Home or International fees?

Hello! I'm soon to send off my application but I'd like to run through my situation and hopefully someone could tell me whether or not I'd be paying home or international student fees.

I am a British Citizen, however I have lived abroad (SA) for 16 years and have decided to return because I want to live here permanently. I live with my aunt while my parents continue to live in SA. I have a valid passport and an NI number.

I moved here in August 2016 and am to start my degree in September 2019, meaning that by the time I start I should have been ordinarily resident in the UK for 3 years as I have lived at the same UK address, used the same UK postcode, and have not been back to SA since except for holiday.

The biggest mystery for me pertains to the terms of the 3 year permanent residency "not being for full-time education". I have obviously been enrolled full time in college since September 2016 and did not even realise these terms until applying for UCAS and StudentFinance, but I continue to stand by my claim that I am making my life in the UK and that full-time education is not my main reason for living here.

Furthermore, 2 of my 5 uni offers asked me to complete fee assessments with one assessing me as an international student. I did not appeal this nor did I fill out the other one as I was not interested in these unis. The other 3 did not ask me to fill these assessments out, with one stating that the tuition fees would be £9250 and another saying that I had been "assessed as eligible for tuition fees at the 'Home' rate for 2019 entry".

If a clear answer cannot be made from my description, then, on the balance of probabilities, is it likely that I will qualify for as a home student and therefore be eligible for the student loan?

Many thanks

Hi,

I'm assuming that SA is South Africa, yes?

UK nationals are required to have 3 years residency in the UK prior to the first day if the first academic year of your course. If your course starts September 2019 then you are required to have lived in the UK since 01/09/2016. As you advised you moved back to the UK in August 2016 then you would be eligible to apply as a home student for full funding providing you don't have any Higher Education previous study/qualifications and that you're studying an eligible course.

Thanks, Chanel