Applying for home fee status at UK universities while living in Dubai/UAE

Being awarded home fee status by a UK university means that students will pay the lower tuition fees (home fees) that UK-based students pay.

However, it does not necessarily mean that they will automatically have access to a student loan or to student finance.

If your students are hoping to apply for home fee status, they will need to prove that they have been “temporarily resident” in Dubai/UAE while being “ordinarily resident” in the UK.

“Temporary employment outside the residence area” student-support regulations expressly state that:

“You are to be treated as ordinarily resident in the relevant residence area – ie, the UK – if you would have been ordinarily resident there, but for the fact that your parent/s are or were temporarily employed outside the area (UK) in question.”

The word "temporary” is not defined, so your students will need to be able to provide evidence that their parents’ employment is or was outside the relevant area for a limited period (on a temporary or fixed-term contract), and that they would have been ordinarily resident in the relevant area (the UK) if their parents’ temporary employment had not taken them out of it.

Universities will also look at other aspects of students’ circumstances to help establish whether or not they are absent from the UK on a temporary basis. Universities could consider students’ visa status in the country where they are living, and whether their parents own property there. An explanatory letter from a parent’s employer, providing context to the circumstances of employment, could be useful – including information such as whether their employment is subject to a successful visa renewal.

The longer that students are physically absent from the country where they want to claim residence, the harder it may be for them to argue that they were only temporarily absent – although students who were born in Dubai have managed to secure home fee status.

Students’ intentions are also important. If they “plan” to return to the UK in the near future, this will support their application.

Collecting evidence

Some universities will want three, five or even 10 years’ worth of evidence. Students will need to provide evidence to universities to support a claim of ordinary residence in the UK, and to convince them of their right to home fees. There is no exhaustive list of relevant evidence, as each family’s circumstances will be different. Students will need evidence to show that the UK is their ordinary home, and that they have a regular, habitual life at a permanent UK home address. There should be evidence that links both the student and their parents to this address.

The following evidence could support students’ applications, and they can start to collect it from Year 9:

• A letter from students’ parents’ employer stating that their contract is temporary and that if it were not renewed, the family would be required to return to their “home” country – ie, the UK. If one parent is on a temporary contract, then use them as the main contact.
• Part of their parent’s salary is paid directly into a UK bank account; their parent belongs to a UK pension scheme or pays some income tax.
• Students’ parents own a property that the family uses when back in the UK. If students’ parents don’t have their own property, or if their property is rented out, then proof of regular trips to stay with close family – grandparents, aunts or uncles – at the same address each year could also be accepted by universities. It is important to note that some universities have a specific policy not to accept a grandparent or other relative’s address. If students are using a relative’s home as their own home address, then they should have supporting evidence in their own names – or their parents’ – showing that this is their permanent home address. 
• Students’ parents pay council tax or household bills, or have proof of maintenance work done on the property – eg, invoices for window replacement, roof retiling, new boiler and so on.
• All family members have UK bank accounts. Copies of UK bank statements from when students were in the UK on holiday or visiting family will show that they have spent time in the area where their family home is located. 
• Students can apply for their provisional driving licence in the UK. If their parents claimed child benefit for them when they were younger, students should automatically receive their National Insurance number when they turn 16.  
• Students’ families have membership of UK societies or churches, or registration with a GP, to show links with the UK and the local community. This can also include membership and regular (annual) visits to golf clubs or tennis clubs, and even regular holidays in the same hotel or rented apartment. Even a library membership from the library near their family home, along with proof of use, can help.
• Evidence of regular travel to the UK as a family will also be important. Students should keep records of the flights, such as boarding passes, booking details, emails, e-tickets or statements about airline loyalty programmes. Universities will understand that it was impossible to travel during the pandemic, but this should be noted.

Once your students have applied to university in the UK, they may be offered home fee status straight away. However, it is more likely that they will be asked to fill out a home fee status questionnaire, and this is where they should attach their evidence. 

Each university has its own criteria for offering home fee status. Some fee-assessment forms can be two pages long, while others are much more extensive. Often, the universities ask for the form and supporting evidence to be sent back within a two-week period, so it is important that students collect all relevant evidence in advance.

The university may then request further information – such as exit stamps in the student’s passport, a utility bill from the family’s UK property or a letter from their parent’s employer – as supporting evidence. For further information, see: www.UKCISA.org.uk

Students often find that some of their chosen universities will offer home fee status, while others will award them international status. They can appeal against a university’s decision, but many students end up making their final choice of university based on whether or not they have been offered home fee status. 

The three-year rule of residency

If a student is absent from the UK for more than three years, this would normally indicate that they would be classed as an international student by UK universities. However, as overseas nationals are generally temporarily resident in the UAE, the three-year rule should not apply. Students should therefore be classed as ordinarily resident in the UK and temporarily resident in the UAE. 

Other points to note

If students have siblings who have previously been awarded home fee status, they can offer this as evidence in their application. Also, if other universities that have made offers have awarded home fee status, then students should mention this in an appeal, without naming the universities.

It may NOT be a good idea to get a Golden Visa in Dubai, as this demonstrates permanent residency in the UAE, and students want to show that they are temporary residents.

• Parents should NOT send their children back to boarding school for the last two years of their schooling, as this can work against students in their applications.
• Regular trips back to the UK with family will be viewed more positively than solo trips.
• Students will need to state on the fee-assessment forms the date when they will be resident in the UK in order to start their course. For English, Welsh and Northern Irish universities, this must be by 1 September of the year that students start university. For Scottish universities, it must be by 1 August of the year that students start university.

When students are completing their UCAS application forms, the only indication that they are applying for home fee status will be that they fill in their UK address under “home address”, their residential category as “UK citizen” and their area of permanent residence as the county in which their UK home is located – for example, West Sussex or Norfolk.

Study Options UK will offer expert advice on this topic, including an initial assessment and support for parents of students in complex situations.