If you have not been living in California with the intent to make it your permanent home for more than one year immediately before the residence determination date for each term in which you propose to attend the university, you must pay nonresident tuition as well as all assessed fees. The residence determination date is the day instruction begins at the last of the University of California campuses to open for the quarter, and for schools on the semester system, the day instruction begins for the semester.
The rules regarding residence for tuition purposes at the University of California are governed by the California Education Code and implemented by Standing Orders of the Regents of the University of California. Under these rules, adult citizens and certain classes of aliens can establish residence for tuition purposes. There are particular rules that apply to the residence classification of minors (see below).
If you are an adult student (at least 24 years of age), you may establish residence for tuition purposes in California if you are a U.S. citizen, or a permanent resident or other immigrant, or if you are a nonimmigrant who is not precluded from establishing a domicile in the U.S. Check with the Residence Deputy for the latest information on qualifying nonimmigrant visas.
To establish residence you must be physically present in California for more than one year prior to the residence determination date and you must have come here with the intent to make California your home as opposed to coming to California to go to school.
Physical presence in the state solely for educational purposes does not constitute the establishment of California residence, regardless of the length of your stay.
You must demonstrate your intention to make California your home by severing your residential ties with your former state of residence and by establishing those ties with California. If these steps are delayed, the one-year physical presence requirement will be extended until you have demonstrated both presence and intent for one full year.
If your parents are not residents of California, you will be required to be financially independent to qualify as a resident for tuition purposes.
You are considered "financially independent" if one or more of the following apply: (1) you are at least 24 years of age by December 31 of the calendar year for which you are requesting residence classification; (2) you are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces; (3) you are a ward of the court or both parents are deceased; (4) you have legal dependents other than a spouse; (5) you are married, or are a graduate or professional student, and you were not claimed as an income tax deduction by your parents or any other individual for the tax year immediately preceding the term for which you are requesting resident classification; or (6) you are a single undergraduate student and were not claimed as an income tax deduction by your parents or any other individual for the two tax years immediately preceding the term for which you are requesting resident classification and you can demonstrate self- sufficiency for those two years. (Note that financial dependence is not a factor in residence status for graduate student instructors, graduate student teaching assistants, research assistants, junior specialists, postgraduate researchers, graduate student researchers, and teaching associates who are employed 49 percent or more of full-time in the term for which classification is sought.)
Indications of your intent to make California your permanent residence can include the following: registering to vote and voting in California elections; designating California as your permanent address on all school and employment records, including military records if you are in the military service; obtaining a California driver's license or, if you do not drive, a California identification card; obtaining California vehicle registration; paying California income taxes as a resident, including taxes on income earned outside California from the date you establish residence; establishing a California residence in which you keep your personal belongings; and licensing for professional practice in California. The absence of these indicia in other states during any period for which you claim residence can also serve as an indication of your intent. Documentary evidence is required, and all relevant indications will be considered in determining your classification. Your intent will be questioned if you return to your prior state of residence when the University is not in session.
If you are an unmarried minor (under age 18), your residence is considered to be the residence of the parent with whom you live. If you have a parent living, you cannot change your residence by your own act, by the appointment of a legal guardian, or by the relinquishment of your parent's right of control. If you live with neither parent, your residence is that of the parent with whom you last lived. Unless you are a minor alien present in the U.S. under the terms of nonimmigrant visa that precludes you from establishing domicile in the U.S., you may establish your own residence when both your parents are deceased and a legal guardian has not been appointed. If you derive California residence from a parent, that parent must satisfy the one-year durational residence requirement.
If you are a nonresident student who is in the process of establishing a residence for tuition purposes and you return to your former state during noninstructional periods, your presence in California will be presumed to be solely for educational purposes and only convincing evidence to the contrary will rebut this presumption. Students who are in the state solely for educational purposes will not be classified as residents for tuition purposes regardless of the length of their stay.
If you are a student who has been classified as a resident for tuition purposes and you leave the state temporarily, your absence could result in the loss of your California residence. The burden will be on you (or your parents if you are a minor) to verify that you did nothing inconsistent with your claim of a continuing California residence during your absence. Steps that you (or your parents) should take to retain a California residence include
You must petition in person at the Office of the Registrar, Hinderaker Hall, for a change of classification from nonresident to resident status. All changes of status MUST be initiated before the first day of classes for the term for which you intend to be classified as a resident.
If additional documentation is required for residence classification but is not readily accessible, you will be given until the end of the applicable term to provide it. Nonresident tuition must be paid pending the outcome of the decision.
If you were classified as a resident incorrectly, you are subject to a nonresident classification and to the payment of all nonresident tuition not paid. If you concealed information or furnished false information and were classified incorrectly as a result, you may be subject to University discipline. Resident students who become nonresidents must immediately notify the campus Residence Deputy.
Inquiries regarding residence requirements, residence determination, and/or recognized exceptions should be directed to the Residence Deputy, Office of the Registrar, Hinderaker Hall, University of California, Riverside 92521-0118. Students denied residence status by the campus Residence Deputy have the right to appeal, in writing, to Legal Analyst-Residence Matters, Office of the President, 300 Lakeside Drive, 7th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612-3565. Such appeals must be filed within 45 days of notification of the campus Residence Deputy's final decision. No other University personnel are authorized to supply information relative to residents requirements for tuition purposes.
You are advised that the foregoing is a summary of the law regarding residence. A copy of the regulations adopted by the Regents of the University of California is available for review in the Office of the Registrar. Note that changes may be made in the residence requirements between the publication of this statement and the relevant residence determination date.
All information requested on the Statement of Legal Residence form is required by the authority of Standing Order 110.2 (a)-(d) of the Regents of the University of California for determining whether you are a legal resident for tuition purposes. Registration cannot be processed without this information. The Residence Deputy in the Office of the Registrar maintains the requested information. You have the right to inspect University records containing the residence information requested on the form.