Moving to Scotland - free uni?

[Linneasweet]

Hi all, my Dc is currently in yr 10, we live in England. I may get a job relocation to move Scotland to start in 3-4 years, as my Dc may be at the stage if starting uni pretty soon after could you please let me know whether she would be entitled free university? Thanks!

Yes provided she is ordinarily resident in Scotland by a certain date before the course begins (1st August). She'll might need to prove that she's not here primarily for full time education but presuming you'll move the family home to Scotland then it should be straightforward. Places for Scottish/EU students are limited so might find offer grades are higher than if she applied with English fee status.

You have to be a ordinary resident for 3 years prior to starting the course to qualify for free tuition in Scotland. If your not moving for 3 years then no they wouldn't qualify. If you moved when she was beginning of Yr 12 and had a Yr out then she would.

We were relocating 3 years ago and going back to Scotland was one of our options. Sadly job wise we ended up on our 2nd choice location. We did look into the uni situation because all 3 of our kids were born in Scotland but that played no part and you have to be residing in Scotland for 3 full years before you qualify for free uni.

We still aim to retire back in Scotland but for now we remain down south!!

They dont have to be resident in Scotland for 3 years, just the UK. They need to be living in Scotland on a specific date before starting and they haven't just to be here for getting an education

General residence conditions:

In general, to be eligible to apply for support (tuition fees, student loan, bursary and living-costs grants), you must meet the following conditions:
 Be ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the three years immediately before the relevant date (the first day of the first academic year of the course). If you fall short of being ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the three year qualifying period, even by one day, you will not be eligible to apply for support under the normal residence conditions, and
 If you are not a UK or other EU national, you must have ‘settled status’ in the UK (as set out in the Immigration Act 1971) on the relevant date, and
 Be ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date. We will not treat you as being ordinarily resident in Scotland if your main purpose in coming here has been to receive fulltime education and that you would have otherwise been living elsewhere. If you are not eligible for support under the general residence conditions, you may still be eligible to apply to us for support under one of the exceptions to the ordinary residence conditions. Select the appropriate link from the list at the top of this page for more details.

Residence wholly or mainly for education

We will not normally treat you as being ordinary resident in the UK and Scotland if any period during the three years immediately prior to the relevant date was wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education.

Worth bearing in mind that "free" only applies to Scottish Universities. Standard Scottish degrees are 4 years rather than 3 in England. The limits for maintenance loans are also different and significantly less generous for middle income families. The payback threshold is also a lot lower under the Scottish system. Otoh the interest rates are lower than in England.

In short, there are circumstances where there could be significant costs in moving to the Scottish "free" system which you should consider if moving. The negative impact on you and your DC would be significant even if they chose a 3 year degree in England and paid fees because the maintenance loan award and pay back would be on Scottish loan terms.

If your DC are likely to be very high earners then the lack of fees plus the lower interest rate and faster pay back may work to their advantage.