Families relocating to the UK on a work visa or a government scholarship usually find the school side straightforward. State school is free, enrolment works, the process moves. The problem surfaces ten years later, when the child applies to university.
State school: independent of status
Every child in England between 5 and 16 is entitled to a free place at a state school. That entitlement does not depend on immigration status. A child can attend even where the parent's visa carries a no recourse to public funds condition.
| Age | Position |
|---|---|
| 3-4 | Entitled to free early education in England |
| 5-16 | Free state school, compulsory education |
| 16-18 | Education or training required; college tuition free |
| 18+ | Higher education, where fee status is assessed separately |
Placement runs through the local authority and the address decides it. Where a school is full the child goes on a waiting list, which makes choosing a home and choosing a school the same decision.
Further education between 16 and 19 is also free, and that funding extends to the dependants of sponsored visa holders.
University: where the rule changes
Higher education carries two fee levels. The home fee is capped at GBP 9,535 a year in England. The international fee is set by the university and can run to three or four times that, depending on the subject.
Two conditions have to be met together for the home fee.
- Settled status. Indefinite leave to remain, or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. Work visas, student visas and dependant visas do not count.
- Three years of ordinary residence. Living in the UK for the three years immediately before the first day of the course.
The two conditions run in sequence. The clock does not reset on the day indefinite leave is granted, but years spent without the status are not sufficient on their own.
So a family living in the UK on a work visa for five years, with a child in a local state school, can meet the international fee when that child applies to university. The same child, the same country, the same education system.
Exceptions and regional differences
- Refugee status and humanitarian protection. Home fees and student finance from day one, with no three-year requirement. The entitlement extends to dependants.
- Scotland works differently. From the 2023-24 academic year, anyone ordinarily resident in the UK for three years and resident in Scotland qualifies for home fee status. Settled status is not required.
- Student finance is a separate question. A university may grant you home fee status and Student Finance England may still refuse a loan. Two decisions, two bodies, two sets of rules.
Sources: House of Commons Library research briefings, UKCISA fee status guidance and GOV.UK student finance pages; read September 2026. Fee status rules are complex, change regularly, and differ across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Universities exercise some discretion in their own assessments. Obtain written confirmation from the institution and from Student Finance before applying. This is not immigration or legal advice.
What relocation planning covers
Families reach me at two points: when the move is decided, and when they are looking for a school.
At the first stage the work is finding a school that fits the child: curriculum, entry point, language support, and weighing the address against school capacity. Enrolment, documentation and the local authority application sit here too.
The second stage looks further out: what fee status the child will hold when they reach university, which statuses are achievable by then, and how the family's visa timeline maps onto that.
These look like separate questions but they belong to the same calendar. When a family becomes eligible for indefinite leave can be planned years ahead, against the date the child starts university.
Burcu Dedeoglu
International education and career strategy · Dublin
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