Ascension : STUDENT FEES FOR OVERSEAS TERRITORIES
Submitted by The Islander (Raymond Ellick) 30.11.2006 (Article Archived on 14.12.2006)

Higher Education Minister, Bill Rammell was today delighted to announce proposals to enable students from the British Overseas Territories to be treated as home students for fee purposes at institutions in England.

Bill Rammell and Foreign Office Minister Lord Triesman have worked hard on behalf of the Overseas territories to bring this change to fruition. DFID Minister, Gareth Thomas welcomed this announcement

England.

Overseas Territories, which do not have their own higher education provision. It is a move that will help them to improve their self sufficiency."

Overseas Territories and it fits well with the commitments we gave in the 1999 White Paper on the Overseas Territories."

Overseas Territories. It will help increase the educational options for students from Britain's remaining overseas territories, and in turn help to boost the long term prosperity of the Territories."

The change will be implemented through amendments to the Education (Fees and Awards) and the Education (Qualifying Courses and Persons) Regulations and implemented in time for the 2007/08 academic year.

England'
1. The UK has an obligation under the United Nations Charter to promote the well-being of the inhabitants of its Overseas Territories and we are committed under the White paper "partnership for Progress and Prosperity - Britain and the Overseas Territories" to ensuring their social and economic development.

British Overseas Territories through the FCO and the DfID about the fees charged to their residents whilst studying in the UK. Because some of the overseas territories of EU countries are themselves in the EU, students from there qualify for the home fee rates, but students from Britain's Overseas Territories are treated as international students and are charged higher fees. Gibraltar is the only British Overseas Territory whose students currently qualify for the home fee rates. This proposed change will mean that students in the overseas territories of EU Member States will be treated equally.

Overseas Territories and the UK. It also reflects the changed citizenship status of the territories. Under the 2002 British Overseas Territories Act British citizenship was extended to all people in the British Overseas Territories who qualified for it on the basis that they were British Overseas Territories citizens (BOTCs) from particular territories. In practice not all, but the majority of British Overseas Territories Citizens automatically became British Citizens on 21 May 2002 when the Act came into force. The exception was those deriving their BOTC status from the Sovereign Base Areas of Cyprus. Children born after 21 May 2002 to those British Overseas Territories citizens that became British citizens become British citizens themselves.