Tuition fee status and appeals

Your tuition fee status is assessed as part of the application process. You will either be classed as a "Home" or "Overseas" student. Learn more about how this is assessed and what to do if you think your assessment is incorrect.

Tuition fee status and assessment

There are two levels of tuition fees that the University charges, depending on whether you are classed as a "Home" student (including EU students subject to Government Policy) or an "Overseas" student. The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process.

The method of allocating tuition fee status is complex and follows guidelines issued by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA). Your status will depend on nationality and residency. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.  

Tuition fee assessment

Tuition fee status is determined at the point of admission to the University by the Recruitment and Admissions Office. The assessment is based on the information declared in your application to the University.

If your fee status is unclear, you will be sent a questionnaire to complete. If you are sent a questionnaire in your recruitment pack, it is important that you complete and return it. Students who do not return this questionnaire will be automatically assessed as being "Overseas". You should email the questionnaire to Recruitment and Admissions via admissionsosq@kent.ac.uk.

Criteria

The method of allocating tuition fee status is complex and follows guidelines issued by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA).  

In most cases, to be classed as a "Home" student for fees purposes, a student needs to satisfy BOTH of the following two areas of criteria:

  • The applicant (or in some circumstances the applicant's parent) should have "settled status" under United Kingdom Immigration regulations on the first day of the first academic year of the course. This means that they should have the right to remain in the UK without time limit. Most European Union nationals (but NOT all categories of British citizen) meet this criterion. For students who start their course in the Autumn term of an academic year, the first day of that academic year is deemed to be 1st September.
  • The applicant must also have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands (the Islands means the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) or the EU, for purposes other than education, for the full three year period before the first day of the first academic year of the course. For example, if your course begins in October 2019, you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands or the EU from 1 September 2016 to 31 August 2019.

Tuition fee appeals

If you have been classed as "Overseas" and you feel that the original decision on your fee status was incorrect, or you feel you now qualify for "Home" fee status you can lodge an appeal against the decision.

To do this, you would need to complete BOTH a letter of appeal and a tuition fee questionnaire:

Completed letters and questionnaires, along with supporting evidence, should be scanned and emailed to financialaid@kent.ac.uk

Last updated