Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone can help me understand the UK Home fee status rules.

I'm a British citizen currently living and working in the USA. We moved here about 3 years ago because of my job. The move was employer-led and was never intended to be permanent. My employer could ask me to return to the UK with only a few months' notice, or it could be several more years—it's completely uncertain. We have kept our house in the UK, which we currently rent out, and we have continued to file UK tax returns while living in the USA.

My child is a 16-year-old British citizen, is starting Grade 11 in the U.S., and is interested in studying medicine in the UK. We are planning for her to sit the UCAT next year as part of her UK medical school applications.

My questions are:

1. Given our circumstances, is there any chance she could qualify for Home fee status (or any other concession) for UK medical schools?
2. Does the fact that we are living abroad solely because of my employer's overseas assignment make any difference? Do owning a home in the UK and continuing to file UK tax returns help our case at all?
3. Has anyone here been in a similar situation—living in the U.S. for a few years because of work—and successfully obtained Home fee status for their child?
4. Is there an official way to find out her fee status before applying, or is it determined individually by each university?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone with first-hand experience or knowledge of how universities assess these cases.

Thank you!

2. Yes. There is an exemption, you'll need to send evidence of the assignment being temporary.

Tax returns and property may not be useful, plenty of people who live abroad permanently have those, but I'd include those too. And any trips that your child has made back to the UK - mine visited at least twice a year, and evidence of that was asked for.

What I would say is that it's very university dependent - we moved when my children were 16 and 18, they are now both at university in the UK and both on home fees (we were also here on a 2 year fixed term assignment). But some uni's said they'd need to pay international fees, some said home fees, so each uni interpreted the rules their own way.

What's your visa status? Are you still on a temp visa or green cards?

Last edited by christmasoompa; Aug 3rd 2026 at 6:02 am.

Thanks, that's really helpful. There is hope! Did your situation also involve applying to medical school, or does the university/course not make much difference from a fee status perspective?

Did you contact the university directly, or did you use an international education consultant who specializes in UK universities and international students?

In my case, I originally moved to the U.S. on an L-1B visa and later had to switch to an H-1B. Company may file I140 form, if they think I am required here for few more years.

Neither of mine applied to medical school. We had to contact all of the universities individually, they wouldn't talk to an advisor about our personal finances/situation. As a very general rule, we found that the higher tier/more popular uni's were going to insist on international tuition rates, whereas less popular uni's were more lenient. But having said that, my son is at a Russell Group uni, and he's on home fees despite having lived in the US for 2.5 years by the time he started. Really, you just have to contact them all, explain your situation, and see what they say - I'd recommend you contact the Admissions Office via email so that you have it in writing, a couple of them went back on what they'd told us but we were able to point out they'd already said they thought we'd be eligible for Home fees, so they honoured that.

Good luck!