How to establish residency

Enrolled nonresident students seeking reclassification are advised to contact their campus residency deputy for assistance in evaluating their situation and in identifying the appropriate next steps.

Dependent Undergraduates: If you’re a nonresident undergraduate student with nonresident parents, obtaining California residency for the purposes of tuition is extremely difficult (this includes transfer students from community colleges and other postsecondary institutions within California). Virtually all nonresident undergraduates with nonresident parents remain nonresidents for the duration of their undergraduate career at UC.

Steps Toward Reclassification for Graduate and Independent Students

1. Establish Physical Presence - you must be continuously physically present in California for more than one year (366 days) immediately prior to the residence determination date.
2. Acquire Intent - You must demonstrate your intent to stay in California by relinquishing ties to your former state and establishing legal ties to California.
3. Statement of Legal Residence - you must file a new Statement of Legal Residence for the term in which you will meet residency requirements.

If you're seeking reclassification you should move forward with acquiring intent as soon as possible upon relocation to California, making sure to abide by the intent deadlines for the term.

Here how to establish intent:

• State of California Driver License or State of California Identification Card for nondrivers and the relinquishment of driver licenses or ID cards issued by other states;
• Valid voter registration in California, if legally eligible to register;
• State of California car registration for all motor vehicles owned by Students and/or Parents in the case of dependent students;
• State of California tax return filed as “resident” status effective with date of declared California residency; state and federal tax transcripts may be requested. Tax returns amended after the submission of a Statement of Legal Residence, Petition for Reclassification, or issuance of a Nonresident Classification will not be accepted for the RDD term being evaluated.

You will need to relinquish out-of-state ties and demonstrate intent while simultaneously meeting the physical presence requirement.

Absences from California

In order to demonstrate intent, it is important to stay in California during non-academic periods. If you’re a nonresident student who is in the process of establishing California residency, and you leave California for more than one month during the summer before the term in which you are establishing resident status, your intent will be questioned. Absences exceeding 6 weeks during the one-year qualification period are disqualifying.

Graduate and professional degree students who must leave for non-academic related reasons for more than a month during the summer should contact their campus residence deputy to seek advice prior to leaving and filing for classification.