Residence for Tuition Purposes: Minors

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Several general and specific rules for residence apply to minors and their guardians. For information about minor aliens, see Noncitizens and Aliens.

Parent's Residence

For an unmarried minor (under age 18 by the residence determination date [RDD]) student, the residence of the parent with whom the minor lives is considered to be the student's residence. If the student has a parent living, the student cannot change residence by his or her own act, by the appointment of a legal guardian, or by the relinquishment of the parent's right of control. If the minor lives with neither parent, his or her residence is that of the parent with whom he or she last lived. Unless the student is a minor alien present in the U.S. under the terms of a nonimmigrant visa which precludes the student from establishing a domicile in the U.S., the student's own residence may be established when both parents are deceased and a legal guardian has not been appointed. If the student derives residence from a parent, that parent must satisfy the UC residence requirement.

Moves to or from California

A student who is a minor (under age 18 by the RDD) with a California resident parent and moves to California to begin residing with that parent prior to his or her 18th birthday, may be eligible for classification as a resident for tuition purposes.

A student who is a minor (under age 18 by the RDD) whose parents were California residents who have moved to another state, who remains in California and enrolls in a California post-secondary institution within one year of his or her parents' departure, may be eligible for classification as a resident for tuition purposes.

Self-Support

A student who is a minor (under age 18 by the RDD) who is entirely self-supporting and lives in California for more than one year immediately prior to the RDD may be eligible for classification as a resident for tuition purposes.

Divorced or Separated Parents

If the student turns 18 while residing with a California nonresident parent, he or she will be considered a nonresident of California. If the student has a California resident parent who meets the UC residence requirement, and the student is a dependent of that parent, he or she may be eligible for exemption from nonresident tuition under the dependent child of a California resident exemption.

Two-Year Care and Control Rule

A student who is a minor (under age 18 by the RDD) may be entitled to resident classification if, immediately prior to enrolling in a post-secondary institution, he or she has been living with and been under the continuous direct care and control of an adult or adults other than a parent for a period of not less than two years. The adult or adults having control must have been residents of California during the one year immediately prior to the RDD. This classification will continue until the student has reached 18 years of age and has lived in the state the minimum time necessary to become a resident, so long as continuous full-time attendance is maintained at a post-secondary institution.