Financially Dependent Students

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 items #1 and #2 of the Residency Requirements.

The Financially Dependent Residence Questionnaire requires information from both the student and their Washington resident parent/legal guardian. The student must initiate the residency review process by starting an application through the online portal and providing parent contact information.

Once the student has submitted their portion of the application, the parent will receive a one-time link containing instructions to complete the parent section of the application and upload any necessary supporting documents.

Please review the Materials Requirements for the Financially Dependent application and prepare the corresponding materials in advance, as the parent form and uploads must be completed within one session. Once the parent form has been submitted, any additional materials should be uploaded by the student.

• 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).

Residence Questionnaire – Financially Dependent [PDF]

Establishing Bona Fide Domicile

Individuals must provide documentation showing they meet the following guidelines to establish WA domicile:

1. Physically reside in the state for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the first day of the quarter students are seeking residency.
2. A legal resident must also relinquish all valid legal ties with their former state/country of residence and affirmatively create legal ties and relationships in the state of Washington in accordance with state and local legislation.
   • Driver’s License/State ID: One must obtain a Washington State Driver’s License within 30 days of their arrival if they have a valid out-of-state driver’s license, including an international driver’s license. If an individual does not drive or possess a driver’s license from any state or country, they should obtain a Washington State Identification Card within 30 days of arrival.
   • Vehicle Registration: Individuals who own or operate a vehicle in Washington must have their vehicle registered in Washington within 30 days of their arrival.
   • Voter Registration: Individuals who have previously registered to vote in their former state of residence must register to vote in Washington. If one has registered to vote in another state and does not register to vote in Washington, this means they may still vote absentee in the prior state of residency. Permanent Resident cardholders or any other status with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) are exempt from registering to vote.
   • Establish a bank account in Washington: Existing bank account(s) prior to arriving in Washington is sufficient as long as one’s name and Washington address are associated with the account and documented.
   • Lease/home agreement

Students who are establishing bona fide domicile, as a financially independent student, must complete the following requirements in addition to the previously listed guidelines:

3. Students must demonstrate they are financially independent for the current calendar year for which they are applying for residency and the previous calendar year. This means they have and will be paying for the majority of their expenses (cost of attendance and room/board) with their own independent income and resources, that they are not and have not received significant financial assistance in any form, directly or indirectly, from parents, legal guardians, relatives, or others during that time period, and that they were not and will not be claimed as a dependent on anyone’s tax returns for the previous and current calendar years.
4. Students who are enrolled for seven (7) credits or more in any term during the period in which they are establishing bona fide legal domicile are presumed by law to be in Washington State for purposes of education. Students cannot qualify for resident tuition unless they can demonstrate conclusively that they have resided in Washington primarily for purposes other than education for a consecutive 12-month period. All domicile must be established prior to the start of this consecutive 12-month period. Examples of situations that can demonstrate a primarily non-educational purpose for residing in Washington include a student residing in the state due to full-time employment for themselves or a spouse/partner, or to take care of a family member. The burden of proof lies on the student to demonstrate they have conclusively overcome this presumption.

Examples of other factors that may help students establish proof of domicile include the disposition of property in the former state of residence, relocation of household members, and generally becoming involved in activities that will help prove their intent to make Washington their official state of residence.

All domicile must be established at least one year immediately prior to the first day of the quarter the student is seeking residency. Once the individual is in full compliance with all of Washington State’s requirements for residency for tuition purposes, then they, as of that final date of compliance, have established a domicile and are eligible to apply for residency for tuition purposes.

Residence Questionnaires

Beginning Winter 2026, the following forms will no longer be accepted. All information will be collected via the new residency application system.
Residence Questionnaire – Financially Dependent [PDF]
Residence Questionnaire – Financially Independent [PDF]

Residency by Campus

Residency review is campus-specific and details can be found at UW Bothell Residency and UW Tacoma Residency websites, respectively.

How to Apply for a Change in Residence Classification at UW Seattle

Autumn 2025 Applicants

Continue using the current submission portal to upload new applications, additional supporting documents, and appeals. The Autumn 2025 application deadline was October 23, 2025.

Winter 2026 Applicants

The Residence Classification Office will implement a new Residency Portal for submitting and reviewing residency applications. We are pleased to introduce this new system, which will streamline the application process by guiding applicants through residency questions, facilitating document uploads, and providing a checklist to track received materials and outstanding requirements.

Applicants may continue to use the existing Residency Affidavit and Residence Questionnaire forms as a reference for the information required. However, those forms will no longer be accepted once the new Residency Portal opens on December 5, 2025. All necessary information will be submitted through the new Residency Portal.

Residency Affidavit

Applicants who meet the requirements outlined in the Residency Affidavit should begin by submitting the affidavit instead of the Residence Questionnaire.

• Applicants must live in Washington for one (1) full year prior to the start of their current program; AND
• That Washington residence must be primarily for a purpose other than higher education; AND
• They must have a high school diploma or the equivalent – from anywhere; AND
• They must sign the certification with regard to citizenship or immigration status.

No supporting documents are required with the initial affidavit upload. However, students who have attended college for seven (7) or more credits in any term during the residency year should submit documentation showing the primary purpose for living in Washington state is something other than school.

Residence Questionnaire

Applicants who do not meet the requirements for the Residency Affidavit should review the requirements of the residency requirements and collect materials to upload in support of their application. Review the Materials Guide for details.

For the best experience and to avoid errors, it is highly recommended to complete this form on a desktop or laptop computer.

Supporting Documents

Documents and Filetypes

NEW! Each type of supporting document should be saved as a separate PDF file to facilitate uploading in response to the corresponding prompt.

• YES: Save driver’s license as one file.
• YES: Save all pay stubs in one file – in chronological order.
• YES: Save each lease as its own file.
• NO: Combine driver’s license and pay stubs together in one file.

Parent/Guardian Documents

NEW! Dependent students are required to submit their parent’s or guardian’s information and certification through the portal. Applications cannot be processed until the parent/guardian portion is completed.

Non-U.S. Citizen Documents

NEW! Non-U.S. citizens must schedule a Zoom appointment with the Residence Classification Office to show their Permanent Resident Card, I-94, visa, or other immigration status information to a staff member to confirm eligibility. Dependent students applying under a parent or legal guardian who is a non-U.S. citizen should coordinate with that parent and schedule a Zoom appointment when both the student and the parent can attend.

Application Completion Time

Assuming a student’s supporting documents are already scanned, organized, and ready to upload, the Residence Questionnaire application process is estimated to take approximately 30 minutes. Please note that the parent information form must be completed in one session. However, students are able to save and complete their applications at a later time.

Feedback

This is a new system! Feel free to contact the Residence Classification Office if you encounter any issues.

Deadlines & Process

All residency and tuition reduction forms are due by the 30th day after the quarter of application begins.

For winter, spring, and summer quarters, the UW Residence Classification Office submission portal will be open no earlier than 30 calendar days before the start of the quarter. For autumn quarter, the portal will open no earlier than 60 calendar days before the start of the quarter.

The residency review for a quarter begins approximately four weeks prior to the start of the quarter. Residency applications are reviewed in the order received and may take four to six weeks to process.

Students will receive an email receipt confirmation once the residency application has been received by the Residence Classification Office.

Incomplete Applications

Residency applications submitted without all necessary documentation, or cases in which the Residence Classification Office requests additional documentation due to unclear or ambiguous circumstances, must have all required paperwork received by the Office no later than the deadline specified in the request. If the documentation is received after the specified date, the application will be deemed incomplete and will not be subject to further review.

Additional Information

Processing Time: Contacting the Residence Classification Office to inquire about an application status decreases the time available for staff to process applications. Please help residency staff process applications in a timely manner by waiting six weeks before inquiring about application status. You can check the current status of your application by returning to the portal page. Everyone’s patience is greatly appreciated.

Other Application Forms

• American Indian Students: Resident tuition eligibility and request form
• Refugee, Asylee, Humanitarian Parolee Students: Tuition reduction eligibility and request form