In most cases, a student's fee status will not change after assessment at the point that an offer has been made. However, a small number of changes in personal circumstances or 'Qualifying Events' allow a student to switch from Overseas to Home fee status from the start of the next academic year. This means that an assessment can change during a course, or between offer and enrolment on the course.
If a student or their parent/guardian/spouse experiences one of the following 'Qualifying Events', they may ask the University or their Admissions / Tutorial Office to review their fee status. It will not happen automatically and wil be subject to the student/ their family meeting any residency requirements :
- Gains British or Irish citizenship
- Becomes an EU national with settled status
- Gains Indefinite Leave to Remain or Settlement (see 'Update to the Fee Regulations - August 2024')
- Becomes a family member of a person holding settled status AND living in the UK on the student's course start date
- Is a family member of a non-British citizen who has been serving in the British armed forces since the student's course start date
- Is an EEA migrant worker, frontier worker, employed or self employed person
- Is a Swiss employed or self employed person, or a Swiss frontier employed or self employed person
- The student becomes the child of a Swiss national
- Is granted Humanitarian Protection, stateless leave, section 67 leave or Calais leave to remain in the UK
- Is granted Refugee status by the UK government (applying for asylum isn't sufficient), or Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) as a bereaved partner or victim of domestic violence or abuse
- Obtains leave to remain in the UK under one of the Afghan Schemes or one of the Ukraine Schemes
As fee status is determined not only by nationality/immigration status, please note that the student must also satisfy any residency requirements under the relevant Home fees category in order to be eligible for a change in fee status.
Update to the Fee Regulations - effective from 1 August 2024
An recent update to the Fee Regulations means that current Overseas students who obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) / Settlement part-way through their course are now likely to be eligible to switch from Overseas to Home fees from the start of the following academic year. This change in fee status cannot be backdated - it only applies to academic years starting on or after 1 August 2024. Any change is also subject to the student meeting the other requirements for Home fee status, such as 3 years' ordinary residence in the UK / Islands before the start of the course.
What do I need to do?
If you're currently holding an offer for a place on a postgraduate course at the University of Cambridge and believe that this change will affect you, please refer to the Postgraduate Admissions Office fee status web page 'What is my fee status?' to see what action you need to take.
If you're holding an offer for an undergraduate place, or are currently studying, at the University of Cambridge and believe that you may be eligible to switch to Home fees during your course as a result of this change, please send a completed Fee Status Assessment Questionnaire and a copy of your Indefinite Leave to Remain/Settlement residence permit (the Home Office grant of leave letter isn't sufficient) to feestatusandpolicy@admin.cam.ac.uk. The University's fees staff will review your paperwork and then contact you (and your College) to confirm your eligibility for a change in fee status and the date that any change will take effect.
Integrated Courses
A number of the University's degree courses offer undergraduates the opportunity to study for an optional 4th year (Part IIB or Part III, depending on the course structure) of their Tripos if they fulfil the academic requirements. In these cases, the student doesn't graduate at the end of their 3rd year and instead, progresses onto a 4th year. Part III and Part IIB are considered to be integrated Masters courses and therefore a fee status assessment would not be undertaken prior to the start of the student's 4th year. A change in fee status would only take place if the student believed that they now fell under one of the categories listed above.
Intercalated Courses
As with students studying for an Integrated Course, students who are undertaking an intercalated course in another subject part-way through their substantive degree course are not eligible for a fee status assessment at the start of their intercalated course. A change in fee status would only take place in the event of a change in circumstances which meant that the student now fell under one of the categories listed above.