Tuition fee status

Learn more about your fee status and which tuition fees are relevant to you.

The tuition fees you are charged depend on whether you are classed as a home or international fee payer. The university assesses your fee status using regulations, which are set by the Department for Education. The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) provides useful guidance on the regulations. The UKCISA guidance is over 100 pages long so the information below should only be treated as a summary.

Home fee status

There are many different categories to qualify as a home fee payer. Please read the UKCISA guidance for detailed information. Fee status is usually determined by nationality, immigration status and ordinary residence requirements. Common categories include:

  • Settled status
  • EU settlement scheme
  • British or Irish citizen
  • Family member of a person with settled status
  • Refugee or Humanitarian Protection status in the UK
  • Long residence (living in the UK for half of your life or 20 years)

Each category includes different ordinary residence requirements. For example, a UK national must be 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.

Universities do not assess eligibility for student loans and the criteria to qualify for a student loan may be different. The requirements are determined by separate regulations and are assessed by the relevant agency, such as Student Finance England. For information on student loans, please refer to our Fees and funding guide.

International fee status

Students who do not meet the criteria to qualify for home fees would be liable to pay the international tuition fee rate, which can be located on the relevant course page.

If your immigration status changes during your studies, your fee status may not necessarily change and we recommend that you check the criteria the UKCISA guidance.

EU nationals who do not have pre-settled or settled status in the UK (EU settlement scheme) have been classed as international fee payers since August 2021.