Residency Topics

Absence due to military/civil service

Washington residents who enter military/civil service while domiciled in Washington, or persons who establish a domicile while stationed here for a period of at least one year, will remain residents while stationed outside of Washington if they return within one year of discharge/end of service with the intent to be domiciled in Washington. Please see our military residency for information.

Absence for educational purposes only

Students who are Washington residents and have been out of Washington to attend an out-of-state college or university, need to submit a completed Residence Questionnaire to our office along with the following additional documentation.

• Verification that they resided in Washington for a minimum of one year prior to leaving the state to attend school.
• Verification from the out-of-state college or university that they were enrolled as a nonresident and paid nonresident tuition. (If you were enrolled in a private school, provide verification of enrollment.)
• Proof that they maintained all ties with Washington (such as driver's license, vehicle registration, bank accounts, voter's registration, property, etc.) and did not take steps to establish a domicile in another state.

Establishing A Bona Fide Domicile

The advice from the Office of the Attorney General, Education Division concerning presumption is that before domicile is established, an individual must do everything a resident of Washington is required to do (please see below).

To establish domicile in the state of Washington, students must provide documentation showing they meet the following guidelines:

Once the individual is in full compliance with all of Washington's requirements for residency, then they, as of that final date of compliance, have established domicile. Once domicile is established, the student is eligible for in-state tuition 12 months from the date of arrival if all legal ties were in place within 30 days. This is because the Washington statute says that domicile must be in existence for one year immediately prior to the first day of the quarter for which the student wants to be classified as a resident.

Examples of other factors that may help students establish proof of domicile include: disposition of property in the former state of residence, relocation of household members, participation in local community organizations, and generally becoming involved in activities that will help prove their intent to make Washington their official place of residence.

Residency Affidavit Requirements

The criteria of the affidavit has been revised. Beginning Summer 2022, The Washington residence must be primarily for purposes other than college. Students enrolled for more than 6 credits during the first 12 months in Washington are presumed to be here primarily for educational purposes. This means that students who immediately start college after moving to Washington as out-of-state students cannot be considered a resident student at a new college after 12 months of living in Washington, unless they can show conclusively that they are not here primarily for educational purposes.

Students qualify for residency if they meet all of the following conditions:

1. Received a high school diploma (or equivalent).
2. Maintain a primary residence in Washington for at least 12 consecutive months immediately before your first term at the college determining residency. The Washington residence must be for purposes other than college. If you take any courses at another Washington college during the prior 12 months, you cannot have taken more than six credits in any given term. If you exceed that limit you must prove that you have a Washington residence for non-college reasons.
3. Affirm that they are a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or that they will file an application to become a permanent resident of the United States as soon as they are eligible to apply.

Students who meet all of the above criteria should complete and submit the updated Washington Higher Education Residency Affidavit. Note: Please sign the form in ink or provide an Adobe Signature. If you have already completed the WASFA application, you do not need to submit this duplicated affidavit.  

Submitting a Residency Affidavit

Return the form to:

*Students who apply to multiple campuses will need to submit an affidavit to each campus.

_Disclaimer:

_{The information in this section is current as of 06/18/2021. The University of Washington reserves the right to update or remove this page as necessary for clarity and/or to reflect changes to residency law or university policies. This website is intended as guidance only and students are advised to refer to the Washington state laws on residency for current statutes and additional information. See RCW Chapter 28B.15, WAC Chapter 250-18, and WAC Chapter 478-160.}

_{The UW Tacoma Office of the Registrar will administer residency determinations in accordance with the current law at the time of application.}

Financially Dependent Students

Dependent students are financially dependent upon someone else, and/or claimed on their parents’/legal guardians’ latest tax returns. If you are determined to be a financially dependent student, residency will be determined based on your parent’s/legal guardian’s domicile information and supporting documentation, not yours. Note: a married student applying for residency should apply as a financially independent student.

• Complete and sign the Dependent Residence Questionnaire.

Students who are financially dependent upon parents or legal guardians (provide court documentation verifying the guardianship is valid) must provide documentation to prove their parents/legal guardians have established a bona fide domicile in the state of Washington. Students must also provide documentation to show they are dependents claimed by the parents/legal guardians on the most recent U.S. Federal Income Tax return.

Students whose parents or legal guardians are either divorced or legally separated may be classified as residents if the following conditions are met:

• The students are claimed as a dependent on the most recent U.S. Federal Income Tax return by one of the parents/legal guardians.
• At least one parent or legal guardian has established a bona fide domicile in the State of Washington.

The students and parents/legal guardians will then fill out the Residence Questionnaire (students will complete the first page and the parents/legal guardians will do the second). All of the required documentation will be from the parents/legal guardians, not from the students.

Financially Independent Students

Independent students are not financially dependent upon someone else, or claimed on their parent’s/legal guardians’ latest tax returns. If you are determined to be a financially independent student, residency will be based upon your domicile information and supporting documentation. If you are applying as financially independent, you must also document your financial independence.

• Complete and sign the Independent Residence Questionnaire.

Students whose parents or court-appointed legal guardians do not reside in Washington can only obtain residency by fulfilling the requirements as a financially independent student. Students must complete and sign the Residence Questionnaire form (both pages) and provide all documentation as requested on the Residence Questionnaire and the Financially Independent Student Documentation Checklist. 

In addition to documentation that the student has met all requirements for bona fide residency, the following is required for financially independent students:

To establish a bona fide domicile, financially independent students must complete all basic requirements that a legal Washington resident is required to do by law.

Examples of other factors that might help students establish proof of domicile include the disposition of property in the former state of residence, relocation of household members, and generally becoming involved in activities that will help prove their intent to make Washington their official state of residence.

All domicile must be established at least one year immediately prior to the first day of the quarter the student is seeking residency. Once the individual is in full compliance with all of Washington State's requirements for residency, then s/he, as of that final date of compliance, has established domicile and is eligible to apply for residency. It is the student's responsibility to request a change in residency status once all requirements have been met.

The following non-US citizenship statuses are eligible to establish and apply for residency for tuition purposes through the Residence Questionnaire. Newly admitted students who are non-citizens should first determine if they may qualify through the Residency Affidavit.

Tuition Reduction for Non-Resident Refugees and Asylees

You are eligible to pay reduced tuition and fees if you are classified as a refugee/asylee by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Your spouse and dependent children are also eligible for this exemption.

The reduction does not classify you as a Washington state resident; however, it reduces the amount of the nonresident portion of tuition. The waiver is restricted to persons who reside in Washington state and to four (4) consecutive quarters from their arrival in Washington state. For additional information, please refer to the Washington Administrative Code (WAC), section 478-160-163.

Complete the application section below and attach a copy of your I-94 form, Departure Record, and documentation that attests to your arrival in Washington state. If you are requesting the exemption on behalf of your child or spouse, you must also attach verification of their status, e.g., marriage or birth certificate, top portion of tax return, etc.

Return the application via the Secure Document Upload at the UW Tacoma Registrar's Office.

Tuition Reduction for Non-Resident Refugees and Asylee Application Form

American Indian students who meet the following two conditions are eligible to pay resident tuition at colleges and universities in the state of Washington:

• For a period of one year immediately prior to enrollment at a state institution of higher education, students must have been domiciled in one or a combination of the following states: Idaho, Montana, Oregon, or Washington.
• Students must be a member of one of the federally recognized Indian tribes, as determined under Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations (25CFR), whose traditional and customary tribal boundaries included portions of the state of Washington, or whose tribe was granted reserved lands within the state of Washington.

Review Federally Recognized Tribes Eligible for Resident Tuition in Washington State for a complete list of eligible tribes.

If you qualify under these conditions, please download the Resident Tuition for American Indian Students form.