From a straightforward application of the fee regulations, If she has not lived in the EEA for the 3 years prior to the start of the course then she doesn't qualify for home/eu fees. Universities will assess her fee status accordingly to the regulations. They will use the information she has put in her UCAS application to assess her fee status initially but may ask for evidence of this, so if she's lied and said that she's been living I'm Portugal then she's committing fraud, and they could withdraw her place. If her all her qualifications and schooling are from the US then they are likely to query her claim (if this is what she's put in her UCAS application) that she's been living in Portugal. Even if she is somehow assessed as an Eu fees payer (some universities won't ask for evidence of residence they will accept what she has put in the application form) if she wants to apply for a tuition fee loan from student finance England they will ask for evidence of residence, so either she lies to obtain funding and succeeds (but if they find out they can take the money back later) or she is refused, the university is informed (because they can't charge SFE for the fees if she's not entitled to a fee loan) causing the university to re-assess her as international anyway.
Her best chance of securing home fee status and a fee loan in my view would be to be completely honest and argue that her absence from the EEA was involuntary. If she's still assessed as international and/or can't secure a fee loan (universities and SFE can come to a different conclusion) then she should move back to the EEA and reapply for uni in 3 years, or accept that she's going to have to pay international fees. Info on voluntary residence here
http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/International- ... residence/
