Can my fee status change?

In most cases, a student's fee status remains unchanged after it is assessed when an offer is made.

However, certain 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.

Qualifying events

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. This will not happen automatically and will 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 below) 
  • becomes a family member of a person who both held settled status AND was living in the UK on the student's course start date
  • is a family member of a non-British citizen 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 Ukraine Schemes Leave
  • is granted Refugee status by the UK government (applying for asylum isn't sufficient), or Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner or victim of domestic violence or abuse

Students experiencing one of the changes in personal circumstances listed above must also meet any residency requirements under the relevant Home fee category. Please contact the University fees staff by emailing feestatusandpolicy@admin.cam.ac.uk if you believe that one of these Qualifying Events may affect your fee status. 

Update to the Fee Regulations for students gaining ILR or settled status

Since 1 August 2024, current Overseas students and offer holders who obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or settled status before, or during, their course have been able to switch to Home fees from the beginning of the next academic year. This change only applies to academic years beginning on or after 1 August 2024. Students must also meet the other Home fee status requirements to be eligible for this switch, such as three years of ordinary residence in the UK or Islands before their course start date.

What do I need to do?

Because visa applications can take time to process, you may wish to consider using one of the Home Office’s faster visa processing routes to ensure that you obtain ILR or settled status on or before the relevant deadline.

If you are an offer holder

You may be able to change your fee status if you obtain ILR or settled status between offer day and no later than the actual start date of the first academic year of your course. This date is determined as follows.

  • Undergraduate offer holders: 1 October
  • Postgraduate offer holders: On or before 1 October, 5 January, or 10/17 April, depending on the term your course begins. (The start date of Easter Term can vary, so postgraduates beginning in Easter Term should check the applicable date on the University’s term dates web page.)  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 are a current student

You may be able to switch your fee status from the start of the next academic year of your current course if you obtain ILR or settled status no later than:

  • Current undergraduates: 1 September 
  • Current postgraduates: 1 September, 1 January, or 1 April, depending on your course start date.

All other offer holders and current students

If you hold an offer for an undergraduate place or are currently studying for an undergraduate or postgraduate course at the University of Cambridge and believe you may be eligible to switch to Home fees due to this change, please email the following documents to feestatusandpolicy@admin.cam.ac.uk:

  • a completed Fee Status Assessment Questionnaire
  • UK bank statement, utility or council tax bill issued three years before your course start date
  • UK bank statement, utility or council tax bill issued the month before the course started
  • your passport, plus ILR / settlement share code and accompanying Home Office grant of leave letter
  • a copy of your birth certificate if the residency documents above are addressed to your parent(s) rather than to you, unless you have already submitted this document as part of a previous assessment.

The University's fees staff will review your documents and contact you (and your College/admissions team) to confirm whether you are eligible for a change in fee status and the effective date of that change. 

Integrated courses

For degree courses that offer an additional 4th year (Part IIB or Part III), students do not graduate at the end of their 3rd year but progress to a 4th year. These are considered integrated Masters courses, and a fee status assessment will not be conducted before the start of the 4th year. A change in fee status will only occur if the student falls under one of the eligible categories listed above.

Intercalated courses

Students undertaking an intercalated course in another subject part-way through their degree are not eligible for a fee status assessment at the start of their intercalated course. A change in fee status would only occur if there is a change in circumstances that makes the student eligible under one of the categories listed above.