What 'fee status' means

Your fee status depends on your nationality, where you live, and how long you have lived there. The University decides your fee status based on the information you give us. We will let you know your fee status in your offer letter if we can, but we might need to ask additional questions.

If you know your fee status, you can work out how much you will pay for your course tuition fees. While many Overseas students require a student visa to study in the UK, your fee status does not depend on whether or not you require one.

Home (UK) students pay lower fees than Overseas students. This is in part because the University receives some additional funding to support teaching from the Office for Students (OfS).

Fee status in England is governed by government regulations and any subsequent amendments:

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) provides detailed guidance on fee status including explanations of the legal terms used in fee regulations.

Home fee status

If you have Home (UK) fee status, you will be charged fees based on the UK government’s fee level for the year. If you are applying for an undergraduate or taught postgraduate course, you may also be able to apply for a student loan to help you pay your fees.

You are likely to have Home (UK) status if:

You are a British or Irish national citizen or have a permanent right to live in the UK and you have lived for three full years immediately before the first day of your course in any of the following places:
- the UK
- the Republic of Ireland
- the Isle of Man
- the Channel Islands
- a British Overseas Territory
You have been granted refugee status or have humanitarian protection in the UK, or certain other forms of humanitarian leave such as through the Ukraine schemes.
You are the child, spouse or civil partner of a person who qualifies through points (1) or (2).
You have been living legally in the UK for an extended period (usually half your life).
You are the child of a Turkish worker, and you and your parent have been living in the UK since before 31 December 2020.

You have a permanent right to live in the UK if you hold any of the following:

Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)
Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE)
Settled status through the EU Settlement Schemes

In most cases, you will not be eligible for Home (UK) fees if the main purpose of your residency in the relevant area has been to receive full-time education (for example, because you are studying away from home at a boarding school or university).

You may also qualify for Home (UK) fee status if you would have met one of these criteria but:

you have been living outside the UK because you or your parent, guardian, spouse or civil partner is temporarily employed abroad
you usually live outside the UK, but you also maintain ongoing connections and residency in the UK (and so can be considered resident in multiple places)

Fee status for EU, EEA and Swiss nationals and British nationals living in the EU

Since 1 August 2021, new criteria apply to students who would have previously been eligible for Home (UK) fee status due to the UK’s membership of the European Union.

UK and Irish nationals living in the EU, EEA or Switzerland

If you start your course on or after 1 August 2021, you will usually be eligible for Home (UK) fees providing:

you are a UK or Irish national, you lived in the EU, EEA and/or Switzerland on 31 December 2020, and you have lived in the UK, EU, EEA and Switzerland for three full years immediately before the start of your course
you are a UK or Irish national, you live in the UK having returned from the EU, EEA or Switzerland since 31 December 2017, and you have lived in the UK, EU, EEA and Switzerland for three full years immediately before the start of your course
you are the child, spouse or civil partner of a person who qualifies through points (1) or (2)

These rules apply for students who begin studying before 1 January 2028.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens with pre-settled or settled status

If you are an EU national, you will usually be eligible for Home (UK) fees if you hold valid pre-settled or settled status under the UK’s EU, EEA or Swiss settlement schemes. You will need to have lived in the UK, EU, EEA, Gibraltar or Switzerland for three full years immediately before the start of your course.

If you are a non-EU EEA or Swiss national, or are the child or spouse of an EU national, and you hold valid pre-settled or settled status you may also be eligible for Home (UK) fees (depending on your residency).

If you hold pre-settled or settled status in the Isle of Man or Channel Islands you may also be eligible for Home fees.

If you do not hold valid pre-settled or settled status in the UK, Isle of Man or Channel Islands you are likely to be eligible for Overseas fees.

Different requirements apply if you are an EU, EEA or Swiss national and started your course before 1 August 2021 – please check UKCISA guidance.

Asylum seekers

If you have claimed asylum in the UK but have not received an outcome to your application, you are not eligible for Home (UK) fees under the regulations set out by the UK Government. However, it is our policy that if you have made an asylum application in the UK you will be charged the same fees as a Home (UK) student.

The University of Bath also offers financial support for asylum seekers through our Sanctuary scholarships.

Overseas fee status

If you do not have Home (UK) status you will have Overseas fee status. This is likely if:

you live in the UK but have immigration restrictions about how long you can stay
you have not lived in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man, the Channel Islands or a British Overseas territory for three full years immediately before the first day of your course
you have lived in the UK but at any point in the three years immediately before the first day of your course your residency was mainly so you can receive full-time education

We may ask you in advance for written evidence that you, your family or sponsor can pay the tuition fees. You must make sure that you have sufficient resources to cover tuition as well as living expenses before you accept any offer we make to you. If you need further advice on how to fund your studies, contact Student Funding.

British Nationals (Overseas) (BNO)

If you are living in the UK on a British National (Overseas) visa you will not qualify for Home (UK) fees under the current regulations set by the UK Government.

You will likely become eligible for Home (UK) fees if you (or a parent or guardian) are granted Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), having stayed in the UK for five years. You will need to meet the relevant residency requirements at the start of your course - typically by living in the UK for at least three years before you start.

If you (or a parent or guardian) obtain ILR during your studies, you may become eligible for Home fees from the start of the following academic year, providing you met the relevant residency requirements when you started. This is a new allowance introduced for 2024/25 onwards; before this you were not eligible for Home fees unless you held ILR at the start of your course.

Changing your fee status after offer before you start

We will let you know what your status is in your offer letter. In some cases, we may ask you for additional information or ask you to fill in a Fee Status Questionnaire before we make a decision. It is very important that you provide us with full information before you become a registered student.

Should your circumstances change between receiving a fee decision and starting your course we will reassess your fee status based on your most recent circumstances. Any change in your fee status during the application process will not affect your academic offer but may affect related financial support (including PhD funding).

If you have any questions about your fee status you should contact your admissions team using the details in your offer letter.

Changing your fee status as a current student

Residency requirements to be eligible for Home (UK) fees must be met before the start of your course, and therefore your status will not usually change once you have enrolled.

The UK Government has introduced changes starting with the 2024/25 academic year that will allow you to become eligible for Home (UK) status if your UK immigration status changes partway through your course. You will still need to have met any relevant residency requirements when you first started.

If you become a British citizen, an Irish citizen, or are granted any form of 'settled status' or Indefinite Leave to Remain, you will be eligible for Home (UK) status starting in the next academic year if you also meet the residency requirements. This will also happen if you are granted refugee status, humanitarian protection, or leave under a Ukraine scheme, regardless of your previous residency.

You may also become eligible if your parent, guardian, spouse, or civil partner changes their status in a similar way.

If you are a current student and believe your fee status needs reviewing, you should contact the relevant admissions lead. If you are :

an undergraduate, email David Howells (Head of Undergraduate Admissions) at dih21@bath.ac.uk
a taught postgraduate in a Faculty, email Claire Bannister (Head of Taught Postgraduate Admissions) at mnsclb@bath.ac.uk
a taught postgraduate on an MSc course in the School of Management, email Dee Mahill (Head of MSc Operations) at nm359@bath.ac.uk
a taught postgraduate on an MBA in the School of Management, email Becky Gallagher (Head of MBA Recruitment and Admissions) at susrsg@bath.ac.uk
a Doctoral student, email Shyeni Paul (Director of Doctorial College Operations) at sp3052@bath.ac.uk

Understanding your tuition fee status

How the University determines your fee status and how this affects the tuition fees you pay.