Children of asylum seekers who have been in Scotland for more than three years will be treated as Scottish residents when it comes to paying university fees, the Scottish Executive will announce today.

The move will mean youngsters who gain a university place after studying at Scottish schools will not be turned away because they cannot afford the hefty fees demanded of foreign students and follows lobbying from Universities Scotland and the Scottish Refugee Council (SRC).

The executive has also pledged to work with Glasgow City Council to provide more state nursery places for three and four-year old asylum seeker children, following an inspectors report which found a shortage in these places.

Though it is only expected to affect a handful of potential students every year, the move to fund university places could put the executive at loggerheads with the Home Office, which has indicated that it will increase the rate at which failed asylum seekers are forcibly removed from the country.

Fiona Hyslop, the Education Secretary, said the measures represented a commitment to ensuring that the rights of children living in Scotland were upheld, regardless of their origin or immigration status.

She told The Herald: "This government believes that regardless of where they come from and why, any child living in Scotland should receive care, protection and education."