Returning to UK for university after living aboard.

[Horopu]

DS1 would like to return to the UK to do his degree. We moved from London to New Zealand in 2010. He will have been out of the UK for 6 years by the time he is ready to study (currently about to start Y11). Does anyone know if he would be treated as a UK student or overseas for financial purposes? What kind of things should we be thinking about?

The official info is found here

Did you move to NZ as expats? If so, there may be ways you could be considered as a home fee payer. If you moved to NZ properly then your DS would probably be an overseas fee payer.

Universities interpret the official guidelines individually so if there is any ambiguity then you would need to contact each Uni that your DS might apply to and get their opinion as to your fee status. Some universities won't do this until after you have applied.

Good luck.

As others have said, you need to contact the university/ies at which your son is interested in studying.

The outline of the fees situation is that you are treated as a Home/EU student for fees purposes only if you have been resident in the UK/EU for three years previously not simply for educational purposes; or you can prove a continuing and ongoing "connection" to the UK.

This latter condition covers things like Foreign Office amd military families; or families which keep a home (not rented out to tenants) or similar in the UK.

Nationality, country of birth, or citizenship is less relevant than the provable ongoing connection to the UK, or the requirement for residence, not simply for educational purposes. This "connection, but not for education" tends to be in the case of overseas students as postgraduates ie they've done 3 years of a Bachelor's degree in the UK as Overseas students for fees purposes, then apply as Home students for a Masters or PhD. The current regs don't allow that.

On the face of it, from what you've posted, if your whole family looks like it's settled in NZ I have to say why on earth? but I was dragged out to Australia by parents & couldn't wait to get home to England then it's less likely your son would be treated as a Home/EU student for fees purposes. But you'll need to check with universities closer to the time.

I am pretty sure having a UK house that is rented out would still help get home status fee status.

We lived overseas for years, as expats but sold our UK home about five years before we returned. We were only here for two years befor my son went to Uni as a home fee payer. The was based on my DH pension and work contract being based in the UK, the fact we visited grandparents every summer and the fact we were not resident in the overseas countries (ie my DH's company treated us as expats and paid for housing, schooling, flights 'home' to the UK every year etc)mall counted towards the home fee status.

I found some of the Uni's admission departments very helpful.

Thank you so much DoddlesNoddles and TheCollieDog. Sorry not to reply before, we unexpectedly went away for the weekend.
That is very useful advice. We have permanent Residency in NZ and no house or anything to connect us to the UK apart from family.

I think that would make it unlikely that you'd qualify for Home/EU status. You've pretty much emigrated. But you'll need to check with specific universities.

It's most unlikely that your son would be classified as home fees status. Can I ask why he's thinking of UK universities rather than NZ?

I have a lot of expat friends and it seems to be very inconsistent. Some unis will bend the rules for certain subjects or applicants they want. I know one family where the third child was given home status by ther uni for medicine and they then appealed and got the same for the older ones retrospectively, they were though living somewhere though they have been there many years, that you cannot get any sort of citizenship in, and they did have property in the Uk they rent out. I would say it is unlikely you would get home status but no harm pushing for it.

By the way, totally understand why you would want to settle in Nz . colliedog why would you want to come back here, miserable dark place full of grumpy people! Or at least that is what DDs think after a childhood spent somewhere sunnier and more exotic!

Copthall, how long have you spent in NZ or Australia, when not there just for a holiday? I'd respectfully suggest that unless you've lived and worked there, you might not understand why it's not necessarily the best place on earth.

colliedog Well maybe but I do have friends who live in Australia and NZ, some of whom went there from here, who would never leave, and, given their lifestyle, I can understand that. And I do know with absolute certainty that for my family this is definitely not the best place on earth! But each to his own...