 1 August 2022 to 31 July 2023)

The requirements for this category will change on 1 August 2023. So look at category 11a too, for information about fees for academic years that start on or after 1 August 2023.

This category was introduced in August 2022. You can use this category for an academic year that starts on/after 1 August 2022, even if you paid 'overseas' fees for an earlier year of the same course.

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 academic year you are paying fees for, you must be a person with any one of these five types of leave:

1. leave to remain granted under the immigration rules for the Ukraine Extension Scheme

2. leave to enter or leave to remain granted under the immigration rules for the Ukraine Family Scheme

3. leave to enter or leave to remain granted under the Ukraine Family Scheme, but outside the immigration rules. If you have this third type of leave, these two bullet points must also both be true:

• you were residing in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022; and
• you left Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion

4. leave to enter or leave to remain granted under the immigration rules for the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme

5. leave to enter or leave to remain granted under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, but outside the immigration rules. If you have this fifth type of leave, these two bullet points must also both be true:

• you were residing in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022; and
• you left Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion

There is a special arrangement concerning requirement (a) if the year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2022 but before 1 August 2023

The special arrangement is that the date by which you need to have one of the five types of leave is later, it is as follows:

- If the year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2022 but before 1 January 2023, it is acceptable for you to get one of the five types of leave in September 2022, October 2022 or November 2022
- If the year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 January 2023 but before 1 April 2023, it is acceptable for you to get one of the five types of leave in January 2023, February 2023 or March 2023
- If the year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 April 2023 but before 1 July 2023, it is acceptable for you to get one of the five types of leave in April 2023, May 2023 or June 2023
- If the year you are paying fees for starts in July 2023, it is acceptable for you to get one of the five types of leave in July 2023

and

(b) you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands since you were granted such leave;

There is a section further down the page titled 'What date does Ukraine Scheme leave start?', which explains when leave is granted.

and

(c) you must be ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course.

There is a special arrangement concerning requirement (c) if the year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2022 but before 1 August 2023

The special arrangement is that you do not need to meet requirement (c) at all, if you fall into any one of bullet points (i),(ii),(iii),(iv) or (v) below:

(i) Your course started before 1 August 2022

(ii) The year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2022 but before 1 January 2023, and you get one of the five types of leave in September 2022, October 2022 or November 2022

(iii) The year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 January 2023 but before 1 April 2023, and you get one of the five types of leave in January 2023, February 2023 or March 2023

(iv) The year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 April 2023 but before 1 July 2023, and you get one of the five types of leave in April 2023, May 2023 or June 2023

(v) The year you are paying fees for starts in July 2023, and you get one of the five types of leave in July 2023

The special arrangements

If the academic year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2022 but before 1 August 2023, pay attention to the ‘special arrangements’ described in paragraphs (a) and (c) above. These are big concessions and make it easier to qualify to pay ‘home’ fees. They exist because the Government’s Department for Education issued Student Support Information Note SSIN 07/22 in August 2022 to say that the regulations they had published for fee assessors did not match their policy intent, so they wanted fee assessors to do something different (it is the Department for Education that makes the regulations that determine who pays ‘home’ fees, not UKCISA). They indicated they would make changes to the regulations in future.

Those changes have now been announced, and you can read about them in 11a. Persons granted leave under the Ukraine Schemes, and family, which describes all the requirements you need to meet to qualify for ‘home’ fees under this category for years that start from August 2023 onwards.

What date does Ukraine Scheme leave start?

Note that if you were issued with ‘entry clearance’ or a ‘letter from the Home Office confirming you could travel to the UK under the Ukraine Scheme’, then immigration law dictates that your leave did not start (and was not granted) until the date you actually arrived in the UK. In other words, your leave did not start (and was not granted) on the date you were issued with the entry clearance or letter.

If you did not arrive in the UK until after the first day of the academic year and so did not have your leave in time to meet requirement (a), check the ‘special arrangement’ at the end of requirement (a), because you might meet that instead.

Remember that the first day of the academic year does not mean the date that you actually start the year, instead it means a standard date set out in regulations (for example, for every person who starts a year on any date that falls between 1 August and 31 December inclusive, the standard date that counts as the ‘first day of the academic year’ is 1 September).

Expiry date for your leave (immigration permission)

The leave (immigration permission) might have an expiry date. If the person makes an application to extend or change their leave before it expires, and that application is not decided before the expiry date, then immigration law dictates that they carry on being treated as a person with that type of leave while they wait for a decision to be made (and if their application is refused, then also while they wait for an appeal or administrative review of the decision). They count as a person with that leave for fee assessment purposes during all of that time.

Becoming eligible

If you are granted one of the five types of leave after the start of the course, check the 'special arrangement' at the end of requirement (a) to see if it can help you qualify for 'home' fees this year.

Changes to the information about this category

On 23 September 2022, requirement (c) was reinstated in this information, and ‘special arrangements’ (which will benefit some students) were added to requirements (a) and (c). This was to reflect discussions with the Government’s Department for Education about what their Student Support Information Note 07/22 (published August 2022) means.

A. Those who are 'settled' in the UK and meet the main residence requirements

If you started your course before 1 August 2021:

In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must have met all of the following criteria:

(a) you must have been settled 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 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 began 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 was not necessary to have had settled immigration status in the UK for the full three years. You only needed to show that you had 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 were not 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 C. Category C required three years’ ordinary residence in a wider residence area which included 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 2022/23 (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 were treated as being ordinarily resident in the Islands and as not ordinarily resident in the UK. You were therefore 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).

Note that although the paragraph above applies for any academic years that started before 1 August 2021, it will have no application to academic years that start on or after 1 August 2021, because this provision about students from the 'Islands' was later deleted from the regulations.

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

This category has been replaced. Do not read the information about this category given above. Instead read the pdf guide (the link is towards the top of this page) for information about the new categories that replace this one.

B. Those who are 'settled' in the UK and have exercised a ‘right of residence’ in the EEA/Switzerland

This category covers people who are British Citizens, or otherwise settled, and who move from the UK to the EEA/Switzerland, then return to the UK.

If you started your course before 1 August 2021:

Special note: For academic years that start on or after 1 August 2021, you are only allowed to use this category if you previously qualified under one of the following categories for the same course (or for a course you have transferred from):

Those who are 'settled' in the UK and have exercised a 'right of residence' in the EEA/Switzerland
EU nationals (or British Citizens), and family
EU nationals in the UK
EEA/Swiss workers, and family
Child of a former EEA migrant worker
Child of a Swiss national
Child of a Turkish worker

First, check you are not ruled out by the 'Special note' above. If you are not ruled out by the 'Special note' above, and you started your course before 1 August 2021, then 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 left the UK and exercised a right of residence before 11pm on 31 December 2020, having already been settled in the UK;

Note: The meaning of having "exercised a right of residence" is very limited. It only covers two groups.
First, British Citizens and their family members who went to the EEA and/or Switzerland exercising European rights of free movement as workers or self-employed people, or as students or self-sufficient people.
Second, people with the European right of permanent residence in the UK, who either went elsewhere in the EEA and/or Switzerland exercising European rights of free movement as workers or self-employed people, or as students or self-sufficient people or went to the state in the EEA/Switzerland of which they or their family member was 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 UK and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories and/or Gibraltar 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/UK/Gibraltar immediately before that three-year period.

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

This category has been replaced. Do not read the information about this category given above. Instead read the pdf guide (the link is towards the top of this page) for information about the new categories.

C. EU nationals (or British Citizens), and family

If you started your course before 1 August 2021:

Special note: For academic years that start on or after 1 August 2021, you are only allowed to use this category if you previously qualified under one of the following categories for the same course (or for a course you have transferred from):

EU nationals (or British Citizens), and family
EU nationals in the UK
EEA/Swiss workers, and family
Child of a former EEA migrant worker
Child of a Swiss national
Child of a Turkish worker
Those who are ‘settled’ in the UK and have exercised a ‘right of residence’ in the EEA/Switzerland

First, check you are not ruled out by the 'Special note' above. If you are not ruled out by the 'Special note' above, and you started your course before 1 August 2021, then 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
a British Citizen; or
the relevant family member of an EU national, and that EU national is in the UK as a self sufficient person, student, or worker; or
the relevant family member of a British Citizen;

and

(b) you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or UK and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories and/or Gibraltar 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/UK/Switzerland/overseas territories/Gibraltar 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).

Special Provision about the residence requirement

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 1 September 2011 and:

1) you are the relevant family member of a:

EU national, and that EU national is in the UK as a self sufficient person, student, or worker; or
British Citizen, and that British Citizen has exercised a right of residence under EU law in an 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 UK and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories and/or Gibraltar for the three years before the 'first day of the first academic year of the course' that you are studying.

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 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 2022/23 Assessing Eligibility Guidance (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.

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

This category has been replaced. Do not read the information about this category given above. Instead read the pdf guide (the link is towards the top of this page) for information about the new categories.

D. ‘EU Nationals in the UK’

E. Those with the ‘right of permanent residence’ in the UK

Special note: This category was removed and replaced on 1 August 2021 (even for people who were already on courses). If you started a course before 1 August 2021 and qualified for 'home' fees on the basis of this category then you can read about the replacement category you will be tested against for later years of your course in the pdf guide (the link to the pdf guide is towards the top of this page) - the category is the one titled '3 years in UK and Islands, EUSS settled status connection'.

For academic years that started before 1 August 2021, in order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you needed to meet all of the following criteria, (a, b, c and d):

(a) a requirement about the 'right of permanent residence':

If you started your course before 1 January 2021, then the requirement was that you had the right of permanent residence in the UK under EU law (EU Directive 2004/38) on the first day of an academic year of the course.

If you started your course on or after 1 January 2021 but before 1 August 2021, then the requirement was that:

1. You had the right of permanent residence in the UK under EU law (EU Directive 2004/38) at 10.59pm on 31 December 2020; and

2. One of the following was true on the first day of an academic year of the course:

- You had 'settled status' under the EU Settlement Scheme; or
- Your course started before 1 July 2020; or
- Your course started on or after 1 July 2020 and you had made an application under the EU Settlement Scheme which had not yet been decided, or if it had been refused then you were still appealing against that refusal.

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 for the three-year period, the main purpose for you residing in the UK and Islands was to receive full-time education, you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or UK and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories and/or Gibraltar immediately prior to that three-year period.

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

This category has been replaced. Do not read the information about this category given above. Instead read the pdf guide (the link is towards the top of this page) for information about the new category that replaces this one (it is the one titled '3 years in UK and Islands, EUSS settled status connection').

F. EEA/Swiss workers, and family

If you started your course before 1 January 2021:

Special note: For academic years that start on or after 1 August 2021, you are only allowed to use this category if you previously qualified under one of the following categories for the same course (or for a course you have transferred from):

EEA/Swiss workers, and family
EU nationals (or British Citizens), and family
EU nationals in the UK
Child of a former EEA migrant worker
Child of a Swiss national
Child of a Turkish worker
Those who are ‘settled’ in the UK and have exercised a ‘right of residence’ in the EEA/Switzerland

First, check that you are not ruled out by the 'Special note' above. If you are not ruled out by the 'Special note' above, and you started your course before 1 January 2021, then 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:

a non-UK EEA national, or a Swiss national, and resident in the UK as a worker; or
the relevant family member of such a non-UK EEA national worker or the relevant family member of such a Swiss worker;

and

(b) you must have been 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 UK and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories and/or Gibraltar for the three years before the first day of the first academic year of the course.

Note:

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 C (above) for a 'special provision' which allows an EU national to meet the residence requirement on behalf of their student family member.

If you started your course on or after 1 January 2021 but before 1 August 2021:

If you started your course on or after 1 January 2021 but before 1 August 2021, then it seems likely the criteria you need to meet in order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category remain the same, although the regulations are not clear on this yet. We will update this information when the regulations are clear.

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

This category has been replaced. Do not read the information about this category given above. Instead read the pdf guide (the link is towards the top of this page) for information about the new categories.

G. Child of a former EEA migrant worker

If you started your course before 1 August 2021:

Special note: For academic years that start on or after 1 August 2021, you are only allowed to use this category if you previously qualified under one of the following categories for the same course (or for a course you have transferred from):

Child of a former EEA migrant worker
EU nationals (or British Citizens), and family
EU nationals in the UK
EEA/Swiss workers, and family
Child of a Swiss national
Child of a Turkish worker
Those who are ‘settled’ in the UK and have exercised a ‘right of residence’ in the EEA/Switzerland

First, check that you are not ruled out by the 'Special note' above. If you are not ruled out by the 'Special note' above, and you started your course before 1 August 2021, then 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 an EEA national (but it does not matter if you are now over 21 and are no longer dependent on the EEA national); and
your EEA national parent must be someone who has been employed (not self-employed) in the UK, and at some point in time you must have lived in the UK as the child of that person whilst she/he was employed here. You should usually have started studying in the UK (not necessarily this course) while under the age of 21 or while still dependent on that person, and at a level lower than higher education. It does not matter if your EEA national parent is not employed now, or is no longer in the UK;

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 UK and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories and/or Gibraltar for the three years before the first day of the first academic year of the course.

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

This category has been replaced. Do not read the information about this category given above. Instead read the pdf guide (the link is towards the top of this page) for information about the new categories.

H. Child of a Swiss National

If you started your course before 1 August 2021:

Special note: For academic years that start on or after 1 August 2021, you are only allowed to use this category if you previously qualified under one of the following categories for the same course (or for a course you have transferred from):

Child of a Swiss national
EU nationals (or British Citizens), and family
EU nationals in the UK
EEA/Swiss workers, and family
Child of a former EEA migrant worker
Child of a Turkish worker
Those who are ‘settled’ in the UK and have exercised a ‘right of residence’ in the EEA/Switzerland

First, check that you are not ruled out by the 'Special note' above. If you are not ruled out by the 'Special note' above, and you started your course before 1 August 2021, then 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 doing something in the UK that would have counted as "exercising a right of residence in the UK under European law" if Brexit had not happened (for example, they are a self-sufficient person, a worker, or a student in the UK); 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 UK and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories and/or Gibraltar for the three years before the first day of the first academic year of the course; and

(d) if for the three-year period, the main purpose for you residing in the large area described in (c) was to receive full-time education, you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA/Switzerland/UK/Gibraltar immediately before that three-year period.

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

This category has been replaced. Do not read the information about this category given above. Instead read the pdf guide (the link is towards the top of this page) for information about the new categories.

England: HE fee status

Higher Education

Expiry date for refugee permission to stay

Becoming eligible

Refugee Status: where someone gains British citizenship

Becoming eligible

There is no three-year residence test for this category

Expiry date for leave on grounds of humanitarian protection

Becoming eligible

There is no three-year residence test for this category

Expiry date for leave on grounds of humanitarian protection

Becoming eligible

Expiry date for leave to remain as a stateless person

Becoming eligible

Expiry date for leave to remain as a stateless person

Becoming eligible

Expiry date for leave

Becoming eligible

Expiry date for leave

Becoming eligible

Expiry date for Calais leave

Becoming eligible

Expiry date for Calais leave

Becoming eligible

Becoming eligible

Becoming eligible

Becoming eligible

Expiry date for leave as a bereaved partner

Becoming eligible

Expiry date for leave as a bereaved partner

Becoming eligible

Expiry date for leave as a bereaved partner

Becoming eligible

If a biometric residence permit shows 'ALES'

Expiry date for the leave (immigration permission)

Becoming eligible

If a biometric residence permit shows 'ALES'

Expiry date for your leave (immigration permission)

Becoming eligible

The special arrangements

What date does Ukraine Scheme leave start?

Expiry date for the leave (immigration permission)

Becoming eligible

There is a special arrangement concerning requirement (a) if the year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2022 but before 1 August 2023

There is a special arrangement concerning requirement (c) if the year you are paying fees for starts on or after 1 August 2022 but before 1 August 2023

The special arrangements

What date does Ukraine Scheme leave start?

Expiry date for your leave (immigration permission)

Becoming eligible

Changes to the information about this category

British Overseas Territories Citizens (BOTCs)

Students from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

If you started your course before 1 August 2021:

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

If you started your course before 1 August 2021:

Special Provision about the residence requirement

British Overseas Territories Citizens (BOTCs)

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

If you started your course before 1 August 2021:

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

If you started your course before 1 January 2021:

Note:

If you started your course on or after 1 January 2021 but before 1 August 2021:

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

If you started your course before 1 August 2021:

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

If you started your course before 1 August 2021:

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

If you started your course before 1 August 2021:

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2021:

Definitions: for fee status assessment

Special note about the UK, for students starting their course before 11pm on 31 December 2020:

British overseas territories

Overseas territories of EU member states

Indefinite Leave to Enter/Remain (ILE/ILR)

British citizen

Right of Abode

Republic of Ireland citizen