Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the three years eligibility period for home fees for (a) UK nationals returning from abroad and (b) British Nationals Overseas passport-holders.

To qualify for home fee status in England, a person must have settled status or ’a recognised connection’ to the UK, and in the case of persons with settled status, be ordinarily resident in the UK for three years.

UK nationals are settled in the UK once they return from abroad, and therefore qualify for home fee status and student finance once they have resided in the UK for three years prior to the start of their course.

The three year lawful residence rule is a long established feature of the student support system. It applies irrespective of nationality or country of origin, and it applies to all the eligibility categories in the Student Support Regulations with the exception of those with a protection based need. It ensures that the support provided by the taxpayer is targeted at those who have a substantial and recent connection with the UK.

Hong Kong British National Overseas status holders qualify for home fee status and student finance once they have acquired settled status in the UK, which is usually after five years of residence. Most persons who acquire settled status in this way will automatically meet the three year ordinary residence requirement for student finance.