Ordinary resident years for home student fees and can I switch fee status

I moved to the UK in September 2015 for my A levels and I have a UK passport as my Dad is English. I lived in Asia most of my life before this, and I'll be in the UK for 2 years before I start uni. If I'm applicable for becoming a home student in my second year, can I switch fee status? I'm thinking of applying for Biological sciences at Sheffield, Imperial, Edinburgh, Oxford and York.

Another problem is I rang up student finance to ask about home student eligibility in feb and they said they're changing the ordinary residence years from 3 to 5, which will cover my entire time at uni. Anyone know if I'm entering uni in 2017 does that mean it's 3 or 5 years?

I moved to the UK in September 2015 for my A levels and I have a UK passport as my Dad is English. I lived in Asia most of my life before this, and I'll be in the UK for 2 years before I start uni. If I'm applicable for becoming a home student in my second year, can I switch fee status?

Another problem is I rang up student finance to ask about home student eligibility in feb and they said they're changing the ordinary residence years from 3 to 5, which will cover my entire time at uni. Anyone know if I'm entering uni in 2017 does that mean it's 3 or 5 years?

I believe it has already been changed to 5 years - I had a look though and that seems to be for EU students. It still seems to say 3 years for any other international students but I would ring and check if I were you.

No. Your status is determined by the length of your UK residency at the start of your course. This will not change at any point. In addition, residence for the purpose of education is excluded from Ordinary Residence calculations, so you cannot build up years of qualifying residence whilst at university.Finally, if you come to the UK solely for the purpose of education (as you did) then you can never build up qualifying years of residence and you will always be considered an International student for whatever courses you undertake in the UK. Your passport, citizenship etc., are irrelevant.*For International students, it remains three years. It is now five years for EU/EEA students only. However, as above, you will never qualify as a Home student because your sole reason for coming to the UK, was to do your A Levels.

Thanks for the info, but me moving to the UK for education coincided with my dad losing his job in Hong Kong and my both my grandparents falling seriously ill, thus education was more of a coincidental reason for moving to the UK as both my parents moved over as well.

On the UKCISA website it states 'In some circumstances, it is possible to become a 'home' fee payer after the start of your course.' and one of the changes possible for becoming a home student are

The link to the website is here: http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/Information--Advice/Fees-and-Money/Home-or-Overseas-fees-the-basics#layer-3834I'm not sure whether this is the case at every university,

would you recommend checking with the universities

perhaps I should take a gap year to definitely be considered a home student?
Thanks again for the help

My response was based on the info in your original post, that you came to the UK to do your A Levels. I'm afraid we can't give accurate advice if we don't have all the relevant facts.


Again based on the info you have supplied, none of this will apply to you.


There is no central legal definition of what constitutes a Home student. Most unis use the same guidelines as Student Finance for simplicity, but they can set their own criteria if they want to.


Yes. But whatever you do, make sure that you do *not* tell them that you moved to the UK to do your A Levels. As far as the uni is concerned, family circumstances forced your parents to move to the UK and you came with them. You then did A Levels here.


If SF funding is critical, then yes, deferring until you have built up three full years of qualifying residency would seem to be a logical step.

Check back with SF to confirm, then check with your uni to see whether they will let you defer. Be warned that it is unlikely that you will be allowed to defer for more than a year. Having arrived in September 2015, the earliest you will qualify for full SF will be September 2018. If you arrived on a date after that of your official course start (for example if you arrived on 22nd September and your course start date is 15th September), then you would not qualify until 2019.

Thanks again, so if I told the universities that I moved here based on family circumstances, do you think it could be possible for me to switch funding based on the UKCISA criteria?

I agree it does seem logical for me to take a gap year, however I'm hoping to apply for Oxford and I don't think they look very kindly on gap year students,

also I'm already a year older than I'm supposed to be for my year due to problems from when I moved from Singapore to Hong Kong because of the difference in academic year start dates so a gap year wouldn't be ideal for me.

Thanks again for all the info, could I ask how you know so much about student funding? (Sorry I'm kind of new to tsr)

Possibly, if you explain it in the correct way. But not until 2018 or 2019. I can't see how the UKCISA criteria you quote apply to you as you aren't from the EU/EEA.


They're fine with gap year students. Some life experience can be a real advantage.


Your age isn't relevant to a uni. You just need to be the right candidate and a promising student. I started my most recent undergrad study aged 44. There's no age limit.


I've spent a grand total of nine years as a uni student and I currently work at a uni. My own second attempt at an undergrad degree was a wee bit tangled, so I have direct experience of some SF wrinkles. In addition I've been around TSR for a few years now - myself and other regular contributors to this section have seen a lot of questions asked/answered. We have a kind of hive mind and group memory between us