Classed as EU Applicant by Edinburgh Uni - Why???

[CambourneMum]

Has anyone had experience of this? Went on to clearing today and found the perfect course at Edinburgh University. Preliminary to taking details of results etc, DC was asked where he was born (Belgium), and whether parents had worked / lived in an EU country (yes - Belgium). As a result of this, he was told that he would be classified as an EU applicant and that therefore couldn't apply for that perfect course as there was no more room for EU applicants on that course. There was still room for English applicants!

We were stunned because the facts are that DC lived in Belgium for 2 years (age 0-2) and is a British citizen with a British passport, who has lived from 2-18 in England and been completely educated within the English education system. All qualifications are GCSEs and A Levels. Us parents are both British yadda yadda yadda...

This seems bonkers! Is it possible for this to happen or has someone got hold of the wrong end of the stick?

[Proxyparent]

Your DC is talking to the wrong person or that the listener is having some sort of hangover. Remember the festivals are on!

[iKeepDancingintheDark]

GPigs have you managed to resolve this?

[haybott]

I am thinking of central London Europeans. Their parents would consider themselves Spanish, French or whatever expats working in London. I may be wrong and would not know on what basis they pay fees, but a very very high proportion of kids we know who chose Edinburgh would not be British passport holders.

If resident in the UK for the 3 years preceding the start of the course, they pay the 9k rate unless they can argue that they are "ordinarily resident" elsewhere in the EU. The latter is hard to argue unless e.g. their parents were sent on secondment to London by a non-UK company and they have retained their main home abroad.

British v EU passport is not directly relevant if the family has been living in the Uk for a long time. (Sadly - my DC would be eligible for the cheaper fees since they have EU nationalities but we have checked and they are not, as we have been living in the UK and working for a UK employer for too long now. We could not claim to be ordinarily resident abroad despite owning a house abroad and working part of our time abroad.)

[JetJungle]

DS applied to St Andrews (my DS and I are EU nationals who have lived in London for 16 years) and he was asked to complete fee status enquiry form.

They told us that fee status is determined by settled status (i.e. indefinite leave to remain), residency and purpose of residency (i.e. ordinary residence). They stated that applicants must have both settled status AND residency to meet the necessary criteria on the relevant date (1 August in the first academic year of entry).
The residency criteria requires students to reside in the UK/EU for purposes other than education, for three years prior to the start of their course.

And they finally determined:

"... that based on the information provided, XXX fee status is Home (Scotland/EU) an a non-UK EU national who has been ordinarily resident in the EU/EEA/Switzerland for the three years prior to the relevant date (1 August for courses starting in September 2016).

XXX would be eligible to apply to SAAS (Student Awards Agency for Scotland) for payment of tuition fees as an EU national, however he would need to apply to Student Finance England for any maintenance loans."

It transpired that, although he was predicted much higher grades then St Andrews required for his course, he was not offered a place.
As a poster stated up thread Scottish Unis accept very few EU students and it often amounts to a wasted choice.

[BeJayKayven]

I must admit , I thought it was a Scottish Government decision as well
2013 article

[scaryteacher]

If however, you were in Belgium, like us, as crown servants (so FCO or HM Forces), then non of the EU stuff applies as there should be exemptions for that.

Ds was in Belgium from Year 6-11, back in UK with the MoD paying boarding fees for Years 12 and 13, and is now a UK student at RHUL.

[wigglybeezer]

If it makes you feel better it is not always a good thing for Scottish students as there is a strict cap on home student numbers that has pushed entry requirements up and also means that they can't apply through clearing, in some cases this means rUK students get a place through clearing with lower grades than home students that have been turned away. It's not designed to penalise English students,. It's just a very untidy compromise.