Residency

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Hawaiʻi Residency Requirements

The University of Hawaiʻi, like all public institutions of higher learning, has residency requirements for payment of resident tuition. These requirements, similar to those of other states, are complex.

Consequently, students applying to the University often have questions about their residency status as it applies to tuition. The following section is designed to acquaint you with the University of Hawaiʻis residency regulations and to answer some of the questions you may have. The following information is not a complete explanation of the residency rules and regulations. Furthermore, residency rules may change as a result of legislation or administrative action. Residency officers on all campuses have up-to-date information on all aspects of residency. Review the Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules Title 20, Chapter 4 document for more detailed information.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean when asked if I will be 17 years or younger, or 18 years or older when I enroll at the University of Hawaiʻi System?

How do I answer from which date I (or my parent or legal guardian) claim legal residence in Hawaiʻi?

What are the residency requirements which determine whether I pay resident or non-resident tuition?

To qualify for resident tuition, you must have been a bona fide resident of Hawaiʻi for at least one calendar year (365 days) prior to the academic term (e.g., fall semester) for which you want resident tuition status. This applies to adults 18 years of age or older. If you are a minor (under 18 years of age), your parents or court-ordered guardians must have been bona fide residents for the calendar year in question.

In addition, whether you are an adult or minor, you must not have been claimed as a dependent for tax purposes by your parents or court-ordered guardians for the calendar year in question if they are not legal residents of Hawai'i. Please check with the campus residency officer if you have any further questions on residency for tuition purposes.

Alternatively, you may qualify for resident tuition if you graduated from a high school in the state of Hawaii within two years preceding the first day of the semester when you will be enrolling at the campus.

What do you mean by "bona fide residence?"

What else should I know about Hawaiʻi's residency requirements?

Except as otherwise provided by the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents, in order to be considered a resident for tuition purposes, you should understand the following:

In order to be considered a bona fide resident of Hawaiʻi for tuition purposes, you must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident of the United States.
You cannot maintain a domicile in Hawaiʻi and in another place simultaneously. In other words, you cannot be a bona fide resident of Hawaiʻi if you appear to maintain your domicile somewhere else at the same time.
The one-calendar-year (twelve consecutive months) period begins when your first overt action is taken to make Hawaiʻi your permanent residence (i.e., start employment, register to vote, purchase property, or get a general excise license).
You cannot establish residency by simply being enrolled in school. If you are a non-resident student and enrolled in six or more credits at your institution, it is presumed that you are living in Hawaiʻi primarily to attend school, and your presence is temporary even if you live in Hawaiʻi during vacation and other breaks from study. You may overcome this presumption only by other actions which demonstrate your permanent physical residence in Hawaiʻi.

I heard that some non-residents pay resident tuition. Is this true?

Yes, state of Hawaiʻi law recognizes several categories of non-resident students who are allowed to pay resident tuition:

United States military personnel, their spouses, and their authorized dependents (up to age 23) during the period the military personnel are stationed in Hawaiʻi on active duty.
Members of the Hawaiʻi National Guard or Hawaiʻi-based Reserve who are under contract in Hawaiʻi.
Certain employees of the University of Hawaiʻi, their spouses, and dependents.
East-West Center student grantees pursuing baccalaureate or advanced degrees at the University of Hawaiʻi.
Native Hawaiians whose domicile is outside of Hawaiʻi.
Veterans eligible to use Post9/11 GI Bill, or Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty Program educational benefits per the Isakson and Roe Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 (P.L.116-315), who live in Hawai‘i and those who subsequently move but maintain continuous enrollment.
Individuals eligible to use transferred Post 9/11 GI Bill educational benefits per the Isakson and Roe Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 (P.L.116-315), who live in Hawai‘i and those who subsequently move but maintain continuous enrollment.
Individuals eligible to use educational benefits under the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship, who live in Hawai‘i and those who subsequently move but maintain continuous enrollment.
Individuals eligible to use educational assistance under the Survivors’ or Dependents’ Educational Assistance (Chapter 35) program, who live in Hawai‘i and those who subsequently move but maintain continuous enrollment.
Veterans with service-connected disabilities who are eligible for benefits provided for in Title 38, U.S. Code, Chapter 31, otherwise known as the Veteran Readiness and Employment or VR&E (formerly called Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment) program, who live in Hawai‘i and those who subsequently move but maintain continuous enrollment.
Graduate (GA), teaching (TA), and research (RA) assistants, as a function of their appointment to an assistantship.
Ph.D. students registering for only one credit hour of a dissertation course.
As required by federal law (Section 209(b)(1)(E) of Title II of Division G of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, Public Law No. 118-42), students who are citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

In addition, the University of Hawaiʻi also allows citizens of certain Pacific islands that do not have baccalaureate-granting public institutions to pay 150 percent of the resident tuition. Review a list of the Pacific Islands jurisdictions for more information.

For more information, review the following policies:

Can I attend school and establish residency for tuition purposes at the same time?

Yes, but there is a credit restriction during the one calendar year (365 days) during which you are establishing residency. You are limited to taking only five semester credits each semester at any school in Hawaiʻi. If you are enrolled in more than five credits during the term you are seeking to include in establishing residency, you will be considered as being in Hawaiʻi to attend school and not to make Hawaiʻi your residence. You may take online/distance learning courses that are offered in a different state, but you must pay that institution's non-resident tuition rate.

I intend to live in Hawaiʻi permanently and would like to establish residency. What should I do first?

Who determines my residency status?

Each University of Hawaiʻi campus has a Residency Officer who oversees and determines the resident or non-resident status of all students at that campus. All residency decisions are based on Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules Title 20, Chapter 4: Determination of Residency as Applied to Tuition and Admission. If the residency process seems somewhat rigorous and detailed, it is because residency officers, by law, must be precise in determining a student’s residency status.

If you’re already attending the University as a non-resident and believe that you now qualify for resident tuition, you must request to be re-classified. Please contact the campus residency officer to discuss your specific situation.