Residency:

Classification of Students—
Florida or Non-Florida

(Section 6C–7.005, Florida Administrative Code)

The deadline for applying for a change in residency status – with all documentation – is each term’s fee payment deadline.

(1) For the purpose of assessing tuition, residency and nonresidency status shall be determined as provided in Section 240.1201, Florida Statutes, and the Florida State University System Residency Policy and Procedure manual, incorporated by reference herein.

(a) To be classified as a "resident for tuition purposes," a person, or, if a dependent child, the child's parent or parents, shall have established legal residence in Florida and shall have maintained legal residence in Florida for at least twelve (12) months immediately prior to his or her qualification. A dependent child is a person who may be claimed by his or her parent as a dependent under the Federal Income Tax Code. Every applicant for admission to a university shall be required to make a statement as to the length of residence in the state and, shall also establish his or her presence, or, if a dependent child, the presence of his or her parent or parents, in the state for the purpose of maintaining a bona fide domicile in accordance with the provisions of Section 240.1201(2)(b), Florida Statutes.

(b) With respect to a dependent child, the legal residence of such individual's parent or parents shall be prima facie evidence of the individual's legal residence in accordance with the provisions of Section 240.1201(4), Florida Statutes. Prima Facie evidence may be reinforced or rebutted by evidence of residency, age, and the general circumstances of the individual in accordance with the provisions of Rule 6C-7.005(2).

(c) In making domiciliary determinations related to the classification of persons as residents or non-residents for tuition purposes, the domicile of a married person, irrespective of sex, shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Section 240.1201(5), Florida Statutes.

(d) Any non-resident person, irrespective of sex, who marries a legal resident of this state or marries a person who later becomes a legal resident, may, upon becoming a legal resident of this state, accede to the benefit of the spouse's immediately precedent duration as a legal resident for purposes of satisfying the 12-month durational requirement.

(e) No person shall lose his or her resident status for tuition purposes solely by reason of serving, or, if a dependent child, by reason of the parent or parents serving, in the Armed Forces outside this state.

(f) A person who has been properly classified as a resident for tuition purposes, but who, while enrolled in an institution of higher education in this state, loses resident tuition status because the person, or, if a dependent child, the parent or parents, establish domicile or legal residence elsewhere, shall continue to enjoy the resident tuition rate for a statutory grace period. This grace period shall be measured in accordance with the provisions of Section 240.1201(8), Florida Statutes.

g) The legal residence of a dependent child whose parents are divorced, separated, or otherwise living apart shall be deemed to be Florida if either parent is a legal resident of Florida, regardless of which parent is entitled to claim, and does in fact claim, the minor as a dependent pursuant to federal individual income tax provisions.

(h) Any person who ceases to be enrolled at or graduates from an institution of higher education while classified as a resident for tuition purposes and who subsequently abandons Florida domicile shall be permitted to reenroll at an institution of higher education in this state as a resident for tuition purposes in accordance with the provisions of Section 240.1201(10), Florida Statutes.

(i) A member of the Armed Forces on active duty stationed in Florida, and the spouse and dependents of such member, shall be classified as residents for tuition purposes.

(j) Full-time instructional and administrative personnel employed by state public schools, community colleges, and institutions of higher education, and the spouses and dependent children of such individuals, shall be classified as residents for tuition purposes.

(k) A student enrolled through the Florida Linkage Institutes program shall be assessed resident tuition for the credit hours approved by the applicable Linkage Institute and non-resident tuition for all other credit hours.

(l) A full-time student from Latin America or the Caribbean who receives a scholarship from federal or state government shall be classified as a resident for tuition purposes.

(m) Southern Regional Education Board's Academic Common Market graduate students shall be classified as residents for tuition
purposes.

(n) A full-time employee of a state agency or political subdivision of the state shall be classified as a resident for tuition purposes when the student's tuition is paid by the state agency or political subdivision for the purpose of job-related law enforcement or corrections training.

(o) United States citizens, their spouses, and dependent children living on the Isthmus of Panama, who have completed 12 consecutive months of college work at the Florida State University Panama Canal Branch shall be classified as residents for tuition purposes.

(p) McKnight Doctoral Fellows who are United States citizens shall be classified as residents for tuition purposes.

(2) An individual shall not be classified as a resident for tuition purposes and, thus, shall not be eligible to receive the resident tuition rate, until the individual has provided satisfactory evidence as to his or her legal residence and domicile to appropriate university officials. In determining residency, the university shall require evidence such as a voter registration, driver’s license, automobile registration, location of bank account, rent receipts and any other relevant materials as evidence that the applicant has maintained 12-months residence immediately prior to qualification as a bona fide domicile, rather than for the purpose of maintaining a mere temporary residence or abode incident to enrollment in an institution of higher learning. To determine if the student is a dependent child, the university shall require evidence such as copies of the aforementioned documents from parents and/or legal guardians. In addition, the university may require a copy of the parent’s IRS return. "Resident student" classification also shall be construed to include students to whom an Immigration Parolee card or a Form I-94 (Parole Edition) was issued at least one year prior to the first day of classes for which resident student status is sought, or who have had their resident alien status approved by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, or who hold an Immigration and Naturalization Form I-151, I-551 or a notice of an approved adjustment of status application, or Cuban Nationals or Vietnamese Refugees or other refugees or asylees so designated by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service who are considered as Resident Aliens, or other legal aliens, provided such students meet the residence requirements stated above and comply with subsection (4) below. The burden of establishing facts which justify classification of a student as a resident and domiciliary entitled to "resident for tuition purposes" registration rates is on the applicant for such classification.

(3) In applying this policy:

(a) "Student" shall mean a person admitted to the institution, or a person allowed to register at the institution on a space-available basis.

(b) "Domicile" shall denote a person’s true, fixed, and permanent home, and to which whenever the person is absent the person has the intention of returning.

(4) In all applications for admission or registration at the institution on a space-available basis a "resident for tuition purposes" applicant, or, if a dependent child, the parent of the applicant, shall make and file with such application a written statement that the applicant is a bona fide resident and domiciliary of the state of Florida, entitled as such to classification as a "resident for tuition purposes" under the terms and conditions prescribed for residents and domiciliaries of the state of Florida. All claims to "resident for tuition purposes" classification must be supported by evidence as stated in Rule 6C-7.005(1), (2) if requested by the registering authority.

(5) A "nonresident" or, if a dependent child, the individual’s parent, after maintaining a legal residence and being a bona fide domiciliary of Florida for twelve (12) months, immediately prior to enrollment and qualification as a resident, rather than for the purpose of maintaining a mere temporary residence of abode incident to enrollment in an institution for higher education, may apply for and be granted classification as a "resident for tuition purposes," provided, however, that those students who are nonresident aliens or who are in the United States on a non-immigration visa will not be entitled to reclassification. An application for reclassification as a "resident for tuition purposes" shall comply with provisions of subsection (4) above. An applicant who has been classified as a "nonresident for tuition purposes" at time of original enrollment shall furnish evidence as stated in 6C-7.005(1) to

the satisfaction of the registering authority that the applicant has maintained legal residency in the state for the twelve months immediately prior to qualification required to establish residence for tuition purposes. In the absence of such evidence, the applicant shall not be reclassified as a "resident for tuition purposes." It is recommended that the application for reclassification be accompanied by a certified copy of a declaration of intent to establish legal domicile in the state, which intent must have been filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court, as provided by Section 222.17, Florida Statutes. If the request for reclassification and the necessary documentation are not received by the fee payment deadline for the term, the student will not be reclassified for that term. Students who receive extensions to the fee payment deadline are not excused from the residency application deadline.

 

(6) An appeal to a determination that denied "residency for tuition purposes" may be initiated by filing a petition for review, pursuant to Section 120.68 Florida Statutes.

(7) Any student granted status as a "resident for tuition purposes," which status is based on a sworn statement which is false shall be subject, upon determination of such falsity, to such disciplinary sanctions as may be imposed by the president of the university.

Specific Authority 240.209(1), (3)(r) FS. Law Implemented 120.53(1)(a), 240.209(1), (3)(e), 240.233, 240.235, 240.1201, 240.137(5) FS. History — Formerly 6C-2.51, 11-18-70, Amended 8-20-71, 6-5-73, 3-4-74, Amended and Renumbered 12-17-74, Amended 1-13-76, 12-13-77, 8-11-81, 6-21-83, 12-14-83, 6-10-84, 10-7-85, 12-31-85, Previously numbered 6C-7.05, Amended 11-9-92, 4-16-96.