What is Florida Residency?
Residency refers to whether you are an in-state Florida resident or an out-of-state resident. This classification is important since it determines your tuition rate. Students who are eligible for Florida residency for tuition purposes pay a much lower tuition rate. See the current rates.
Florida Residency for Tuition Purposes
All students will be admitted as non-Florida residents until each student provides the required Florida Residency form and supporting documentation needed to prove Florida residency. For students who do not submit the required documentation and still register for classes, tuition will be charged at the out-of-state rate.
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Eligibility
To be eligible for in-state tuition, you or your parents or legal guardian must have been a Florida resident, as defined by state law for tuition purposes, for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the first day of the term. To qualify, you must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident alien, or a legal alien granted indefinite stay by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Florida residency for tuition purposes is different from establishing general Florida residency. It is important to know that living in or attending school in Florida will not, in itself, establish legal residence for tuition purposes. Additionally, students who depend on out-of-state parents for support are presumed to be legal residents of the same state as their parents.
Non-U.S. Citizens
A non-U.S. citizen may be eligible to establish residency for tuition purposes if evidence is presented verifying that the individual is legally present in the United States, has met the residency requirements, and the person is one of the following:
- A permanent resident alien, parolee, asylee, Cuban-Haitian entrant, or other legal alien granted an indefinite stay in the United States. The student, and parent if the student is a dependent, must present evidence of legal presence in the United States.
- A foreign national in a nonimmigrant visa classification that grants the person the legal ability to establish and maintain a bona fide domicile in the United States according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
NOTE: If you don’t meet the 12-month legal residency requirement or are unable to provide the required documents, you may be able to qualify for in-state tuition through alternative means by meeting one of the statutory exceptions or you may be eligible to have the out-of-state portion of your tuition waived.
Rules and Regulations
All students who are admitted to a public College or University in Florida must complete an affidavit and provide proof of residency for tuition purposes in accordance with state law in order to pay “in-state” tuition.
The Florida Residency for Tuition Purposes policy is based upon state statute, rules of the two higher education governing boards in Florida, and statewide guidelines developed by college and university administrators in conjunction with the Statewide Residency Committee and the Florida Department of Education.
Residency Guidelines
This Residency Guidelines document was adopted by the Articulation Coordinating Committee to assist college and university administrators in implementing Section 1009.21, Florida Statutes; Rules 6A-10.044 and 6A-20.003, Florida Administrative Code; and the Board of Governors (BOG) Residency Regulation. The guidelines, as maintained by the Statewide Residency Committee, are used to determine residency status for tuition purposes in public colleges and universities. Section 1009.21, F.S., Determination of resident status for tuition purposes, was amended during the 2010 legislative session.
The Guidelines on Florida Residency for Tuition Purposes were adopted by the Articulation Coordinating Committee September 6, 2006 and last updated October 28, 2015.