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Scottish Parents - Free Study in Scotland?

So here's our scenario - I'm English, married (in Scotland) to a Scot who had lived all her life in Scotland, and we have a Scottish daughter (born in Scotland) and raised in Scotland until the age of 11 when my job took us to England (2010).
If she applies to a Scottish university, does she get treated as if she is English because of the 5 year rule?
I can imagine that one going down well in Holyrood!
Can anyone clarify, please?
Original post by Tom7262
So here's our scenario - I'm English, married (in Scotland) to a Scot who had lived all her life in Scotland, and we have a Scottish daughter (born in Scotland) and raised in Scotland until the age of 11 when my job took us to England (2010).
If she applies to a Scottish university, does she get treated as if she is English because of the 5 year rule?
I can imagine that one going down well in Holyrood!
Can anyone clarify, please?


The contents of this old thread are not accurate.

The way the thread is set out it appears that there is some sort of "default to not Scottish" position. That is not correct. All "home" students have to be picked up by one of the four national student funding systems and Scotland cannot and does not simply wash its hands of students by applying more restrictive criteria than is applied in the other home countries.

The basic position is that a "home" student is funded by whichever of the four home nations he or she is resident in on the relevant date fixed by reference to the first day of the first academic year of the course.

Living somewhere wholly or mainly for the purpose of education doesn't count so going to boarding school in Scotland or moving in to a student let a month early will not cut the mustard.

Therefore if she is living with you in England now, she is English under the rules, will be funded by England and be obliged to pay £9000 fees for which she will receive a loan. It doesn't matter whether she was born in Scotland, whether she was brought up in Scotland, whether her parents are Scottish, whether she likes country dancing or can recite Scots wha hae.

If however before the relevant day, you and she move to Wrexham, she will be Welsh under the rules, she will have to pay £9000 fees but these will be fully reimbursed by the Welsh government.

If you and she move to Scotland by the first day of the course, she will be Scottish and have no fees to pay.

The rules as they relate to Scotland are here.

https://www.saas.gov.uk/_forms/residence.pdf
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 2
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Tom7262
OP
Thanks for this. Will read link when home from dropping her off at school.
As she will be 18 by then can she move to Scotland without us and still qualify for tuition fees?
I thought there was a 3 year residency rule?
Anyway, many thanks again.
Original post by Tom7262
Thanks for this. Will read link when home from dropping her off at school.
As she will be 18 by then can she move to Scotland without us and still qualify for tuition fees?
I thought there was a 3 year residency rule?
Anyway, many thanks again.


There is a rule requiring three year residency in the UK but there is no rule requiring any length of residency within any part of the UK provided one is ordinarily resident on the relevant day.

When looking at intra-UK residence, the UK is at present very relaxed about acquiring and losing ordinary residence, because it doesn't want a lot of people with deemed residence other than where they physically happen to be. It is very inconvenient to say the person who moves from Plymouth to Inverness hasn't acquired an ordinary residence in Scotland on the day they move, because otherwise the English NHS is still responsible for their healthcare and Devon County Council still responsible for their schooling.

The key question is whether your daughter moves to Scotland solely or mainly for educational purposes. If she does, then she is treated as still resident in England for educational funding purposes. Obviously context is important in satisfying the funders that this is not the case.
Reply 4
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Tom7262
OP
Hi Nulli,
This has been incredibly helpful. For years I had believed the urban myth that the 3 year residency rule applies solely to Scottish residency, but your Devon analogy makes ironic sense with wonderful alacrity (ironic because my wife and I are planning to move to the south west once our daughter leaves school and she - having always resented having been removed from her Scottish birthright - has always said she will move home to Scotland the day she finishes her last A-level!).
She can't recite Scots Wha Hae, it is true, which is a shame as she would well concur with the second verse:
Now's the day, an now's the hour:See the front o battle lour,See approach proud Edward's power -Chains and Slaverie.
Anyway, the 'alacrity' lay in the clarity I now have around this issue so many many thanks again - really appreciated!

Tom
You need to have lived in Scotland for at least 3 years before entitlement
Reply 6
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Tom7262
OP
Original post by Blondie987
You need to have lived in Scotland for at least 3 years before entitlement


Hi Blondie,

Nulli appears to be spot-on - there is no guideline about being resident in Scotland for 3 years, only one of being resident in the UK for 3 years. The link Nulli provided confirms it very clearly. And you can't be resident for 3 years for educational purposes - you actually have to live in the UK in the sense we all understand by that. As my daughter has obviously lived in the UK for her entire life, she qualifies if she returns home to Scotland before her course with a view to remain living in Scotland regardless of whether she attends a university or not which - as a true blue Scot - she can't wait to do.

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