UK Uni study as ‘home’ student

[JimmyK]

Hi all

I’m a UK citizen, married to a Japanese national. We have a soon to be 16yr old daughter between us. My daughter currently doesn’t have a UK passport, but I’m planning to apply for this shortly.

My daughter has studied entirely in the Japanese education system and besides school study, some overseas trips (including to the UK) and conversing with me, she hasn’t been regularly exposed to English. Still, one option I’m now looking into for her is Uni education in the UK. Her English needs to improve, but I understand there are other challenges/obstacles to her studying in the UK too. At least, if she wants to do so as a ‘home’ student, ad opposed to international.

From what I’ve read, even as the daughter of a UK national and even getting her English up to the required level, in order to qualify as a UK home student (enabling her to take advantage of the lower tuition fees) she must’ve been resident in the UK for at least 3yrs prior to starting Uni. Is there any way around that? For example, if she were to pass A-levels in Japan (and it’s possible to study for those here)? I guess it depends somewhat on the Uni in question, but I believe the standard requirement is 3yrs residency.

Any thoughts, ideas, or similar experiences anyone?

[Deep Blue]

Many of my eldest child’s friends have left Japan this year in order to go and live in the UK to make sure they satisfy this three year residency rule.

It is worth noting that simply going to a UK boarding school is not enough to qualify as UK resident for the three year test.

I suspect this is something you can find a lot of information online by googling.

[Deep Blue]

This seems pretty accurate to me, courtesy of ChatGPT.

Circumventing the UK university “home student” fee status rules is difficult because universities and Student Finance England (SFE) have strict criteria to determine eligibility. However, there are some potential approaches that might help your child qualify for home fee status legally:

1. Understanding the “Home Student” Criteria

To qualify for home fee status, a student must usually meet both of the following:
• Ordinary residence: They must have been ordinarily resident in the UK, the EU, or certain other territories for at least 3 years before the start of the course.
• Purpose of residence: The residence must not have been mainly for education (e.g., attending an international school in the UK does not count).

2. Potential Ways to Qualify

Here are some ways your child might be able to meet the criteria:

(A) Returning to the UK and Establishing Residence

If you (the parents) are British citizens or have settled status in the UK, moving back to the UK and re-establishing residence at least three years before university could help. This would demonstrate that the child is ordinarily resident in the UK for reasons other than education.

(B) Parent Working Abroad for a UK-Based Employer

If you are a British citizen working abroad temporarily for a UK-based employer (such as the government, an NGO, or a multinational with a UK base), your child may still be considered ordinarily resident in the UK. In this case, you would need to provide evidence, such as employment contracts and tax records, to prove that your move abroad was temporary.

(C) British Citizenship with Strong UK Ties

If your child is a British citizen and has spent a significant portion of their life in the UK (e.g., primary or early secondary education), some universities may consider discretionary applications for home fee status, particularly if there is an intention to return.

(D) Applying to a Scottish University (for Scottish Ancestry)

If your family has Scottish roots, Scotland sometimes offers fee waivers or home fee status for certain categories of students, including some UK citizens returning from abroad. However, this depends on residency and ancestry rules.

(E) Using an EU/Irish Connection

If your child has an Irish or EU passport and has been residing in the EEA/Switzerland/Gibraltar, they may be eligible for home fees under certain post-Brexit transitional arrangements.

3. Risks of Misrepresentation
• Universities thoroughly investigate fee status claims. If a student misrepresents their residency, their fee status could be reassessed, leading to international fees.
• Providing false information to SFE or a university is fraud and could result in loss of funding or a revoked university place.

4. Seeking Professional Advice
• Each case is different, and fee status decisions often involve case-by-case assessments.
• Consider consulting an education lawyer or a specialist in UK university fee status assessments to explore legal options.

Would you like help finding specific eligibility guidance based on your child’s nationality and living situation?

[Wales4rugbyWC23]

Ireland also has the three year residency rule, too, which is a real pain. What might be a possibility is a European university a lot of the Netherlands Universities have University courses taught in English, and their fees are considerable cheaper. Exchange students see less of a cash cow than in the UK.

I think in this situation North American parents might be in a better situation I have friends whose kids have resided in Japan for their school life but somehow managed to get home residency university fees for their kids to go to North American universities.

I sent my wife and the kids to the UK to a primary school and an international school in Poland both for a year each. After that I told them if they want to go to university, they go to a Japanese university much cheaper and don't end up with mountains of debt afterwards.

[adamu]

From what I’ve read, ... she must’ve been resident in the UK for at least 3yrs prior to starting Uni. Is there any way around that?

I was in the same situation back in 2002 as I lived in Romania, which was not in the EU, which was the requirement back then (it now is in the EU, and the UK is not, but that's a different story).

In case 20 year old info is useful... At the time the "home" status was decided case by case by each university. I wrote to each of them explaining my situation and the one I eventually attended (Edinburgh) accepted my explanation. However, I was born in the UK, a native speaker, and lived there until I was 12 and was abroad "temporarily" due to my parents work. Your situation sounds a lot less likely to be accepted, but you could at least try.

[JimmyK]

Thank you all for your replies and suggestions. Very helpful. As I suspected, I won’t meet any of the standard criteria and I imagine the only UK Unis that might consider my daughter’s case would be the less popular/successful ones. She’s never lived in the UK at any point, never mind studying there. Moving to the UK to establish 3yrs of residency isn’t really an option either. My wife and I have jobs and commitments here and send our daughter to boarding school would be costly and likely too late now. Poor planning on my part and I score low marks as a parent here! It’s frustrating that a child of a UK national can’t study at a UK Uni for the same fees as a resident of the country, although I understand the rules. International fees are so much higher it puts them out of reach (no pun intended).

I suppose I should look at the positives. She’s in a good Japanese high school and can hopefully attend a good Japanese Uni in the future. Whilst perhaps not as strong for educational purposes and job prospects as the best UK Unis, there are good Unis here of course and many have international ties with overseas Unis. Some provide for 6mths of study overseas as part of the course. My son is currently attending a Japanese Uni with such a program, for example. Moreover, it’s possible to take a post grad Masters course overseas. The idea being not only to get the benefit of a UK Uni education (not that it’s necessarily better than a Japanese uni education) + studying in English and experiencing what for her would be quite a foreign culture. At least the fact that it’s not attainable (through direct enrollment in a UK Uni anyway) makes the decision more straightforward and means we should focus attention on getting get into a good Japanese uni,

One interesting response to my original post was the idea of studying at uni in Holland. I actually have a friend whose daughter is doing that, though he has EU citizenship. Is this route also open to UK nationals I wonder? It sounds like they are less strict on residency requirements too and I imagine there are some very good Unis there. If anyone had any more info on this, I’d love to hear it.

[Deep Blue]

Some European countries have essentially free higher education to anyone who qualifies. My colleague’s son (Japanese nationality) just started at a German university studying Physics and his course fee’s are a few hundred EUR a term.

[Tkydon]

In terms of English Language Prep, if you are based in Tokyo, you might look at the AEP Program at Temple University

https://www.tuj.ac.jp/aep

https://www.tuj.ac.jp/aep/programs/aep-high

https://www.tuj.ac.jp/aep/programs/day-program

or the Bridge Program

https://www.tuj.ac.jp/ug/majors/bridge-program

or in Kyoto

https://www.tuj.ac.jp/jp/aep/kyoto


There are some Japanese High Schools that offer curricula taught partially of fully in English

[captainspoke]

Another way would be for her to go to uni here, and then do a year abroad. Most schools have exchange programs of some kind (depends on major), so just another option. National uni have partnerships with many leading school around the world, and tho you have to qualify, if accepted you continue to pay tuition here, and tuition there is waived (tho you still need to pay for living expenses, travel, and so on).

[beanhead]

Some good responses already.
As the Captain wrote, Japanese university plus study abroad is an economical way to get that international exposure.

There are a bunch of universities with 'global' courses as well which primarily use English. Off the top of my head, the ones I have heard about are:

ICU, Waseda, Keio, Sophia/上智, Rikkyo, Okayama, Tohoku. I am sure there are others. These courses are often popular and entrance is competitive.

There is also Ritsumeikan APU and, as someone mentioned, Temple, which are perhaps closer to an overseas uni experience with lots of non-Japanese students.

If you are really set on her studying overseas, there are some cost-effective options in south-east Asia. We looked at Malaysia and Singapore. Costs are similar to studying in Japan, if I remember rightly.
We also thought about the UK, but paying the overseas student rate was a show-stopper. We couldn't find any way around the rule.