Select responses to questions regarding your residency status at the time of completing the application. If you have any updates after you submit your application, please contact the campus directly:
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.
Identify if you will be 17 years or younger, or 18 years or older when you begin taking courses. You can compare the first date of the term you begin and your age at that time.
Select the date you began your residency in Hawaiʻi. If you were born in Hawaiʻi and didn't reside elsewhere, select your date of birth.
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.
Bona fide residence is similar to the legal concept of domicile. A person’s domicile is the place where that person lives permanently and returns to after any absence. To be a bona fide resident of Hawaiʻi, you must be physically present in the state and demonstrate during the calendar year in question your intent to make Hawaiʻi your permanent residence. Please check with the campus residency officer if you have any further questions on residency for tuition purposes.
Intent for resident tuition purposes is based not on your future actions, but on what you have done in the immediate past (i.e., prior to the academic term (e.g., fall semester) for which you want resident tuition status). No single action will demonstrate your intent. The University will look for a combination of actions when evaluating your residency status.
Of all the possible actions you might take, the most important are: (1) filing a Hawaiʻi resident personal income tax form; and (2) registering to vote and voting in Hawaiʻi.
Other actions may be considered. These include: (1) ownership or continuous lease of a home in Hawaiʻi; (2) permanent or continuous employment in Hawaiʻi; (3) presence of spouse, children, and other close relatives in Hawaiʻi; (4) having a Hawaiʻi State driver's license or Hawaiʻi State identification card issued at least twelve months preceding the residency determination date, and/or any other clear and compelling evidence of bona fide residency for at least twelve consecutive months immediately preceding the residency determination date as determined by the residency officer of your home campus.
Of course, you may report any other actions that you wish to have considered. Please contact your home campus residency officer to discuss your specific situation.
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:
Yes, State of Hawaiʻi law recognizes several categories of non-resident students who are allowed to pay resident tuition:
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:
For more information, review the following policies:
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.
Because everyone’s situation is different, please contact the campus admissions office to discuss your specific situation.
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.
There is an appeal process. You may contact the campus admissions office for information regarding appealing your residency decision.
Detailed information is available in Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules Title 20, Chapter 4 (PDF).
If you have more questions or would like to learn more, please contact the campus admissions office to discuss your specific situation.