Who pays home fees in England is set out in regulations by the UK Government (Department for Education). When making decisions on a student's fee status the University is guided by these regulations.

The University's assessment of you fee status is independent of assessments that may be conducted by other institutions (for example student finance bodies, research councils, the NHS and other universities). Other institutions and organisations may arrive at a different outcome following their assessment of your status. Their assessment has no bearing on our own.

The University is unable to carry out tuition fee assessments in advance of study applications being received. If you have not yet made an application to the University and have queries about your tuition fee status then UKCISA operates a telephone advice line where you can get free and specialist advice.

Student Finance England

For a student to receive publicly funded support from Student Finance England (SFE) - such as for tuition fees and/or maintenance loans - then the student must be allocated home fee status by SFE. Student Finance England (SFE) has no discretion in this area and must follow the guidelines. Student Finance England will also consider your age, previous study, course and higher education provider when assessing your eligibility for publicly funded support.

Definition - home student

A home student is defined as a student who meets certain residency conditions. The same conditions apply to eligibility for student financial support from the UK Government.

Usually this means you have an unrestricted right to enter and remain in the UK and you have been ordinarily resident in the UK for three years prior to the start of your course. None of this time must have been spent in the UK wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education.

Definition - overseas student

If you do not fall under the UK home fee definitions, then you will be classified as an international student paying overseas fees.

EU students will be treated as international students for fee purposes, except for Irish nationals living in the UK or Republic of Ireland.

Your fee status

If you receive an offer from the University then your tuition fee status will be stated alongside information about your tuition fee.

The University carries out a fee status assessment based on information provided in your application using the guidance from the Department for Education. The University may need to ask for additional information in order to assess your tuition fee status for your offer e-mail.

Students will be classified as having either:

• home fee status; or
• overseas fee status

This status determines the tuition fee you will be charged for your course and if you are eligible for certain scholarships and financial support.

When assessing your fee status for a new course, we will not take into consideration any decision which may have been made by another institution or organisation.

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) provides detailed guidance on fee status including explanations of the legal terms used in the regulationsLink opens in a new window.

Your offer from admissions

Your offer letter is your opportunity to have your fee status assessment reviewed. Once you have accepted your offer and enrolled at the University with an agreed fee status then your fee status is unlikely to change. There are very limited circumstances where you fee status may change part-way through a course. Common circumstances include:

• if you or a family member have been recognised as a refugee or have been granted humanitarian protection (and you can meet the residency requirements)
• if you lose your entitlement to home fees e.g. your pre-settled or settled status
• if you have been granted British Citizenship / Indefinite Leave to Remain during your course (this change is effective from 1 August 2024 - please note you still need to meet the residency requirements)

Students often get confused about the full three year residency requirement that is needed prior to enrolling on a course. You need to be 'ordinarily resident' in the UK and Islands for the full three year period before the first day of the first year of your academic course. Being subsequently resident in the UK for the three years during a course will not enable you to meet this criteria in later years of your study.

It is never advisable to begin a course unless you have a guaranteed way of paying both your tuition fees and living costs for the entire duration. We strongly advise students not to rely on the possibility of their tuition fee status being reassessed.

What to do if the fee status in your offer e-mail is incorrect

If you believe your fee status has been incorrectly classified then - before you are fully enrolled - you must:

• follow the instructions in your offer e-mail
• get in touch with your admissions team so you can seek advice and complete a fee status assessment questionnaire.

You need to provide the University with full information for fee reassessment before you become a registered student. The fee status questionnaire helps you understand the types of information and supporting documentation that the University needs in order to reassess your fee status. It is important that you complete the form and provide supporting documentation as soon as possible.

It is important that you confirm this before you accept your offer and enrol. By accepting the University's offer e-mail and accepting regulations on enrolment, you are confirming that the information you have provided is full and accurate. You are entering into a contract with the University and the fees in your accepted offer become due. Changes to this information are unlikely to be considered by the University in a request for a change to fee status. It is important that you fully read and understand the terms and conditions of your offer.

Enrolment

As part of the online enrolment process you will be asked again if you are happy with your fee status assessment. The enrolment process is where you finally accept the University's offer, it's terms and the University's regulations. If you believe that your fee status is incorrect then before completing enrolment get in touch with your admissions team to have your fee status re-assessed. It will help the team if you have your case ready and any supporting documentation to support your re-assessment.

The regulations

The regulations set out the categories of student eligible for home fee status and publicly funded student support in England:

• The Education (Fees and Awards) (England) Regulations 2007 (as amended)
• The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 (as amended)
• The Higher Education (Fee Limit Condition) (England) Regulations 2017 (as amended)

The regulations are complex. The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) provides more detailed guidance on fee status and the different types of eligibility pathways, including explanations of the legal terms used in the regulations.

Eligibility

Broadly the main eligibility criteria looks at:

• being 'settled' (ordinarily resident in the UK without any immigration restrictions) on the first day of the first year of your academic course. The dates are set out in the guidance. If your course starts in September / October then the first day of the first year of your academic course will be the 1 September of that year; and
• being 'ordinarily resident' (habitually and lawfully living in an area by choice) in the UK for the full three years before the first day of the first year of your academic course; and
• the main purpose for your residence in the UK. This must not be just to receive full-time education. Ask the question - Would you have lived in the UK if you were not in full-time education?

There are some exceptions and other routes to qualify for home fees - this includes guidance for EU students following Brexit. These criteria are helpfully set-out with guidance by UKCISALink opens in a new window.

Impact of Brexit

If you are an EU national and do not live in the UK then you are likely to be charged overseas fees.

Students with settled and pre-settled status granted under the EU Settlement Scheme may qualify for home fee status.

Changes for students who have British Citizenship / indefinite leave to remain who are already at Warwick

For academic years starting on or after 1 August 2024, you may be eligible for home fee status if you have settled immigration status on the first day of the academic year you are paying fees for.

If you have been granted British Citizenship or indefinite leave to remain and acquired 'settled' status during your course then you may now qualify for home fee status for the later years of your course. You do still need to meet other criteria - such as the requirement to 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 your course. The criteria have been helpfully set-out in updated guidance from UKCISALink opens in a new window.

If you are an existing student at Warwick and believe you may now qualify for home fee status then please e-mail studentfees@warwick.ac.uk quoting your student ID number and giving a brief overview of why you believe you may now qualify for home fee status. You will be required to provide supporting documentation such as your passport or proof of your indefinite leave to remain.

Tuition fee status appeals

The University recognises that there may be occasions when a student believes that the University has not correctly applied the fee assessment regulations. If you believe that you have been incorrectly classified for the purposes of tuition fees, then you may appeal.

Appeals will only be considered for the year in which the appeal is being made and on the following grounds:

• if you believe that there has been a procedural irregularity when applying the regulations.

If the University can demonstrate that the decision was reached fairly and in accordance with the regulations then the original decision will not be overturned.

• there is new material information available which may have affected the original decision.

Students will need to provide details giving the reasons why the information was not provided at the time of assessment. Please note, acceptance of new information is at the University's discretion. If the information was available (or known to the student at the time of application) and not included in the admissions assessment then it will not be considered to be new material information.

• evidence of bias or prejudice.

Students will need to provide specific examples with supporting documentation to evidence this.

If - after carefully checking the eligibility criteria and the guidance outlined above - you wish to be considered for appeal then you may e-mail: studentfees@warwick.ac.uk stating your student ID number and clearly setting out your case for a tuition fee status re-assessment.