Dear James,
First of all, this is correct. "To qualify for "home? student status
[...] you must have been ordinarily resident in the British Islands
for the three years prior to the start of the course. Any residency
in the British Islands during that time primarily for the purpose of
receiving full-time education will not count as ordinary residence.
Exceptions to the three year residency rule are: EC Nationals and
their children, who have been ordinarily resident in the EC for the
last three years; refugees and those given exceptional leave to remain
and their dependants; people and dependants of people who have been
temporarily working abroad" (SOURCE: University of Greenwich, Student
Finance and Money Management: Part Eight
<http://www.gre.ac.uk/studentservices/finance/tuition_fees/payment.html>).
This is an example from one university, but is true for them all (as
you can see in the Department for Education and Skills site:
<http://www.dfes.gov.uk/international-students/readyr.shtml>).
However, aside from living legally in the UK (or EU countries) for the
past three years, not as a full time student, it is actually up to the
educational authorities to determine what is considered to be a
"resident". The law itself only states that "the student should also
be "settled in the United Kingdom" within the meaning of the
Immigration Act 1971". (SOURCE: The Education (Fees and Awards)
(Scotland) Amendment Regulations 1997,
<http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1997/97200801.htm>).
The Home Office write in their site:
"Under Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) policy, a home student
is anyone who has been in the UK legally for 3 years (note the absence
of any requirement to be settled and any conditions attached to the
purpose of residence)." (SOURCE: Home Office, Annex B - Special
Classes of Student / Course
<http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/en/home/laws___policy/policy_instructions/table_of_contents/chapter_3/annexes_/annex_b_-_special.html>).
The guidelines for institutions are described in this Word Document:
Introduction and Regulations
<http://www.dfes.gov.uk/gfees/draft.doc>
However, the best source for laymen would be The British Council, who
have written in the page (of the British Council of the United States)
much clearer rules that would apply to determine if one is a resident
or not:
"The institution makes the final decision on fees assessment. It is up
to you to satisfy the institution that you meet the requirements for
home fee status.
The following factors are not in themselves sufficient to warrant a
home fee classification:
* The possession of UK nationality
* Ownership of property in the UK
* Employment in the UK
* Payment of UK taxes
No specific exemptions are made for particular groups such as:
* UK civil servants in overseas posts
* Members of the armed forces serving abroad
* University academics working abroad
* Commonwealth citizens
* Children and spouses of embassy staff from other countries"
(SOURCE: Cache of the British Council Page
<http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:MM6vSqExjMEJ:www.britcoun.org/usa/usa-education/usa-education-prospective-students/usa-education-funding-your-studies/usa-education-funding-fee-status.htm+%22home+student+status%22+uk&hl=en>
- I apologise for providing a cache version, but the site wouldn't
upload today...).
So, how to prove legal residency in the UK in the last three years?
Basically, this is administered through the Local Education Authority
(LEA) where you live (in the UK...). Please note, that some
universities have also allowances or special policies for students
from Wales and Scotland:
LEA <http://www.dfes.gov.uk/leagateway/> - addresses are found here:
<http://www.dfes.gov.uk/leagateway/index.cfm?action=address.default>
If you are an EU resident, you'll have to show documentation to that
fact from the relevant authorities.
So, since this is pretty liquid and open to interpretations, before
you go to your LEA office:
(1) Call (+44)020 7925 5324 or (+44)020 7925 5339 in order to check
your status and eligibility.
(2) Obtain a "proofs" such as National Insurance Number, other
evidences of residency/work/taxes paid, in order to prove residency.
I hope this answered your question. Please contact me if you need any
further clarification on this answer before you rate it.
Search terms: lea, "home student status" (also with site:gov.uk - in
order to get governmental sites) |
Request for Answer Clarification by
james1352-ga
on
19 Aug 2004 17:10 PDT
Thank you very much for your answer. I will be posting a high rating
for your response.
One further clarification. My daughter is currently attending
university in san francisco. It will therefore be necessary to prove
that she is ordinarily resident in UK, even though she is attending a
US university eight months out of the year...could this be a
challenge? Or are they unlikely to look at this? Is there a number of
days she is supposed ot be in the UK per year in order to be
considered resident? It will be another three years until she will
want to enter a UK uiversity anyway. Do you know the difference in
fees for resident and non resident, and are residents entitled to any
financial support while attanding university?
If you feel that this clarification warrants a further fee, please let
me know. In addition, I would like to get my US born wife a UK
passpport. How could I ask this question on Google and get you as the
person to answer?
James
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Clarification of Answer by
politicalguru-ga
on
20 Aug 2004 00:59 PDT
Dear James,
As I've mentioned in my answer, the issue of residency and the
interpretation thereof are up to LEA and the institutions. While I
wouldn't encourage you to do something illegal (as claiming you're
living in the UK, when in fact you're not), I am pretty certain that
at least some LEA/university workers could be convinced that one
resides in the UK based solely on a rent contract, a National
Insurance Number, etc. - and they would not demand further envidence.
However, this is not only risky, but it is illegal (if one is in fact
not a resident).
The interpretation of the law as given by Lord Scarman is that an
ordinary resident is "a person's abode in a particular place or
country which he had adopted voluntarily and for settled purposes
[...], as part of the regular order of his life for the time being,
whether of short or long duration [...]"
(See: The Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations 1997, As Amended,
Guidance on Fees, <http://www.dfes.gov.uk/gfees/draft.doc>, art. 45).
I'm afraid, I wouldn't think that living only 4 month a year in the UK
would qualify as part of one's "regular order of his life".
In another case, it has been defined that an ordinary resident lives
"habitual and normal residence in the UK from choice for a settled
purpose throughout the prescribed period, apart from temporary or
occasional absences" (Shah v Barnet London Borough Council 1983).
The University of Durham's webpage enlightens a little more:
"The meaning implied is the natural and ordinary meaning, rather than
any lawful or special description of residence. Ordinary residence
means voluntary residence for a settled purpose as part of the regular
order of the applicant's life; such residence need not be permanent
but it should have a sufficient degree of continuity to be properly
described as settled.
Temporary or occasional absence from the UK and Islands does not break ordinary
residence; there is no definition of a temporary or occasional
absence. For an applicant to demonstrate that their absence is
temporary or occasional, they must prove that they would have been
resident in the UK and Islands if it were not for some external
factor, e.g. temporary employment outside the UK and Islands of their
parents/guardian.
Some factors to be considered when determining whether an absence due
to temporary employment breaks ordinary residence:
a. Was the job obtained prior to departure? Or was the job obtained whilst the
person was living abroad?
b. Was the employment for a specified period?
c. Are holidays taken in the UK? Does the person return to the UK on a regular
basis?
d. Does the person pay UK taxes? Hold a UK bank account?
e. Is property owned in the UK?
f. If property is maintained in the UK, is it kept available at all
times for use by the applicant and their family or is rented?
Note that no single factor can determine ordinary residence, the
factors mentioned above may serve only to provide cumulative evidence
for ordinary residence. It is not sufficient to argue that an intent
to return to the UK at some stage constitutes temporary absence."
(SOURCE: University of Durham, "Evaluation of Fee Status - Full-time
Undergraduates", <http://www.dur.ac.uk/teachingandlearning.handbook/1a3.pdf>).
Here are some examples of tuition fees for "home students" and overseas students:
U. of Essex: Undergraduate/Home - ?1125 ; Postgraduate/Home - ?2940 ;
Overseas: ?3980 - ?10240 (See details here:
http://www2.essex.ac.uk/academic/calendar/fees.html).
U. of Galmorgan: Undergrad/Home: - 1150; POstgraduate - Home - 3010 ;
Overseas - 7,990 - 12180 See more at
<http://www.glam.ac.uk/money/fees/index.php>
These are just samples: each university (and sometimes also each
department) has different fees (this might change after 2006 for Home
Students, whereas the fees would be in fact a loan to be returned
later); and as I mentioned before, some universities might consider
your daughter a home student despite the fact that she's living most
of the time in the US, if you could provide enough evidence of her
being an "ordinary resident".
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
james1352-ga
on
28 Aug 2004 08:50 PDT
Thank you very much for your answers.
I would like you to answer a further question, and I would like to pay you for it.
My daughter will graduate from Uniersity of San Francisco in 2007. As
I mentioned previously, she would like to attend Oxford or Cambridge
and study law. We would like to know the difference in fees, and
available grants, if she were to be an overseas student, or as UK
resident student. I understand fees may change over the years- if we
just look at what it costs now, that would suffice.
Please let me know what the fee will be for this work will be.
James
|
Clarification of Answer by
politicalguru-ga
on
28 Aug 2004 09:26 PDT
Dear James,
Here are the 2004/5 fees (2005/6 are not published yet).
Cambridge: ?8,088 for overseas students, ?1,150 for home students.
<http://www.cam.ac.uk/cambuniv/ugprospectus/applying/applying03d.html>
You should add to that possible college fees (See:
<http://www.cam.ac.uk/cambuniv/ugprospectus/applying/applying03c.html>),
and living expenses.
Oxford: ?8,170 for overseas students, same fees for home students.
<http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/pra/compfee.shtml> and specifically for 2004/5:
<http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/pra/UG0405.pdf>
General Financial Information: <http://www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/finance/>
These two are for the Oxbridge equivalents of Ll.B. If she wants to
become a solicitor, an undergraduate degree (Ll.B.) is enough in the
UK (and she usually can't enrol to an Ll.M. programme without having
an Ll.B. first). However, if she wants to practice law in the United
States, she should consult her State's bar regaring recognition of
foreign degrees, or enquire about join LL.B. and JD programme in the
US or UK (I am assuming that such programmes exist, but don't know for
sure).
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Clarification of Answer by
politicalguru-ga
on
28 Aug 2004 09:26 PDT
When I wrote "same fees", I meant, "same fees as in Cambridge".
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