- How fee status is assessed
- Who qualifies for Home fees?
- Who pays International fees?
- Fee reassessment
- Response times
How fee status is assessed
Your tuition fees depend on whether you are classified as a Home or International student.
Before you start your course, your Admissions team may ask you to complete a fee assessment form and provide supporting documents.
All fee assessments follow guidance from UKCISA (UK Council for International Student Affairs), which is based on UK law and government regulations.
If you have questions about your fee status before enrolment, contact your Admissions team.
Who qualifies for Home fees?
If you are assessed as a Home student, you will normally pay tuition fees at the Home rate.
Home students commonly include:
- UK nationals
- Irish nationals
- People with Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)
- People with status under the EU Settlement Scheme
To qualify for Home fees, you will usually need to meet all of the following conditions on the first day of the first academic year of your course:
- You are settled in the UK with no restriction on how long you can stay.
- You have normally lived in the UK for the three years before your course starts.
- Your main reason for living in the UK during that period was not full-time education.
There are also other ways you can qualify for Home fee status, including if you hold a Refugee or Ukraine Scheme visa.
For the full list of categories through which you can qualify for Home fees, visit the UKCISA page.
Time spent outside the UK
You may still be considered ordinarily resident in the UK if you were temporarily living abroad.
Examples include:
- Temporary absences during the COVID-19 pandemic
- A gap year
- Temporary employment overseas
Each case is assessed individually.
For full guidance, visit the UKCISA page on ordinary residence.
Who pays International fees?
You will normally pay International fees if you do not qualify under any of the Home fee categories set out by UKCISA.
EU students who enrolled from 1 August 2021 onwards and do not have status under the EU Settlement Scheme are usually charged International tuition fees.
Switching from International to Home fees
For academic years starting on or after 1 August 2024, you may be able to move from International fees to Home fees for future years of your course if you gain:
- UK citizenship
- Irish citizenship
- Settled immigration status
If your circumstances change, see the fee reassessment section below.
For full eligibility criteria, visit the UKCISA website.
Fee reassessment
You can request a fee reassessment if:
- You believe your fee status has been assessed incorrectly.
- Your immigration or residency status has changed and you may now qualify for Home fees.
Contact the Student Enrolment team at registration@herts.ac.uk
We will send you a fee assessment form by email.
To avoid delays:
- Complete the form as soon as possible.
- Provide all requested supporting documents.
- Return the form by the deadline given.
We cannot reassess your fee status without the completed form and supporting evidence.
Please note that response times may be longer during busy periods.
Response times
Typical response and processing times can be found on the Student Enrolment Service Level Agreement (SLA) page.