Tuition fees for further education courses in England

8 March 2013

Update note
This information sheet should only be used to assess fee status for students whose courses commence in the 2012/2013 academic year. New guidance, subject to further amendment scheduled for later in the year, has been published by the Skills Funding Agency and will take effect from 1 August 2013. We await amendment of the guidance and will aim to update this information sheet as soon as possible so that it is applicable to 2013/2014 fee assessments.

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Who is this information sheet for?

This Information Sheet explains the conditions you need to meet to be entitled to pay tuition fees at the 'home' rate and not the 'overseas' rate for study on a Further Education (FE) course in England.

If you are studying in England and your course is a higher education course you should use our information sheet entitled Tuition fees for higher education courses in England.

There are separate Information Sheets for the other countries of the UK – Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. See UKCISA's complete list of fees Information Sheets.

Readers should be aware that INFORMATION IN THIS SHEET IS LIABLE TO CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

Will I pay the 'home' or 'overseas' rate of fee?

Publicly funded educational institutions charge two levels of fee: the lower 'home' fee and the higher 'overseas' fee.

Private sector institutions often have only one level of tuition fee, which all students must pay.

For courses in publicly funded educational institutions in England, some categories of student must be charged the 'home fee' and the various categories of 'home' student are explained below.

The level of fee you will have to pay depends on whether you meet certain criteria. Different criteria can be applied depending on whether you are studying a course at higher education level or further education level.

"No recourse to public funds"

If you have "no recourse to public funds" included in your passport stamp, you will not be in breach of your immigration conditions if you have access to education in the UK. "Public funds" are defined in the Immigration Rules, and the benefits and services listed do not include education or any education funding.

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Is my course higher education or further education?

Higher education courses include HNC and HND courses, undergraduate degrees (for example, BA, BSc, BEd) and postgraduate degrees (for example, MA, MSc or PhD).

Further education courses include GCSEs, AS and 'A' levels (and their equivalents), NVQs, GNVQs, BTECs and Access courses.

If you are not sure whether your course is higher education or further education, ask your place of study.

If your course is higher education, the institution will usually decide your fee status on the basis of the relevant fees regulations.

If your course is further education, the institution might consider charging you 'home' fees even if you do not come within the categories in the regulations. This is because seperate funding bodies are responsible for funding places on FE courses in England.

If your course is a higher education course, you should not use this information sheet. Instead, you should use our information sheet entitled Tuition fees for higher education courses in England.

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How are further education fees status decisions made?

See 'Is my course higher education or further education?' for an explanation of what further education means.

In England, the Education Funding Agency (EFA) (formerly Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA)) and Skills Funding Agency (SFA) fund FE courses run at most institutions. They each publish guidance for FE fee assessors on who they will fund as a 'home' fee payer (i.e. who will be eligible for a 'home' fee).

Each of the sets of guidance published for FE has a certain number of eligibility paragraphs that correspond to, but do not follow exactly, the fee regulations which govern fees in higher edcuation. In addition, extra paragraphs in each document provide for additional categories of people to be funded as 'home' learners, regardless of whether such people would be covered by the HE fees regulations.

These categories often change year-by-year when new versions of the guidance are released.

People in 'exceptional circumstances'

If you are aged 16-18 years, talk to your institution if you do not meet any of the categories but think your case is 'exceptional'. This is because the EFA will consider students in exceptional circumstances. However, the SFA does not offer to make such considerations (for people who are aged 19 or over).

If you are in any doubt about your eligibility for 'home fees' for further education, you should seek advice from your institution, Students' Union or UKCISA's Students' Advice line.

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Categories for 'home' fees: students who are entitled to 'home' fees

If you fit into one of the categories, an institution must fund you as a 'home' fee payer.

CATEGORY 1:
Those who are 'settled' in the UK and meet the main residence requirements

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

(a) you must be 'settled' in the UK [see Box 1] on either:

1. the 'first day of the first academic year of the course' [see Box 2], if you are aged 16 - 18 years old or
2. the date on which you actually start learning, if you are aged 19 or over

AND

(b) you must also have been 'ordinarily resident' [see Box 3] in the UK and Islands (the Islands means the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) for the full three year period before the date in (a) above. For example, if your course begins in October 2012, you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands from 1 September 2009 to 31 August 2012;

AND

(c) the main purpose for your residence in the UK and islands must not have been to receive full-time education during any part of that three-year period.

NOTE: It is not necessary to have had 'settled' immigration status in the UK [see Box 1] for three years.

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CATEGORY 2:
Those who have been resident in UK, with work-related immigration permission, for 3 years, and their family

To be eligible under this category, at the start of the course you must be:

(a)

1. a non-EEA national with work-related immigration permission [see What does 'work-related immigration permission' mean in this category?] in the UK; or
2. the child aged 16-18 years old, or the spouse, or the civil partner, of such a person

AND

(b) the person with work-related immigration permission must have been resident in the UK for 3 years with that same, or any other type of, work-related immigration permission.

What does 'work-related immigration permission' mean in this category?

In this category, 'work-related immigration permission' means leave specifically granted for the applicant to be able to work in the UK. It is not intended to mean any sort of leave which merely does not forbid, or in fact explicitly permits, work. Examples of 'work-related immigration permsission' are leave granted under Tier 1 (Post-study work), Tier 2, or as a Work Permit holder. Examples that are not 'work-related immigration permission' are leave under Tier 4 (General), or as a PBS (dependant).

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CATEGORY 3:
Persons who have recently gained 'Settled Status'

To be eligible under this category, at the start of the course you must be:

a person who has gained 'settled' status in the UK [see Box 1] within the three years immediately preceding the start date of the course.

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CATEGORY 4:
Spouses / Civil Partners of settled people / EEA nationals

To be eligible under this category, at the start of the course, you must be a person:

(a)

1. who is 19 years of age, or older; and
2. whose husband, or wife, or civil partner is 'settled' in the UK [see Box 1 for meaning of 'settled']; and
3. who has been resident in the UK for at least three years.

OR

(b)

1. who is 19 years of age, or older; and
2. whose husband, or wife, or civil partner is an EEA National [see Box 5] who is living in the UK; and
3. who has been resident in the UK for at least one year.

OR

(c)

1. who is aged 16 - 18 years of age; and
2. whose husband, or wife, or civil partner is either 'settled' in the UK [see Box 1 for meaning of 'settled'], or an EEA National [see Box 5] who is living in the UK; and
3. who has been married or in a recognised civil partnership, with that husband, wife or civil partner, for at least one year; and
4. who has been resident in the UK for at least one year.

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CATEGORY 5:
16 - 18 year old students

To be eligible under this category, you must be aged 16 - 18 years of age, and either:

• accompanying, or joining, a parent, or parents, who have Right of Abode in the UK, or who have any sort of immigration permission to be in the UK, or who are EEA nationals [see Box 5], or who are coming to the UK as exchange scheme teachers, or who are diplomats; OR
• a British citizen; OR
• an EEA national [see Box 5]; OR
• someone with the Right of Abode in the UK; OR
• in the care of social services.

You are a 16-18 year old if you are 16, 17 or 18 on 31 August of the year when you begin study. If you become 19 during the same study programme, you will still stay a 'home fee' payer.

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CATEGORY 6:
People granted Refugee status, Humanitarian Protection, Discretionary Leave, or Exceptional Leave to Enter or Remain by the UK Government, and their family

To be eligible under this category:

(a) you must be a refugee recognised by the UK Government [see Box 9 for when someone granted Refugee Status has become a British Citizen], or you must be a person granted Humanitarian Protection (HP), Discretionary Leave (DL) or Exceptional Leave to Enter or Remain (ELE/R) by the UK Government;

OR

(b) you must be the spouse or civil partner of such a person and, if that person has been granted refugee status, you must have been the spouse or civil partner of that person on the date on which the immigration application which led to their grant of refugee status was made [ie you do not have to have been the spouse or civil partner of that person on the date on which the immigration application was made if it led to the granting of HP, DL or ELE/R];

OR

(c) you must be the child [see Box 7] of such a person or of such a person's spouse or civil partner and, if that person has been granted refugee status, then at the time the person made the immigration application for which their refugee status was granted you must have been the under-18-year-old child of the person or of the person's spouse or civil partner [ie you do not have to have been the under-18-year-old child of the person, or of the person's spouse or civil partner, on the date on which the immigration application was made if it led to the granting of HP, DL or ELE/R].

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CATEGORY 7:
Asylum seekers

To be eligible under this category, at the start of the course you must be:

(a) an asylum seeker who is aged 16-18 years

OR

(b) an asylum seeker who is aged 19 years or over and who has either been:

• legally in the UK and waiting for the Home Office to decide their case for longer than 6 months; or
• refused asylum but granted section 4 support.

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CATEGORY 8:
European Union (EU) nationals and their family members

To be eligible under this category:

a) On either

1. the 'first day of the first academic year of the course' [see Box 2], if you are aged 16 - 18 years old or
2. the date on which you actually start learning, if you are aged 19 or over

you must be:

• an EU national [see Box 4]; OR
• the spouse or civil partner of an EU national; OR
• the child, grandchild, dependent parent or dependent grandparent of an EU national; OR
• the child, grandchild, dependent parent or dependent grandparent of an EU national's spouse or civil partner

AND

(b) you must have been ordinarily resident in the European Economic Area (EEA) [see Box 5] and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories [see Box 6] for the three years before the date you have chosen in (a) above BUT also see the special note below.

Special note about CATEGORY 8(b): You do not have to meet Category 8(b) (above) if you are: the family member [as in 8(a) above] of a non-UK EU national; OR the family member [as in 8(a) above] of a UK national, and that UK national has exercised a right of residence in another EU member state as a self-sufficient person, a student, a self-employed person or a worker AND your family member has been ordinarily resident in the European Economic Area (EEA) and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories for the three years before the date on which you actually start learning.

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CATEGORY 9:
European Economic Area (EEA)/Swiss workers, and family members

In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet the following criteria:

(a) you must be

1. an EEA [see Box 5] or Swiss national who is a worker in the UK; or
2. the spouse, civil partner or child of such a person; or
3. the dependent parent or grandparent of such a person or their spouse/civil partner

AND

(b) you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA [see Boxes 4 and 5] and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories [see Box 6] for the three years before either:

1. the 'first day of the first academic year of the course' [see Box 2], if you are aged 16 - 18 years old; or
2. the date on which you actually start learning, if you are aged 19 or over

NOTES:

• if you are the child of an EEA 'worker' who is no longer working or living in the UK, you can still be entitled to pay 'home' fees if you came to the UK to accompany your EEA 'worker' parent
• if you or a 'relevant family member' [see Box 7] become an EEA or Swiss migrant worker part-way through your course, you might become entitled to pay 'home' fees - you can seek advice on this from an adviser at your institution, your Students' Union or telephone UKCISA's Students' Advice Line.

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CATEGORY 10:
Child of a Swiss National

In order to qualify for 'home' fees under this category, you must meet the following criteria:

(a) at the start of the programme of study, you must be the child [see Box 7] of a Swiss national;

AND

(b) you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA [see Box 5] and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories [see Box 6] for the three years before the start of your programme.

NOTE: there is no requirement that your Swiss parent is, or has been, economically active in the UK.

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CATEGORY 11:
Child of a Turkish worker

To be eligible under this category:

(a) you must be the child [see Box 7] of a Turkish national;

AND

(b) your Turkish national parent must be, or have been, lawfully employed in the UK;

AND

(c) you must have been ordinarily resident in the EEA [see Box 5] and/or Switzerland and/or Turkey and/or the overseas territories [see Box 6] for the three years before the 'first day of the first academic year of the course' [see Box 2].

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CATEGORY 12:
Students from the overseas territories

To be eligible under this category, you must:

(a) be a national of one of the overseas territories [see Box 6];

AND

(b) have been ordinarily resident in the EEA [see Box 5] and/or Switzerland and/or the overseas territories [see Box 6] for the 3-year period immediately preceding either:

1. the 'first day of the first academic year of the course' [see Box 2], if you are aged 16 - 18 years old; or
2. the date on which you actually start learning, if you are aged 19 or over.

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CATEGORY 13:
Those with the 'right of permanent residence' in the UK, including their family members

To be eligible under this category, you must be someone who has 'the right of permanent residence' in the UK under European Community (EC) law, or you must be the the family member of such a person and be aged 19 or over.

Special note for CATEGORY 13 - Family members of those with the 'right of permanent residence' in the UK What is the 'right of permanent residence'? EU nationals acquire the right of permanent residence after a five-year period of uninterrupted lawful residence in the UK. This same rule applies to Non-EU national family members of an EU national who have lived in the UK with such a person for five years. Who are eligible 'family members' under this category? If you are a non-EU national, you can acquire the right of permanent residence if you have been here for five years with an EU national family member. Under European Law, you will be considered a family member of an EU national if you are in one of the relationships in Box 7. Additionally for this category (as provided for by Article 3 of Directive 2004/38/EC), a person will be considered to be a family member of an EU national (or "Union Citizen"): if, in the country from which they have both come, they "are dependants or members of the household of the Union citizen having the primary right of residence"; or "where serious health grounds strictly require the personal care of the family member by the Union citizen". Your university or college fee assessor will need to be satisfied that you have the right of permanent residence. If, having acquired the right of permanent residence, you have obtained a permanent residence card from the Home Office, you should show this to your fee assessor. If you are unable to provide this then it may be more difficult for you to satisfy the assessor of your right of permanent residence. However, you should be given the opportunity to provide alternative evidence. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has advised us that, in assessing whether an individual has a right of permanent residence, and in absence of a residence card, it would be reasonable for the institution to ask to see the following: Evidence that the student is a family member of an EEA national (eg marriage certificate); and Evidence that the family member is an EEA national (eg identity card, valid passport); and Evidence that the student has lived continuously in the UK for five years as the family member of the EEA national; and Evidence that the EEA national has lived in the UK during this time in accordance with EU law: This would include evidence of work or self-employment or of being a student or evidence of sufficient resources for themselves and family members; and If self-sufficient or a student they would need evidence of comprehensive sickness insurance.

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Definitions

Box 1 'Settled' 'Settled' means being both ordinarily resident in the UK and without any immigration restriction on the length of your stay in the UK. The fees regulations refer to immigration law for the definition of 'settled'. To be 'settled' you must either have the Right of Abode or Indefinite Leave to Enter or Remain in the UK or have the right of permanent residence in the UK under EC law. If your passport describes you as a 'British citizen', then you have the 'Right of Abode'. Certain categories exempt from time limits on their stay in the UK, however, do not come within the definition of 'settled' – for example, diplomats and members of their households do not have specified time limits on their permission to stay in the UK but they are not 'settled' under the relevant immigration law. NOTE: those who are 'settled' through having acquired the right of permanent residence under European Community (EC) law do not qualify as 'home' students under category 1 but may qualify under category 2, 3, 4, 6, or 13 depending on their circumstances. ↑ Back to top

Box 2 'The first day of an academic year of the course' (also used for the 'first day of the first academic year of the course') for academic years / courses starting: 'first day of academic year': on or after 1 August and on or before 31 December 1 September on or after 1 January and before 1 April 1 January on or after 1 April and before 1 July 1 April on or after 1 July and before 1 August 1 July ↑ Back to top

Box 3 Ordinarily resident The relevant residence area is specified in each individual category, and is one of the following: the UK and Islands the EEA and Switzerland the EEA, Switzerland and the overseas territories the EEA, Switzerland, Turkey and the overseas territories You are 'ordinarily resident' in the relevant area if you have habitually, normally and lawfully resided in that area from choice. Temporary absences from the residence area should be ignored. If you can demonstrate that you have not been ordinarily resident in the relevant residence area only because you were, or your 'relevant family member' was, temporarily working outside the relevant residence area, you will be treated as though you have been ordinarily resident for the period during which this was the case. Main purpose of residence having been full-time education Where a category includes a condition that the main purpose of your residence must not have been to receive full-time education, a useful question to ask is: "if you had not been in full-time education, where would you have been ordinarily resident?". If the answer is "outside the relevant residence area" this would indicate that the main purpose for your residence was full-time education. If the answer is that you would have been resident in the relevant residence area even if you had not been in full-time education, this would indicate that full-time education was not the main purpose for your residence in the relevant area. For more detailed information about ordinary residence, see UKCISA's Information Sheet Ordinary residence: case law for fees and Student Support. ↑ Back to top

Box 4 European Union (EU) national You are an EU national if you are a national or citizen of one of the following: Austria Belgium Bulgaria Republic of Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland (including the Aland Islands) France (including the French Overseas Departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guyana, Reunion and Saint-Martin) Germany (including Heligoland) Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores) Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain (including the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla) Sweden UK (including Gibraltar). ↑ Back to top

Box 5 The European Economic Area (EEA) The EEA is a larger area than the EU. It is made up of all the countries in the EU (listed in Box 4) plus: Iceland; Liechtenstein; and Norway (including Svalbard). For categories where the residence area includes the EEA, the residence area is made up of all 30 countries in the EEA including the whole of the island of Cyprus (that is, including Northern Cyprus). ↑ Back to top

Box 6 The Overseas Territories The "overseas territories" are: Anguilla Aruba Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Ducie & Oeno Islands Falkland Islands Faroe Islands French Polynesia French Southern and Antarctic Territories Greenland Henderson Mayotte Montserrat Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten) Pitcairn South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands St Barthelemy St Helena and Dependencies (Ascension Island and Tristan de Cunha) St Pierre et Miquelon the Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies Turks and Caicos Islands Wallis and Futuna. ↑ Back to top

Box 7 Family members Meaning of 'child' 'Child' is not defined in terms of age (except where stated) or dependency. The regulations state that a "child" can be any child for whom the "parent" is a parent, guardian or has parental responsibility. See www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/ParentsRights/DG_4002954 for a Government explanation of parental responsibility. ↑ Back to top

Box 8 EEA / Swiss 'worker' 'Worker' includes an EEA or Swiss national who is: employed self-employed a 'frontier worker'who is employed or self-employed. A 'frontier worker' is an EEA/Swiss national working in the UK but who "resides in Switzerland or the territory of an EEA State other than the United Kingdom and returns to their residence in Switzerland or an EEA state, at least once a week". What kind of work? The work must be in the UK. The work can be full-time or part-time. If you give up work to start a course, you should still be treated as a migrant worker if your course of study is related to your job or area of work. If you have become 'involuntarily unemployed', you do not have to show that your course of study is related to your previous job – for example, if your post was made redundant, or if your contract ended and was not renewed. If you lost your job through misconduct, you would not be considered 'involuntarily unemployed' It can be work that you are doing while you are on the course, unless it is 'ancillary' to the course. 'Ancillary'means the work is part of the course or work you were offered because you have been accepted on a particular course. ↑ Back to top

Box 9 When someone granted Refugee Status has become a British Citizen The Immigration Rules revoke someone’s Refugee Status once he/she subsequently obtains a new nationality, eg when a refugee gains British citizenship. If you have, or a relevant family member has, Refugee Status and you are, or the person with that status is, considering applying for British (or any other) citizenship, you should be aware that such an application could have an effect on your fees status or your eligibility for Student Support. Example: You are about to start Year 1 of your course and you have been provisionally assessed as eligible for ‘home’ fees and Student Support because one of your parents has Refugee Status. Your parent with Refugee Status obtains British citizenship during the month before the start of your course. You would no longer be eligible under the same category because the requirement that your family member - in this example, your parent - has Refugee status would no longer be met. ↑ Back to top

What can I do if I think the institution has made a mistake in deciding my fee status?

If you think a mistake has been made, do not sign any document or contract agreeing to pay the 'overseas' rate of fee. Contact the institution immediately and ask it to explain the decision. If you still think the decision is wrong, give the reasons why you think there has been a mistake. It is important to communicate in writing and to keep copies of all correspondence. If you are still not satisfied with the decision, contact an adviser at your institution, your Students' Union or telephone UKCISA's Students' Advice Line.

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Fee status: information checklist

Many institutions have a 'fee status questionnaire' which they will ask you to complete. This checklist describes the type of information which institutions may ask you to provide. Please note that this list is for your information and guidance only: individual institutions may ask for more or less information than is listed here.

print version of the fee status information checklist

• Course start date (month and year)
• Your nationality/passport
• If you are married/in a civil partnership: nationality of your husband/wife/civil partner
• Nationality/nationalities of your parents
• Nationality/nationalities of any other relevant family members

If you are already in the UK:

• Date you arrived in the UK (dd/mm/yy)
• What is your immigration status in the UK? (For example, student or visitor).
  Please give dates of any changes or extensions
• Date of expiry (end) of current Leave to Remain ('visa') (dd/mm/yy)
• Current immigration status of your husband/wife/civil partner
• Current immigration status of your parents (if in the UK)
• Current immigration status of any other 'relevant family members' (if in the UK)
• Where you live/have lived:
  • (a) General (over at least the last six years)
  • (b) Past three years/three years before course start date
• Main reasons for residency (in all the countries you have lived in)
• Where your family lives/has lived (general)
• Main reasons for their residency
• Have you applied for asylum in the UK?
• If 'yes':
  • (a) has a decision yet been made? (Result?)
  • (b) what are your means of support? (eg NASS?)
• Age and date of birth if 16-18
• Are you married to, or in a civil partnership with, a person who is settled in the UK?
  • If Yes: date of marriage or civil partnership ceremony (dd/mm/yy)
  • Date you arrived in England (dd/mm/yy)

UKCISA Students' Advice Line

Tel: 020 3131 3576
13.00-16.00 hours UK time Mon-Fri
Note that we cannot see personal callers.

If you are calling from outside the UK, do not dial the (0) in the telephone numbers above. For example, if you want to call UKCISA from outside the UK, dial +44 20 3131 3576. If you are in the UK, do not dial +44, but do start the number with 0. For example, if you call UKCISA from within the UK, dial 020 3131 3576.

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This information sheet may be printed and reproduced provided it is copied unaltered and in its entirety, including UKCISA's logo, disclaimer, copyright statement and the reference to UKCISA's website as a source of further updates, and provided that no charge is made to any persons for copies. NO PART OF IT MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES.

The information in this Information Sheet is given in good faith and has been carefully checked. UKCISA, however, accepts no legal responsibility for its accuracy.

   

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