A petition has been launched calling for “Extend rights to home fee status for Children of Turkish Workers/Businesspersons”.
Stating “We want children of Turkish workers/businesspersons to be entitled to home fee status for higher education if they arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020 due to pandemic-related delays by the Home Office, provided that the visa to enter the UK was applied for before that date.
“We believe current rules for home fee status are unfair, particularly as they apply retrospectively to the children of people who had already applied for visas to come to the UK. We aim for these children to qualify for home fee status, if not this will mean they face higher fees that could prevent these children, who already are on the path to becoming UK citizens from receiving further education. This could jeopardize their education despite meeting the UK residency and study criteria.”
While Higher Education fees for local students in the UK cost up to £9,250 per year, international students face pay between anywhere between £9,000 to £30,000 per year. This disparity complicates the education plans of children under the Ankara Agreement and negatively impacts their education rights.
Children coming to the UK under the Ankara Agreement were normally entitled to the “home fee” status. However, a change made after Brexit in 2021 introduced a requirement to have been residing in the UK as of December 31, 2020, retroactively. This change affected the rights of many children, forcing them into international student status.
Turkish children and their families are call for a change and if you wish to support the petition visit www.petition.parliament.uk/petitions/656478