aha, it does seem a little bit more hopeful now - thanks!

I can't argue that I'm the child of expats (I am now worrying about my kids when they get to this stage, should they want to study in the UK, but they have dual nationality, so they can pull out the Polish passport, right?) I left of my own free will, when I was 26. My argument is that I am an EU citizen, pure and simple. I understand the argument that I haven't paid my taxes in the UK, I have however paid them in the EU, so why should I be discriminated against - some kind of punishment for leaving the country?!

Sorry to rant, you know exactly what I mean!

I am reassured that your dept think you should be classed as EU. That's the impression I have got from mine too, so at least I won't be charged International fees by them. That would take the biscuit.

I am in exactly the position you put so well, shani. I'm a British citizen and I've been living in Poland most of the time for the past 10 years apart from a year's postgrad study in the UK. I now want to do a phD in the UK and it seems that, although I am an EU citizen it is impossible for me to get funding in the UK, an EU country.

Has anyone won this argument with a funding body? The university who have offered me a place, UEA, are still mulling over my fees status form, but seem to think that I may be counted as EU. My reading of the ESRC guidelines, however, state pretty clearly that I fall between the lines.