Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Dual French /UK National studying law in UK advice needed.

111 replies

Wallywobbles · 06/02/2022 15:25

Hi

DD and I are looking for some information about her options. On another thread, I was told that she should be eligible for home fees as she is a British citizen even though is ordinarily resident in France. We will contact SFE to see if she is eligible for loans. She has savings that cover the first 2 years of fees if they are home fees level.

DD is about to finish her French Bac. She's predicted pretty good grades 15.5 +, and we have been looking at her doing a LLB in English and French Law. Currently, she is pretty certain that she wants to practice in France.

I am keen for her to avoid doing the first 2 years in a French Uni doing law because I think she will be eaten alive. As a result, my first choice is LLB Kings, 2 years at Kings and 2 years at the Sorbonne, which means she comes out with a Masters 1. She needs 16+ at the BAC to get in though. And as yet no offer has been received. She did her LNAT, but we don't have the result yet, but Kings do have them.

She has had a pretty comfortable offer from Goldsmiths, which is currently her first choice, but they are saying that she will need to pay international fees which means it is unaffordable. She likes the criminology and human rights aspects. This is a 3-year UK degree, with no French bit, so I am uncertain if she would then be able to do a Masters in Droit in France, or whether she would then need to do a redo a third year of Licence in France.

We have 4 to put through uni in quick succession and she is the first, so we cannot overstretch ourselves financially for one.

So current questions are, I think:

Is she really eligible for home fees (British but never lived there but lots of family there)?

She'll only be 17 (October birthday) at the start. Does she really need a visa?

Is Goldsmiths worth the money?

Would she have a good time at Kings (she's not overly impressed by the website)?

Would you take a gap year if you were her? She's suddenly gone cold on the idea - not sure if it's due to covid, or the French attitude to gap years, or if it's leaving her boyfriend (she denies this).

Thank you for any help.

OP posts:
Original poster
Wallywobbles · 19/05/2022 09:28

Offer accepted at Birmingham. Accommodation found and deposit paid.

And now, another question - Has anyone managed to sort out a NI number for their kids while still abroad? We are currently a bit stumped by Student Finance....

OP posts:
Sunshine4Ever2 · 24/05/2022 01:30

rifling · 06/02/2022 15:35

Is she really eligible for home fees (British but never lived there but lots of family there)?
Yes, she should be eligible for home fees as this was part of the withdrawal agreement although I'm not 100% sure as it doesn't seem to be advertised anywhere! Maybe it was cancelled?

Unfortunately that doesn’t apply in this case. That particular rule only covers British nationals who moved to the EU before December 2020. If I understand correctly, OP’s daughter is a dual national since birth, so falls through the cracks (she isn’t a Lounes dual national either unless she was born French and subsequently naturalised as British). Her rights are not protected under the WA, unfortunately.

Original poster
Wallywobbles · 24/05/2022 03:57

She does qualify for home fees. But with no national insurance number she probably doesn't qualify for student finance.

OP posts:
BritInUS1 · 24/05/2022 05:01

If she is dual national why doesn't she have a national insurance number?

GoodThinkingMax · 24/05/2022 05:44

Is she really eligible for home fees (British but never lived there but lots of family there)?

Unlikely - it’s about residence not nationality.

if she thinks she’ll be practicing in France it really would make sense to study in France Are there degree programmes that do a year abroad? Or Erasmus/ Turing exchanges?

You perhaps should deconstruct what you mean by “eaten alive” in a French university. All my French cousins survived and have wonderful careers. French students manage every year!

sendsummer · 24/05/2022 07:13

She won’t qualify for student finance this year but could for the following years by applying for a national insurance number once she is in the UK.

titchy · 24/05/2022 15:40

She can apply for student finance up to May 2023 for the 22/23 academic year and should be able to get an NI no fairly quickly once she is in the UK.

SeasonFinale · 24/05/2022 16:29

A student finance application triggers a national insurance number is my understanding if the applicant does not already have one.

Original poster
Wallywobbles · 24/05/2022 23:11

GoodThinkingMax · 24/05/2022 05:44

Is she really eligible for home fees (British but never lived there but lots of family there)?

Unlikely - it’s about residence not nationality.

if she thinks she’ll be practicing in France it really would make sense to study in France Are there degree programmes that do a year abroad? Or Erasmus/ Turing exchanges?

You perhaps should deconstruct what you mean by “eaten alive” in a French university. All my French cousins survived and have wonderful careers. French students manage every year!

@GoodThinkingMax she does qualify for home fees. It's been confirmed. Dual nationals do til 2028. Not all universities accept it but the majority do.

It'd be nice if you read the thread. It's not long. Or even my posts.

She's not got a UK national insurance number because she's never lived there. They are initially received if you were registered as a child for child benefit according to student finance.

OP posts:
Original poster
Wallywobbles · 24/05/2022 23:15

@GoodThinkingMax you'll find the answer to why in my other posts. I am a French university lecturer. It's not a good system for law or medicine. The first 2 years are currently unspeakable.

I'm delighted for your cousins but unless they were studying law in the last 2 years there experience is irrelevant. The system has been totally overhauled and is worse than ever.

She will leave Uni with a Licence en droit and a Bachelors degree in Law. Because some of her degree is in France.

OP posts:
Original poster
Wallywobbles · 24/05/2022 23:17

SeasonFinale · 24/05/2022 16:29

A student finance application triggers a national insurance number is my understanding if the applicant does not already have one.

It seems there is at least an 8 week delay but that's without knowing if the nino.co.uk site is really legit.

OP posts:
Original poster
Wallywobbles · 24/05/2022 23:18

titchy · 24/05/2022 15:40

She can apply for student finance up to May 2023 for the 22/23 academic year and should be able to get an NI no fairly quickly once she is in the UK.

Thanks @titchy that would be great.

OP posts:
sendsummer · 25/05/2022 13:42

^
She can apply for student finance up to May 2023 for the 22/23 academic year and should be able to get an NI no fairly quickly once she is in the UK.
This may be stating the obvious but fees will have to be paid up front at least for the first term before all that can happen.

Original poster
Wallywobbles · 25/05/2022 14:57

@sendsummer that's ok. She/we have savings but if she can get them reimbursed it would be a good deal more comfortable. Thank you.

OP posts:
titchy · 25/05/2022 17:09

sendsummer · 25/05/2022 13:42

^
She can apply for student finance up to May 2023 for the 22/23 academic year and should be able to get an NI no fairly quickly once she is in the UK.
This may be stating the obvious but fees will have to be paid up front at least for the first term before all that can happen.

The uni gets the fees direct from SLC. As long as there's an application in, and she explains that it's pending, they won't chase her. Obvs if SLC turns round and declines her application then they will, but not before.

Xenia · 25/05/2022 19:25

By the way do chase the NI number because I think due to covid there have been massive delays in people getting them which has led to people not even being able to work - I heard a new item about it on radio 4.

Geamhradh · 29/05/2022 15:03

Hi OP,
I think I was on this thread earlier.
I'm in the same situation with the NI number- as you know, despite our children being BCs they have no UK residence so don't automatically receive a NI number.
Speaking to Spanish colleagues who work temporarily in the UK, (5-6 weeks a year on summer language courses) they got theirs once they had arrived in the UK for their first summer contract, using the language school residence as their temporary address to do so. As DD will be going to work on a similar language course in July, that's what she's going to do. She'll need it to be paid anyway (having similar, but hopefully also temporary issues with her opening a bank account but will get that sorted when we get over in July)
I've applied for SF but am factoring in that due to the NI/bank thing, it may not come through in time for her start so I'll have to pay for her accommodation in the first instance.

Good luck with yours!

Original poster
Wallywobbles · 29/05/2022 22:43

Thanks @Geamhradh. Most everyone has been so incredibly helpful.

OP posts:
LillianGish · 30/05/2022 09:58

Out of pure nosiness, which accommodation did your DD pick in the end @Wallywobbles ? NI number will sort itself out (we have various friends whose kids did similar) - it's just an extra hassle (along with getting a UK bank account, phone contract etc) but all perfectly do-able.

Original poster
Wallywobbles · 30/05/2022 10:51

Beech Gardens. It’s way too far out but we didn’t have many choices left once we’d waited for the response from Kings. Her mark for English is 19.8/20. So she’s definitely in unless the wheels completely fall of during her final exams. Her Grande Orale est 22 June.

OP posts:
Original poster
Wallywobbles · 06/06/2022 21:51

Her nino came through so now fingers crossed she'll get the finance.

Bac de Philosophie next week.
Grande orale 22/06.

The end is in sight.

OP posts:
LillianGish · 07/06/2022 09:35

Great news - good luck to your DD in her exams. Her cohort are real guinea pigs in the Grande Orale. DS's exams were all cancelled in the end last year (apart from philo of course!) which felt like a real anti-climax in the end after all the preparation. DD said her French oral three years ago was the most terrifying experience of her life - she somehow managed to get 18 though which was the highest note she got in any part of the Bac.

Original poster
Wallywobbles · 07/06/2022 21:14

Thanks @LillianGish it's kind of thanks to you we got this far. I think you were on my original thread when she was in 5ème.

OP posts:
LillianGish · 08/06/2022 09:16

Wow! Happy to have helped. Isn't Mumsnet great? It can feel like you are all alone trying to sort out these issues when you are living abroad then you come on here and find someone who has been through exactly the same process. DH and I joke that we've finally got some expertise in how the French education system works just as both children have finished!

eurochick · 08/06/2022 09:41

That's not a bad location for accommodation - I bet everyone will end up back at her place after nights out!