Classification Categories

Independent Students
Dependent Students
Company Transfer
Military
Spouse of an AZ Resident
Native American
Teachers under Contract/Full-Time Non-Certified Classroom Aides

Residency Information for Independent Students:

In order to be classified as a resident for tuition purposes, a person must clearly and convincingly demonstrate that they meet the requirements set by ABOR policy and must follow the applicable state laws.

1. Physical Presence (12 Months) (You must be at least 18 at the beginning of the domicile year).

A person must document that they have been physically present continuously in Arizona for the 12 months prior to the semester for which they are requesting residency.  Continuous physical presence is required.  Leaving Arizona for more than a total of 21 days during the 12 month period is not continuous physical presence.  Previous time spent in Arizona does not count towards physical presence, only the 12 months immediately prior to the semester for which the are requesting residency are relevant.

NOTE: Twelve (12) months of bank statements and pay stubs for domicile year may be requested to verify physical presence.

2. Intent to Establish Arizona as the Permanent Home

A must must demonstrate that their intent is to establish Arizona as their permanent home and that they have severed ties with their previous state.  Intent is demonstrated by the following:

To be eligible for classification as a resident for tuition purposes, you must provide clear and convincing evidence of continuous physical presence in the state of Arizona for the 12 months which precede the term in question. This 12-month period is referred to as a domicile year. The domicile years for future semesters are as follows:

a. Financial Independence

A person must show that during the previous two tax years that they have not been claimed as a tax dependent on anyone's taxes and that they had reasonable self generated income to meet all their own tuition and living expenses.  All financial ties to outside sources must be severed.  This includes health and auto insurance.  Reliance upon non-Arizona resources for financial support is an inference of residency in another state. Students are generally not considered financially independent during the tax years that they are in high school regardless of how taxes are filed.

b. Arizona Driver's License and Motor Vehicle Registration

State law requires that legal residents of Arizona obtain equivalent identification and register any vehicle they operate in Arizona immediately.  State law does not allow for a grace period. Equivalent identification means that a person with a driver's license in another state is required to obtain a driver's license in Arizona.  However is a state identification card is all that a person has that is all they are required to obtain.

c. Other indices of intent to establish Arizona as the permanent home include:

The paying and filing of Arizona state taxes, the transference of banking and all permanent addresses to Arizona, and other indications of permanence in Arizona. The ownership of property will not grant residency for tuition purposes.

A student must couple his or her physical presence within Arizona for twelve months with clear and convincing objective evidence to make Arizona his or her permanent home. Actions used to indicate intent must be accomplished at the beginning of, and maintained throughout, the domicile year. Any delay may be considered as evidence of the lack of such intent.

ABOR policy presumes that a non-resident student's presence in Arizona is primarily for the purpose of education and not to establish domicile, and that the decisions of an individual as to the intent to establish domicile are generally made after the completion of an education and not before.  A person who is attending school full time, is employed only part time, does not file state taxes, is supported by out of state sources, or who is supported entirely by financial aid and student loans will be considered a student and not a resident for tuition purposes.

The key to demonstrating that a person meets the residency requirements is documentation.  The documentation must be clear and convincing, leaving no question as to its intent.  Some items are generally not useful in residency determination. Documents such as letters from family or friends, cell phone bills, or utility bills are generally not useful as they do not objectively demonstrate a person meets the residency requirements.

Exceptions to the Twelve Month Rule

All of these exceptions MUST be verified through Residency Classification Office by the petition process. There are several approved exceptions. These approved exceptions only waive the twelve-month physical presence requirement.  As these are exceptions to the requirements they must be followed closely.  You may be eligible for resident status without waiting twelve months, if one of the following applies on or before the appropriate deadline:

Dependent of an Arizona Resident

A student may possibly qualify if they are a dependent of a parent who is a permanent resident of Arizona. The parent must be a permanent resident of Arizona. Students must be eligible to be claimed as a qualifying child for the most recent tax year. Reliance on other family members, friends, or significant others who may be residents of Arizona does not qualify a person for this exception

Company Transfer

A student who is an employee, or spouse of an employee, who has had a mandatory transfer to Arizona by their employer specifically for employment purposes, may possibly qualify.

This exception does NOT apply in the following situations:
- New hire / Rehire
- Self-employment
- A Family owned/operated business
- Recruitment by an Arizona employer, or
- An Employee-initiated transfer

Part time or seasonal employees do not qualify under this exception.

Military

A student may qualify if they are a member of the military or the spouse/dependent of a member of the military and:

The military member is currently stationed in Arizona, or Arizona is the military member's home of record and Arizona has remained his/her state of legal residence, as demonstrated by the continuous filing of Arizona state income taxes, or The military member is attached to the Arizona National Guard or an Arizona Reserve unit, or
Arizona is not the military member's home of record, but the state of legal residence was changed to Arizona twelve months prior to the start of the semester for which residency is requested.

Inactive Ready Reserve, ROTC, or military members with no affiliation to Arizona cannot use this exception.

Military Dependents*
For additional verification purposes, students who are military dependents must also submit (in addition to their military identification card) one of the following:

• social security card,
• birth certificate,
• Arizona driver's license, or
• US passport.

Honorably discharged military personnel who have changed their legal residence to Arizona one year prior to their discharge, should contact the Residency Classification Office directly.

Spouse of an AZ Resident

If the student's spouse can document that they meet the residency requirements, the student may be eligible for resident status for tuition purposes.  The marriage must be recognized by the state of Arizona, i.e. common law marriages and domestic partnerships do not qualify for this exception.

Native American

If the student is a member of a Native American tribe whose reservation land lies whole or in part in Arizona and is a resident of such a reservation, the student may qualify for reclassification. Merely being of Native American descent does not grant residency for tuition purposes.  This is a geographical not a cultural exception.

Teachers under Contract / Full-Time Non-Certified Classroom Aides

A student that is under contract with an Arizona school district to teach full-time, or be a full-time non-certified classroom aide, may be eligible to pay resident tuition only for courses required for Arizona teaching certification. This does not grant residency but allows the student to pay resident tuition for those classes needed for certification and must be renewed each semester. Student teachers do not qualify under this exception.

NOTE: Residency eligibility for visa holders is complex.  Please call the residency office for more information.