Establishing California Residency For Fee Purposes

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Please note: This summation is not a complete explanation of the laws regarding residence. Applicable sections of the Education Code and the regulations adopted by The Regents of the University of California are available for inspection at the Office of the Registrar. Please note that changes may be made in the residence requirements between the publication date of this statement and the relevant determination date. Non-citizen students should consult the campus Residence Deputy for information regarding special criteria in determining residence eligibility.

Determining Residence Classification for Tuition Purposes

The Residence Deputy in the UCSB Office of the Registrar determines the residency of each student after the student has been accepted for admission. The decision is based on the review of the student’s Statement of Legal Residence (SLR) to be completed online after the student submits his/her Student Intent to Register (SIR). Should additional information be needed following an initial review of the SLR, the Residence Deputy will contact the student by mail with specific instructions.

University requirements for establishing residency are independent from those of other types of residency, such as for tax purposes, or other state or institutional residency. A resident for tuition purposes is someone who meets the requirements set forth in the University of California Board of Regents Policy Relating to Residence.

Establishing Residency

Adult students (at least 18 years of age) may establish* residency for fee purposes in California if they are a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or other immigrant, or a nonimmigrant who is not precluded from establishing a domicile in the U.S. This includes nonimmigrants who hold valid visas of the following types: A, E, G, H1, H4, I, K, L, N, NATO, O1, O3, R, or V. Adult students cannot derive residence from a spouse or parents.

In order to be classified as a resident for tuition purposes, a student must demonstrate the following immediately prior to the residence determination date (the day that instruction begins at the last of the University of California campuses to open for the term. For Berekely, it is the day instruction begins at the Berkeley campus):

  1. Physical Presence: Establish a physical presence in California more than one year (366 days) immediately prior to the residence determination date of the term for which classification as a resident is requested. Continuous physical presence is not mandatory, but a student who leaves California after establishing residence has the burden of demonstrating that he/she intended to remain a California resident, and that his/her principal place of residence has been in California. It is the burden of the student to clearly demonstrate retention of California residence during periods of absence from the state.

  2. Intent: Demonstrate through objective documentation that your physical presence was coupled with the intent to make California your permanent home. Intent is evaluated as an independent element of residence, separate from physical presence, and is demonstrated by establishing residential ties in California, and relinquishing ties to the former place of residence. Physical presence within California solely for educational purposes does not constitute the establishment of California residence regardless of the length of stay. The physical presence requirement (above) will be extended until the student can demonstrate a concurrence of both physical presence and intent for one full year.

  3. Financial Independence: Students who will not reach age 24 by December 31 of the year in which classification as a resident is requested, and who are not dependent upon a natural or adoptive parent who satisfies University requirements as a resident for tuiton purposes,will be required to satisfy the University’s self-sufficiency requirement in addition to the 366 day physical presence and intent requirements. It should be noted that this requirement makes it extremely difficult for most undergraduates who do not have a parent domiciled in California to qualify for classification as a resident at a University of California campus.

Exceptions to General Residence Regulations
Students for whom the following conditions apply may be eligible for an exemption or waiver from the Nonresident Fee.

  1. Active Duty Member of U.S. Military, their spouses, registered domestic partners, and dependent children. Click here for more information.
  2. Child, Spouse, or registered domestic partner of a Faculty Member. To the extent that funds are available, a student who is the unmarried, dependent child under the age of 21 or the spouse, or registered domestic partner of a University of California faculty member who is a voting member of the Academic Senate.
  3. University Employee or Dependent Child, Spouse, or Registered Domestic Partner of a University Employee. You may be entitled to resident classification if you are a full-time University employee who is assigned to work outside the state of California or if you are the unmarried dependent child, spouse or registered domestic partner of a full time University employee who is assigned to work outside of the state of California. A review will be conducted each term to verify continuation of the applicable status.
  4. Child, Spouse, or Registered Domestic Partner of a Deceased Public Law Enforcement or Fire Suppression Employee. A student who is the child, stepchild, or registered domestic partner of a deceased public law enforcement or fire suppression employee, who was a California resident and was killed in the course of law enforcement or fire suppression duties.
  5. Dependent Child of a California Resident. A student who has not been an adult resident of California for more than one year, and is the natural or adopted, dependent child of a California resident who has been a resident for more than one year immediately prior to the residence determination date. The student must also maintain continuous full-time attendance in a California public post-secondary institution. Click here for more information.
  6. Graduate of a California School Operated by the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (B. I. A.). A student who is a graduate of a California school operated by the B. I. A. (e.g., Sherman Indian High School) and who enrolls at the University of California.
  7. Student Athlete. Any amateur athlete in training at the U. S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California is entitled to resident classification until he/she has resided in the state the minimum time necessary (366 days) to become a resident.
  8. UC Nonresident Tuition Exemption for eligible California High School graduates (AB 540). Students enrolled or in the process of enrolling at a University of California campus after January 1, 2002, who attended a high school in California for three or more years, and who graduated from a California high school (or attained the equivalent), may qualify for an exemption from the nonresident tuition. Undergraduate, graduate, and professional students are eligible to apply for this exemption. Click here for more information.AB540
  9. Surviving Dependents of California Residents killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
  10. Recipients of Congressional Medal of Honor and their children under age 27.

Reduced Nonresident Tuition for Doctoral Candidates

Effective Fall 2006, the quarterly nonresident tuition fee is reduced by 100% for graduate doctoral students who have advanced to candidacy. Eligibility for the reduced nonresident tuition is measured in calendar years, and begins with the first academic quarter following advancement to candidacy. Leave of absence and unregistered quarters will not extend a student's eligibility. A student who continues to be enrolled or who re-enrolls three calendar years after advancing to candidacy will be charged the full nonresident rate in effect at the time.

General Rule Applying to Minors
The residence of the parent with whom an unmarried/unpartnered minor (under the age of 18) lives is the residence of the unmarried/unpartnered minor. When the minor does not live with either parent, the residence of the minor is that of the parent with whom the minor last lived. An unmarried/unpartnered minor may establish his or her own residence when both parents are deceased and a legal guardian has not been appointed, unless the minor is a non-citizen who is precluded by the Immigration and Nationality Act from establishing a domicile in the United States. The residence of an unmarried/unpartnered minor who has a parent living cannot be changed by the minor's own act, by the appointment of a legal guardian, or by the relinquishment of a parent's right of control.

Specific Rules Applying to Minors.

  1. Parent of Minor Moves from California. If the California resident parent(s) of an eligible minor moves from California, the minor will be entitled to resident classification as long as the minor enrolls full-time in a California public post-secondary institution within one calendar year of the parent's departure, and remains physically present in California. This classification will continue until the minor has attained the age of majority and has resided in California for the minimum time required to become a resident. The financial independence requirement does not apply in this case.

  2. Self-Supporting Minor. Minor students who are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens may be eligible for resident classification if documentation of physical presence, intent to be a California resident, and self-support through the student's own employment or credit is provided for the entire calendar year prior to the residence determination date.

  3. Two-Year Care and Control. Minor students who are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens may be eligible for resident classification if they have lived with and been under the continuous care and control of an adult or series of adults other than a parent for not less than two years (Note: "two years" is not defined as tax or calendar years under this provision). The adult or series of adults must have been responsible for care and control for the entire two-year period, and must qualify as California residents one year immediately prior to the residence determination date. Click here for more complete information.

Time Limitation on Providing Documentation
A Statement of Legal Residence (completed online) must be submitted by all new and returning students prior to their first term of admission or readmission. Continuing students seeking a change in classification from nonresident to resident must submit a Petition for Resident Classification during the quarter immediately prior to the term for which classification as a resident is requested. Under no circumstances will documentation related to residency be accepted at the Santa Barbara campus beyond the end of the term for which classification as a resident is requested. University fiscal policy states, in part, that with the exception of appeals to the Legal Analyst-Residence Matters regarding a student's residence classification, no claim for remission of fees will be considered unless such claim is presented during the fiscal year to which the claim is applicable.

Incorrect Classification
Any student found to be incorrectly classified as a resident is subject to nonresident classification and to payment of all unpaid nonresident fees. If a student has concealed information or furnished false information, and was classified incorrectly as a result, the student is also subject to University discipline. Resident students who become nonresidents of California must notify the UCSB Residence Deputy immediately.

Petition for Resident Classification (Continuing Students)
If you are a continuing student who is classified as a nonresident for fee purposes, and you believe you will be eligible for resident status for a future term, you must submit a UCSB Petition for Resident Classification form to the Residence Deputy, Office of the Registrar, 1105 SAASB, no later than the published deadline date of the quarter you wish to be classified as a California resident.

Temporary Absences. Click here for complete information.
If a nonresident student is in the process of establishing a residence for fee purposes and returns to his or her former home during noninstructional periods, his or her 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 of California solely for educational purposes will not be classified as residents for fee purposes regardless of their length of stay.

Inquiries and Appeals
Inquiries regarding residence requirements, determination, and/or recognized exemptions should be directed to either

Residence Deputy, Office of the Registrar
Student Affairs and Administrative Services Building, Room 1105
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-2015
(805) 893-3033
regresid@sa.ucsb.edu

No other University personnel are authorized to supply information relative to residence requirements for fee purposes. Any student who believes that an incorrect residence classification has been made by the campus Residence Deputy may appeal in writing to the Principal Legal Analyst-Residence Matters within 30 days of notification of the campus Residence Deputy's final decision. Students will have only one opportunity to appeal the decision made at the campus level. Students are responsible for submitting all relevant information/documentation in support of their in-state residency request to the campus Residence Deputy. Information/documentation requested by the campus Residence Deputy that is not made available by the student prior to the Residence Deputy's final decision will generally not be considered or reviewed on appeal.

*Begin the 366 day durational requirement (physical presence coupled with intent).
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Last Modified on July 11, 2007