Students applying to university from overseas may be asked to supply additional information to help the universities clarify whether students should be charged one of three levels of student tuition fees: ‘Home’, ‘Rest of UK’ or ‘Overseas/International.’
The Service Children’s Progression (SCiP) Alliance website has guidance on Higher Education funding and fee status – SCiP Alliance which may be of interest to UK Armed Forces families applying to university from overseas. This includes a link to The Higher Education (Fee Limit Condition) (England) Regulations 2017 which defines when a person is considered “ordinarily resident” for the purpose of higher‑education fee regulations (England).
UK Armed Forces UCAS applications from overseas
Applicants from a UK Armed Forces background applying to UCAS from overseas, should consider declaring you are a ‘UK Armed Forces family’ in the ‘More about you’ section of the UCAS form – this will help universities assess your application appropriately.
In a blog on the UCAS website, the MOD highlights:
“Where children accompany a serving parent on overseas military assignments, they are officially treated (from a higher education perspective) as if they were ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK for the period they are overseas. This means students in this position should receive the same benefits as those already living in the UK. The reality is that universities receive thousands of applications from candidates each year. Therefore, it is unfortunately very easy for students in this position to be categorised as an international student and less easy to remove them from this category. Ticking the Armed Forces box in the UCAS application will help universities identify students as ‘home’ students rather than international students for the purpose of setting tuition fees, and being eligible for student finance, which is not possible to claim if you are classed as an international student.”
If the universities you are applying to have any queries about your application or fee status, they will be able to contact you directly for clarification – they may request additional evidence to clarify fee status via a Fee Status Questionnaire.
Need help with your application?
The Forces Employment Charity offer support to young people aged 16-24 who have at least one serving or veteran parent or legal guardian in the British Armed Forces, including reservists. If you are eligible for support and would like assistance with your application to university, the Forces Employment can be contacted at: [email protected].
How we have helped
We supported an RAF family on assignment overseas when a university requested considerable evidence to ascertain whether their child would pay home or overseas fees. The student had identified as being from a UK Armed Forces background, however the family found the universities they applied to had different approaches to assessing their fee status.
We highlighted guidance from the MOD and legislation to support the family’s engagement with the university and were pleased to hear that the university confirmed that the student was classified as a UK student.
