The individuals who are entitled to Home Fees are specified in the Schedule to the Education (Fees and Awards) (England) Regulations 2007/779. Paragraph 9C of that Schedule provides that Home Fees are available to a person (subject to exceptions which are irrelevant for the purposes of students from the Cayman Islands) in England where:

1. They are either (a) settled in the UK, or (b) the family member of someone who is settled in the UK or would be if they were ordinarily resident there.
2. The course in question is in the UK.
3. For part of the three years preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course, they were ordinarily resident in the specified British Overseas Territories,
4. For all of the three years preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course, they were ordinarily resident in the UK, Islands, or Overseas Territories.

“Settled in the UK” has a particular meaning. It requires that the person in question be ordinarily resident in the UK, without any restriction on the period for which they may remain. Whether a person is settled in the UK for the purposes of paragraph 9C is assessed either (a) on the course start date if the student is in the first year of their course; or (b) on the first day of the academic year for any other year of their course. “First day of the academic year” has a specific legal meaning, and refers, for courses starting between on or after 1st August and on or before 31st December, to 1st September.

The definition of “ordinarily resident” has been the subject of judicial consideration. A person who moves to the UK to attend university there will usually be ordinarily resident there (subject to any special circumstances). A person who does so would in all likelihood become ordinarily resident on arrival in the UK. For the purposes of paragraph 9C, periods of ordinary residence “wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education” do not count towards the residency requirement.

In other words, a student who grew up in and lived in the Cayman Islands for the three years prior to starting higher education, and moved to England to attend university, will be entitled to home fees so long as they move to the UK before the course start date and there is no restriction on the period for which they may remain (i.e. they have a right of abode or indefinite leave to remain).

The circumstances of a person’s birth—including place of birth, date of birth, and the nationality of their parents—determine their pathway to British citizenship. For some individuals, their pathway may involve some or all of the following steps: naturalising as a BOTC, obtaining a BOTC passport, registering as a British citizen, and subsequently applying for a British passport or, where urgent evidence of British citizenship is required, a Certificate of Right of Abode.

For others, their birth circumstances may give them an automatic entitlement to British citizenship. As a result of the British Overseas Territories Act 2002, any person who immediately before 21 May 2002 was a British overseas or dependent territories citizen became a British citizen. Further, pursuant to s. 1(1) British Nationality Act 1981, a person born in the Cayman Islands to a British citizen or person settled in the Cayman Islands, after 21 May 2002, is also a British citizen.

Where a student has automatic entitlement to British citizenship they can apply for a British passport or, where urgent evidence of British citizenship is required, a Certificate of Right of Abode. In both cases it is important that their cover letter provide details of their legal entitlement.

Where a student is unsure whether they have an automatic entitlement to British citizenship or are unclear about their pathway to obtaining it, please reach out to us at info.cigo@gov.ky.

It was the policy intention of the UK Government to extend home fee entitlement to students from the Cayman Islands who are British. The following questions may help a student determine if they qualify for Home Fees. If, after answering these questions, a student remains uncertain, or believes they qualify for Home Fees but their university has not classified them as eligible, please contact us at info.cigo@gov.ky.

Are you British? Do you have a British passport?

To be eligible for Home Fees a student cannot have any restriction on the period for which they may remain in the UK (i.e. they must be a British citizen). This is typically evidenced through a British passport or a Certificate of Right to Abode.

When will you be arriving in the UK?

A student must be settled in the UK by the course start date if the student is in the first year of their course or on the first day of the academic year for any other year of their course.

How long have you lived in the Cayman Islands?

a. A student must have been ordinarily resident in the Cayman Islands for the three years preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course. (Alternatively, a student must have been ordinarily resident in the UK, the Islands, or the Overseas Territories for all of those three years.) The period of residency must not be wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.

b. Where a student has been away at boarding school they may still meet the residency requirement so long as the period of residence in the other country was wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education and they can demonstrate that they were ordinarily resident in the Cayman Islands during that period.

It is important to note that this guidance relates only to Home Fees in England.

In Wales, British citizens from the British Overseas Territories qualify for Home Fees under criteria that largely mirror those in England, except that Wales has retained the requirement for students to be settled in the UK by the first day of the first academic year of the course (which, for courses beginning between 1 August and 31 December, is 1 September).

In Scotland, the fee structure comprises Home Fees for Scottish residents and Rest of UK (RUK) Fees for residents of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. When Scotland established its RUK fee regulations, British citizens resident in the British Overseas Territories were not included. As such, British citizens resident in the British Overseas Territories are required to pay International Fees in Scotland.

If a student is interested in attending a Northern Irish institution please contact CIGO-UK for information on Home Fees in Northern Ireland.