Eligible Non-Citizens
The following non-US citizenship statuses are eligible to establish and apply for residency for tuition purposes through the Residence Questionnaire.
Permanent U.S. Residents
Upon final approval for Permanent Resident immigrant status, students are eligible to apply for Washington State residency if they meet the following criteria:
- Application for adjustment to Permanent Resident immigrant status (I-485) was filed at least 12 months prior to the beginning of the quarter of application.
- Established bona fide domicile (with the exception of registering to vote).
Reference: Residency Requirements.
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival)
Upon final approval for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status, students are eligible to apply for Washington State residency if they meet the following criteria:
- Application for adjustment to DACA status (I-821D) was filed at least 12 months prior to the beginning of the quarter of application.
- Established bona fide domicile (with the exception of registering to vote).
Reference: Residency Requirements.
Students must provide a copy of the I-797 notice, issued by USCIS, verifying approval of DACA (I-821D). The Employment Authorization Card (EAC) or I-797 notice of approval for the EAC (I-765) will not suffice.
Please review example of the I-797 notice of approval of DACA (I-821D).
Note for all DACA students: When completing the Residence Questionnaire, students should note “DACA” at the top of the form. For section 1, students may disregard questions 5a, 5b, and 5c by checking “No” in each box.
International Students
Students with qualifying Visa status or dependents of a qualifying visa holder may be eligible for residency for tuition purposes.
At the direction of the UW Regents,
the waiver program was discontinued effective July 1, 2012. Graduate and Professional students who were admitted to the University and began enrollment Autumn 2012 and after cannot obtain in-state tuition through this waiver program.
Graduate and Professional students admitted and enrolled prior to July 1, 2012 who are currently receiving the waiver may continue to apply for it as long as they maintain continuous enrollment status and submit a Residence Questionnaire every year until graduation from the program.
Residency for Graduate and Professional Students
The process for Graduate and Professional students to establish and document residency in the state of Washington is the same as for undergraduate students. Please view the information for Financially Independent Students or Financially Dependent Students as applicable.
Residency Requirements for Externships and Internships
The following parameters are for Graduate and Professional students who plan to apply for residency for tuition purposes and leave the state for an internship or other educational opportunities prior to residing in Washington for 12 months.
To be considered, students must meet the following criteria:
- Prove that student’s absence is due to an internship, externship, study abroad, or temporary employment related to their educational study.
- Provide official verification from the department, school, or company/firm where the internship or externship is taking place.
- Registered for courses for the Autumn Quarter prior to leaving for the summer internship or externship.
- Provide verification of continued domicile in Washington such as signing a lease prior to leaving, storage of personal items, etc.
- Established and maintained all Washington legal ties and financial independence. Please reference Residency Requirements.
Students whose parents or court-appointed legal guardians do not reside in Washington can only obtain residency for tuition purposes 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.
Residence Questionnaire – Financially Independent [PDF]
To be considered as financially independent, students must meet all of the following criteria in addition to meeting all of the other bona fide residency requirements:
- Parents/legal guardians or others (except spouse) have not claimed and will not claim the student as a dependent on Federal Income Tax returns for the current and previous calendar years;
- Parents/legal guardians or others (except spouse) have not and will not provide the student with significant financial assistance, directly or indirectly, for the current and previous calendar years;
- Students have been and will be independently paying at least 51% of their combined total expenses (cost of attendance and room/board) with their own independent income/resources for the current calendar year and previous calendar year.
Students by Age
25 Years of Age or Younger (Married/Domestic Partnership)
Students who are receiving significant financial assistance from a spouse or registered domestic partner may qualify as financially independent as long as the marriage or domestic partnership has been in place for at least one calendar year prior to the quarter of application for residency for tuition purposes. Documentation of marital or domestic partnership and financial information must be provided.
Students who are receiving significant financial assistance from someone other than their spouse or registered domestic partner will be considered financially dependent regardless of their marital or domestic partnership status if they do not meet the three criteria of financial independence.
25 Years of Age or Older
Students that are 25 years of age (for the entire academic year prior to the quarter of application) and older may be presumed financially independent unless there is evidence proving otherwise. In this situation, students may not be required to provide information from their parent/legal guardians; however, they are still required to provide their own financial information.
Students who are financially dependent upon parents, legal guardians, or others (excepting spouses) must provide documentation to prove their parents/court-appointed legal guardians have established a bona fide domicile in the state of Washington. Documentation of financial dependence is also required. To be considered, students and parents/legal guardians must have a qualifying citizenship/immigration status to apply.
Please review Residency Requirements (items #1 and #2).
The student and parent(s)/legal guardian(s) will need to complete the Residence Questionnaire. The student’s information will be completed on page one. The parent’s/legal guardian’s information will be completed on page two (Section 3). Both student and parent(s)/legal guardian(s) must sign and date the Statement of Intent (page two). The student should not sign the Student Sworn Statement (page one).
- In cases of legal guardianship, documentation is required to verify the guardianship is court-appointed.
- Dependents of parents/legal guardians who are either divorced or legally separated may be classified as residents as long as the dependent student demonstrates financial dependence (claimed as a dependent exemption on income taxes for the most recent tax year or shows actual financial dependence) and at least one parent/legal guardian has established bona fide domicile in Washington State. This process requires documentation of (1) bona fide legal domicile from the Washington resident parent/legal guardian and (2) taxes from the person who claimed the student or documentation of the significant financial support received by the student in the current and/or previous calendar year.
- The documentation of bona fide legal domicile will be of the parent/legal guardian signing the residency application (not a combination of documents between two parents/legal guardians).
Married students are to complete their residency application as a financially independent applicant unless they are significantly financially dependent on someone other than their spouse.
Residence Questionnaire – Financially Dependent [PDF]