Residency

GENERAL RESIDENCY POLICY

Under the California Education Code, the general rule is that a student 1) must have been a legal California resident for at least one year and one day prior to the start of the semester or session the student is applying for to qualify as a resident student; 2) must have demonstrated intent to establish California residency for a minimum of two years; 3) has not engaged in conduct that is inconsistent with a claim for California residence; and 4) is not prohibited by law from establishing California residency.

The burden of proof to demonstrate both physical presence in the state of California and intent to establish permanent

California residence (if student's citizenship status does not preclude from establishing residence in the United States) is on the student. This means the student must provide:

• Documentation of legal status if they are not a United States citizen; and
• Two (2) acceptable proofs of established California residency (see list below).

Students who are under 19 years of age cannot establish residency on their own, they derive residency from their parent or legal guardian. If a student is under 19 and classified as Out-of-Country, documentation of legal status (visa, permanent resident card, notice of action, etc.) for the student and the parent must be presented. All documentation must be for the same parent or guardian. If the student lives with a legal guardian, court guardianship documents must also be submitted.

EVIDENCE OF PHYSICAL PRESENCE AND INTENT

A STUDENT MUST SUBMIT A MINIMUM OF TWO (2) ITEMS FROM THE LIST BELOW ALONG WITH THE RESIDENCY RECLASSIFICATION FORM. 

All documents submitted must be valid, legible, and dated at least one (1) year and one (1) day before the session/semester start date and include NAME and A PHYSICAL CALIFORNIA ADDRESS, NO P.O. BOXES. With the exception of the driver's license or California ID, documents CANNOT be older than 2 years prior to the start of the term for which residency is being requested.

1. California Driver's License/ ID or California DMV Printout or California car registration (current for all)
2. Apartment/home lease (one-year current) or rental agreement (one-year current)
3. California (540) tax returns with California as the home address for the previous year (540NR Tax Return NOT acceptable)
4. California bank account statement (for the appropriate year)
5. California car insurance (for the appropriate year)
6. California health insurance
7. California public library membership if dated
8. California State Aid, Social Welfare, Court documents
9. Licenses or certificates issued by the state of California with issue date
10. Marriage license or divorce decree issued in California (for the appropriate time period)
11. Military discharge papers (DD 214) or Leave and Earnings statement indicating California as home of record
12. Paycheck stub or, employment earnings statement or employment verification on company letterhead
13. Union membership in a California Local
14. Utility bill (DWP, gas, telephone, electric, cable, etc.; for the appropriate time period)
15. Voter's registration card

IMPORTANT: FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act) - For all Admissions and Records transactions, anyone representing an applicant/student must provide staff a signed letter of representation approval from the applicant/student.

PROCESS TO RECLASSIFY RESIDENCY

In order to reclassify a student's residency determination, the student must submit the Residency Reclassification Petition along with the required supporting documentation to the Admissions and Records Office.  Allow up to 10 business day for an email response. 

AB 540 STUDENTS

Any student, other than a nonimmigrant alien, who meets all of the following requirements, shall be exempt from paying nonresident tuition at the California Community Colleges, the University of California, and the California State University (all public colleges and universities in California).

Requirements:

• The student must have attended a high school (public or private) in California for three or more years.
• The student must have graduated from a California high school or attained the equivalent prior to the start of the term (for example, passing the GED or California High School Proficiency exam).
• An alien student who is without lawful immigration status must file an affidavit with the college or university stating that he or she has filed an application to legalize his or her immigration status, or will file an application as soon as he or she is eligible to do so.

Students who are nonimmigrants [for example, those who hold F (student) visas, B (visitor) visas, etc.] are not eligible for this exemption.

The student must file an exemption request including a signed affidavit with the college that indicates the student has met all applicable conditions described above. Student information obtained in this process is strictly confidential unless disclosure is required under law.

Students eligible for this exemption who are transferring to another California public college or university must submit a new request (and documentation if required) to each college under consideration.

Nonresident students meeting the criteria will be exempted from the payment of nonresident tuition, but they will not be classified as California residents. They continue to be “nonresidents.”

AB540 does not provide student financial aid eligibility for undocumented alien students. These students remain ineligible for state and federal financial aid.

PROCES FOR REQUESTING EXEMPTION FROM NONRESIDENT TUITION

Print out the AB 540 Form here or obtain the form from the Admissions Office. Submit the form along with an official high school transcript and a copy of your high school diploma to the Admissions Office.