Under Texas state law, an applicant or enrolled student is classified either as a resident of Texas, a nonresident, or a foreign student. Residency for admission and tuition purposes at a public college or university in Texas is different from residency for voting or taxing purposes.
To qualify as a Texas resident, an individual who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident immigrant must live in Texas for at least 12 consecutive months and establish a domicile as required under the residency rules. For information on how you can establish a domicile in Texas please refer to the Residency FAQ. An applicant or student who is claimed as a dependent on a parent's most recent federal tax return will be classified based on the parent's qualifications for residency.
International students eligible to establish legal domicile in Texas may also qualify for Texas resident status; see the Residency FAQ for details.
An individual's residency classification is based on information from his or her admission application. If an applicant or student is classified as a nonresident and wishes to be reclassified as a resident, it is necessary to submit a Residency Core Questions form, which provides more detailed background information than is available from the admission application.
For answers to specific residency questions, to obtain a Core Questions form, or to contact the residency counselor, see the Residency FAQ.
Complete tuition/admission residency regulations for the State of Texas can be downloaded (in PDF format) from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
