If you are unsure of what your fee status may be or you have been asked to complete a Fee Status Questionnaire by our Admissions Team, this page outlines the process we follow and points you to where you can seek additional advice.
The information provided here is intended as a general guide. All assessments are made on an individual basis based on the individual circumstances of each applicant. We are unable to make any assessments before an application has been submitted. Our Admissions Team aims to make fair and transparent judgements when completing fee status assessments at all times.
In this section:
Your fee status determines the rate of fees that you will pay throughout your studies at Queen Mary. Fee status classification generally depends on your:
To determine your fee status, our Admissions Team will assess the information that has been provided within your application against the UK Government regulations which are outlined by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA).
The following summarises the possible fee status classifications:
To be eligible for the ‘Home’ rate of fees you must normally be a UK national and be ordinarily resident in the UK on the first day of the first academic year and ordinarily resident in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, the specified British Overseas Territories or the Channel Islands for three years before the first day of the first academic year of your course. Generally, if you are a UK national who has lived all your life in the UK, you will pay fees at the Home rate.
If you are a UK national who is normally resident in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man you will be assessed with a Home Islands classification. Generally, the fees are aligned with the Home rate but you may be required to be settled in the UK before the start of your course.
The UK government has announced that EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals will no longer be eligible for home fee status or undergraduate, postgraduate and advanced learner financial support from Student Finance England for courses starting in academic year 2021/22. Please note that this may not apply to you if you are resident in the UK and have pre-settled or settled status. There are some exceptions for Irish nationals.
EU nationals that have EU Settlement Status and have been ordinarily resident in the UK or EEA for three years will generally be eligible for the Home rate of fees.
If you are an EU/EEA/Swiss National living in the UK and have pre-settled or settled status, please provide us with your passcode to expedite our assessment.
Generally, if you are not an UK or EU national and you have not lived in the UK or EU then you will pay fees at an Overseas rate. If you require a time-limited visa to live in the UK it is very unlikely you will pay fees at a Home rate (even if you have been living in the UK or EU).
Our admissions team normally assess your fee status before issuing any offers so that we can include your fee status classification within your offer letter.
If we are unable to make a decision based on the information included in your application form, we may request that you complete a Queen Mary fee status questionnaire [DOC 64KB] and provide additional supporting documents (see below) to help us make our assessment (see below for more information. We normally request this information through your Applicant Portal and ask that you return your completed questionnaire and documents within 14 working days of our request.
The UK Government regulations set out by UKCISA are applied at all English universities (and other UK universities use similar regulations) but each institution is expected to make its own assessment. Therefore, there is a possibility that you may receive different fee status classifications from different universities. It is important to be aware that the fee status decision made by other universities will not have any bearing on the decision made by Queen Mary.
If you have been asked to complete a Queen Mary fee status questionnaire [DOC 64KB], it is important you complete this form in as much detail as possible and return it to us within the deadline provided. The Fee Status Assessment Guidance Notes [PDF 116KB] can help you complete the form.
Supporting Documents
We require all applicants completing a Fee Status assessment form to provide evidence of their Nationality and evidence of any relevant residency permissions for the UK. However, depending on your individual circumstances we may also require additional supporting documentation, particularly for those who have been temporarily absent from the UK or believe they are ordinarily resident in more than one country.
Once you have submitted your questionnaire and supporting documents we will review your fee status. We may need to ask for additional information to help classify your fee status.
Failure to return the form or to provide additional requested evidence within the deadline provided will mean the Admissions Team will have to make an assessment based solely on the information we have available and you are likely to be assessed as overseas for fees purposes.
If you have any questions about completing your fee status questionnaire, please get in touch with our Admissions Team by emailing the Admissions team or by responding to the information request through your Applicant Portal.
If you have received confirmation of your fee status decision but believe that the decision is incorrect please take the following steps:
What you need to include in a formal appeal
Appeals will only be considered if there is new, additional evidence that merits review of the original fee status decision. We are not able to accept appeals made by third parties.
All formal appeals should be sent to adm-mgrs@qmul.ac.uk. Your fee status assessment and supporting documents will then be reviewed by a panel of admissions managers and a final assessment will be communicated to you.
As part of the enrolment process, you will be asked to confirm that your fee status is correct. You should therefore note that, by completing the enrolment process, you are confirming your fee status. Appeals against fee status assessment post-enrolment will only be considered on the grounds that there has been a procedural error in reaching the original decision or where new, material information is presented that could not reasonably have been made available during the original fee status assessment carried out by the Admissions Office. Appeals post-enrolment must be submitted by 31 October in the first year of enrolment.
Further information is available from the following resources:
We are unable to provide advice or comment on fee status classification before you have submitted your application.
The rules and regulations surrounding tuition fee classification are incredibly complex and depend on your individual circumstances. Therefore, we can’t give you accurate advice until we know the full details of your circumstances. If we are unable to make a decision on your fee status based on your application alone, we will contact you to complete our Fee Assessment Questionnaire.
Queen Mary's fee status assessment will remain in place throughout the duration of your programme of studies. There are some limited circumstances in which a student could be considered for home fees after starting their course. Please refer to the UKCISA guidance for full information. If you believe you now meet one of the UKCISA categories for consideration please complete the above fee status questionnaire and email adm-mgrs@qmul.ac.uk by the 1st of September to allow the team to assess your case before the start of the academic year. If you subsequently become eligible to have your fee status reassessed whilst studying, this will be from the start of your next academic year, not from the start of your programme.
You will always pay the tuition fee which relates to your year of entry, not your year of application. If you have chosen to defer your place until the next academic year, your tuition fees will be in line with that entry point.