California Residency Requirement

You can request a review of your residency status from Non-Resident to Resident by submitting a Residence Questionnaire with supporting documentation to the college Admissions and Records office.

Students may request a review of their residency classification within one year of the term for which the classification is being questioned.

 

To be eligible for in-state tuition, students demonstrate the following:

• Physical Presence: You must have been physically present in California for one year and one day prior to the residence determination date (the day immediately preceding the first day of instruction) for the term in which you wish to be classified as a California Resident (Title 5 § 54020 and § 54022), and
• Intent: Demonstrate that you intend to make California your home for other than a temporary/ educational purpose for one year and one day prior to the residence determination date. (Ed. Code § 68041; Cal. Code Regs., Title 5 § 54024)

Eligible status: Hold a citizenship or immigration status that permits you to establish California residence for tuition purposes, such as United States citizenship, permanent resident status/applicant, refugee status/applicant, asylum status/applicant, DACA, Temporary Protected Status, Special Immigrant Juvenile status, or another eligible immigration status or visa type 

1. California-issued Identification:
   a. Current California driver’s license or Department of Motor Vehicles documentation of California driver’s license
   OR
   b. California Identification card

2. California Motor Vehicle Registration Certificate
3. Establishing and maintaining active California bank accounts
4. Records of Income:
   a. Documentation of employment – Two months of Pay Stub to validate one year and one day OR
   b. Typed and signed letter from employer on company letterhead with employment start date OR
   c. California State Income Tax Form 540 OR
   d. Federal Income Tax Form 1040 from the previous year with California address
5. Verification of California Voter Registration Card
6. Own residential property or continuously occupy rented or leased property in California
7. Licensing from California for professional practice
8. Maintaining permanent military address or home of record of California while in armed forces – DD214
9. Documentation of the student as a California resident having received rehabilitation, unemployment, welfare, or other State Services – service receipts or agreements of certification by the appropriate agency showing the student as recipient
10. Petition for a divorce as a California resident
11. Active membership in California professional, religious, merchant, or service organizations or social clubs
12. Presence of a spouse, children, or other close relatives in California
13. Remaining in California during academic breaks
14. Registering for the Selective Service in California (indicating a California address)

The college Admissions and Records office reserves the right to request additional documentation in its efforts to determine CA Residency for tuition purposes.

Non-resident students who have completed three years of high school in California and graduated in California (or equivalency) may qualify for a waiver of non-resident fees by filing the California Non-resident Tuition Exemption (AB 540) form. Non-resident students who are a US citizen, permanent resident, DACA, or undocumented are eligible to apply.

Students who are nonimmigrants who are victims of trafficking, domestic violence, and other serious crimes who have been granted T or U visa status are eligible for this exemption.

Nonimmigrant noncitizen students other than T and U visa holders are not eligible for the AB 540 exemption.

Students who are exempted from nonresident tuition under AB 540 remain non-residents until they change to an immigration status that allows them to establish domicile in the United States.

The AB 540 form is available on the district Admissions and Records Forms page. If you completed the AB 540 affidavit as part of your California Dream Act Application, the California Student Aid Commission will send the completed affidavit to the colleges listed on your application and you are not required to submit a separate AB 540 affidavit to the college.

On June 5, 2014, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its Frequently Asked Questions regarding Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).  Of significance, the USCIS clarified that “individuals granted deferred action are not precluded by federal law from establishing domicile in the U.S.” (Frequently Asked Questions, #5.)   Based on this clarification, we have concluded that students who have been granted DACA status have taken appropriate steps to obtain a change of status from the applicable federal agency to a classification which does not preclude establishing domicile. (See, Cal. Code Regs., tit. 5, § 54045(c).) Thus, for residency determinations made on or after June 5, 2014, if the student otherwise meets the requirements of California law related to physical presence and the intent to make California home for other than a temporary purpose, the student can be classified as resident for purposes of assessing tuition, awarding Board of Governors Fee Waivers, and determining eligibility for services that require California residency.

While DACA status is conferred for only two years, subject to renewal, as a general rule residency classification will not be impacted by the renewal requirement.  Once a student has been classified as a resident, colleges are not required to determine the student’s classification again unless the student has not been in attendance for more than one semester or quarter. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 5, 54010(a).)

Nonresident students enrolled in credit ESOL courses who are a recent immigrant, a refugee, or a person granted asylum by the United States may receive a one-year exemption from nonresident tuition for the tuition fee for credit ESL courses. The student must have settled in California upon entering the United States and resided in the state for less than one year. Please submit AB 1232 Fee Exemption on the Admissions and Records Forms page.

Education Code section 68075.6 grants an exemption to non-resident tuition for Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders and refugee students who settled in California after entering the United States. The exemption applies for the length of time the student lives in California, up to the minimum time necessary to become a resident (one year and one day), measured from the date the student settled in California upon entering the United States. For a student who was a minor on arrival, the exemption expires one year from the date the student turns 18 (to age 19). This exemption is intended for all refugees, not only those admitted under the SIV program.

This exemption applies to the following:

1. Iraqi citizens or nationals (and their spouses and children) who were employed by or on behalf of the U.S. Government in Iraq
2. Afghan and Iraqi translators (and their spouses and children) who worked directly with the United States Armed Forces (
3. Afghanistan nationals who were employed by or on behalf of the U.S. Government or in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan
4. Refugee students admitted to the United States
5. T visa holders and U visa holders,

Afghan and Ukrainian humanitarian parolees, who under federal law are entitled to the benefits available to refugees. The college will determine when the parolee first settled in California in order to verify whether the exemption is available

Education Code section 68085 also permits the California Community colleges, and other California public postsecondary segments, to classify a foster youth student as a resident for tuition purposes until he or she has resided in the state for the minimum time needed to become a resident, if the student meets the following requirements:

1. Currently resides in California
2. Is 19 years of age or younger
3. Is currently a dependent or ward of the state through California’s child welfare system, or was served by this system and is no longer being served either due to emancipation or aging out of the system

Students who are full-time employee of an institution or state agency, or unmarried dependent child or spouse of full-time employee of an institution or state agency who is assigned to work outside of California may be eligible for a waiver of non-resident tuition fees until they have resided in California for the minimum time necessary to become a resident. (Ed. Code, § 68079.)

Homeless Youth under 25 years of age, who has been verified at any time during the 24 months immediately preceding the receipt of his or her application for admissions by a postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution pursuant to Section 69432.7, as a homeless child or youth, as defined in subsection (2) of Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a(2)) may qualify for in-state tuition.

The residence of a minor (a person under 18 years of age) is determined in accordance with the following, per California Education Code and Title 5:

1. The residence of the parent (natural or legally adoptive ) with whom an unmarried minor lives is the residence of that minor, regardless of the length of time the minor has resided with that parent. This rule applies equally to a minor whose parents have permanently separated.
2. A married minor may establish their own residence. A minor who has married but thereafter divorced retains the capacity to establish their own residence. A minor whose marriage has been annulled must be treated as an unmarried minor since, for all intents and purposes, a marriage has not occurred.
3. If the minor lives alone, they take the residence status of the parent with whom they last lived.
4. If both parents are deceased and there is no court-appointed guardian, then the minor may establish residence as though they were an adult.
5. The residence of an unmarried minor who has a living parent cannot be changed by the minor's own act, by the appointment of a legal guardian, or by relinquishment of a parent's right of control, unless the student qualifies under the Self-Support exception (Education Code section 68071) or the Two-Year Care and Control exception (Education Code section 68073; Title 5 section 54047).
6. A student who has been adult for less than a full year (is under 19 years of age) may under certain circumstances combine the immediate pre-majority derived California residence with the immediate post-majority California residence to satisfy the one year necessary for residency classification.
7. These rules apply unless the Immigration and Nationality Act precludes the minor from establishing domicile (residence) in the United States.

A student cannot derive residency status from their spouse or domestic partner.