Higher Education

The devolution of political power to the Assemblies of Northern Ireland and Wales and the Scottish Parliament continues to result in increases to the diversity of educational policy between the four component countries of the UK.

One area of diversity relates to the funding in each country for students in higher (university or equivalent) education. There have been instances when Service families moving across UK national boundaries have believed themselves to be disadvantaged financially by this diversity. This fact sheet aims to provide information which should enable Service families to minimise or eliminate any such disadvantage resulting from Service-induced mobility.

Where to Start

Your starting point should always be with the local authority, Education and Library Board (Northern Ireland) or national government information sources in the country in which yo are living at the time you wish to apply for funding for higher education courses. If you are currently living overseas, you should read this guide before deciding on an appropriate start point. Within each UK country, there are web sites which you may find particularly relevant in clarifying eligibility for funding and in identifying the different types of funding available. These links are available on the right hand side of this page.

Mobile Service families and funding for places in Higher Education institutions

Students are required to apply for funding the in country in which they normally reside. Whilst families should apply to their own country, the mobile lifestyle of Service personnel may not make this immediately clear. Residence can, for example, include where you currently live, where you were brought up, where you have spent most of your life, or where you own a property and intend to settle. Where Service families may reasonably claim residence in more than one part of the UK, they might wish to consider the differing funding arrangement in each country in deciding before submitting an application.

This approach to deciding eligibility funding is common across the countries of the UK. In applying for funding from a country where you do not currently live, it is helpful to provide as much detail as possible as to why you regard yourself as resident in that country. This will help the funding agency understand your circumstances and assist the application process.

It is of note that, once funding has been agreed, that body will normally continue to fund that course, irrespective of where the family move. So, for example, if a further assignment requires the student's family to move away from the country that has agreed to fund a course of study, then the funding agency for the country that has committed to the funding will continue to provide that funding for the duration of the course.

Foreign and Commonwealth Service personnel and their accompanying dependants
The education departments of the UK Government, the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Assembly decide which categories of student must be charged the lower 'home fee' with 'overseas' students paying significantly higher tuition fees. 'Home' students are subsidised by the tax payer. Service personnel and accompanying dependants subject to UK immigration controls will normally be liable to pay the 'overseas' rate of fees rather than the lower 'home' subsidised fees until such time as they have acquired 'settle' status of UK nationality. Details of the qualifying criteria for 'home' fees are available on the UKCISA website (see links on the right hand side of this page).

Individuals are advised to research and check eligibility to both UK state benefits in support of higher education studies and fees prior to submitting applications and commencing studies.

If you would like further advice on applying for funding, see the websites listed in 'External links' in the first instance.  Should you require further help, contact CEAS on 01980 618245 or email (see 'Related pages'). You can find further information about CEAS by using the link to their website in the 'Related pages' section on the right hand side of this page.