General Information | 2005-2006

Appendix A

Residency Regulations

Under state statutes and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board rules and regulations interpreting them, a student or prospective student is classified as a resident of Texas, a nonresident, or a foreign student. A person who has lived in the state under circumstances specified in these rules is eligible for classification as a resident. A citizen, a national, or a permanent resident of the United States who does not meet resident criteria is classified a nonresident. An alien who is not a permanent resident of the United States and has not been permitted by Congress to adopt the United States as domicile while in this country is classified as a foreign student. An individual classified as a nonresident or foreign student may qualify, under certain exceptions specified in these rules, for resident tuition rates and other charges while continuing to be classified as a nonresident or a foreign student. The Coordinating Board's Rules and Regulations: Determining Residence Status are available online.

A student entering the University of Texas at Austin for the first time, or a student reentering the University after an absence of more than one semester, should carefully review the rules given in this appendix in order to be prepared to pay the required tuition fee. Information and advice regarding residency status is available from the Office of Admissions, (512) 475-7408 or (512) 475-7407.

State Statutes

Chapter 54 of the Texas Education Code includes the following provisions affecting residency; after each statute, the Coordinating Board rules interpreting the statute are given. The statutes and rules given here are in effect for the academic year 2005-2006; revisions to chapter 54 approved by the Seventy-Ninth Legislature will take effect in 2006-2007. Students and applicants with residency questions who expect to be enrolled after 2005-2006 should visit the Coordinating Board's Web site. The board's rules implementing the Legislature's changes will be published there when they have been approved.

Minors and Dependents

Residence of a minor or dependent. Residency of a minor or dependent is based on one of the following circumstances:

1. The residence of the parent who has custody at the time of enrollment (upon divorce of parents);
2. The residence of the parent who has claimed the dependent for federal income tax purposes both at the time of enrollment and for the tax year preceding enrollment; or
3. The residence of the parent with whom the dependent has resided for the twelve months prior to enrollment.

Custody by court order. If the custody of a minor has been granted by court order (e.g., divorce decree, child custody action, guardianship, or adoption proceedings) to some person other than the parent, the residence of that person will control provided that such grant of custody was not ordered during or within a year prior to their enrollment in an institution of higher education (defined as any public junior college, public senior college or university, public health science center, or Texas State Technical Institute) and was granted under circumstances indicating that such guardianship was not for the purpose of obtaining status as a resident student.

If the minor is not residing with either parent and there is no court-appointed guardian, the residence of the parent with whom the minor last resided will be presumed to control. The residence of a person other than a parent or court-appointed legal guardian who may furnish funds for payment of tuition, fees, or living expenses will in no way affect the residence classification of a minor.

Abandoned child. In the case of an abandoned child, the residence of a person who has stood in loco parentis for a period of time may determine the residence classification. The fact of abandonment must be clearly established and must not have been for the purpose of affecting the residence of the minor. Also, the minor must have actually resided in the home of such person for two years immediately prior to enrolling in a public institution of higher education in Texas, and such person must have provided substantially all of the minor's support. In the event that the in loco parentis relationship has not existed for the full two-year period, a lesser period of time is acceptable in unusual hardship cases, such as the death of both parents.

Orphans. Orphans who have lived for longer than a year in an established orphans' home in Texas operated by a fraternal, religious, or civic organization and have been graduated from the orphans' home will be considered residents of Texas provided they reside in Texas from the time of their graduation until they enter an institution of higher education.

Emancipation. Under certain circumstances, minors may become emancipated or free from parental control. If their parents have ceased to exercise parental control and responsibility, if they are responsible for all of their own decisions and affairs, and if they are not dependent on their parents, minors may establish emancipation. If emancipation is clearly proved, the residence classification of minors is determined by their own residence rather than the residence of the parents. After twelve months in Texas under such circumstances, minors may be classified as residents if they otherwise satisfy the statutory requirements applicable to those over eighteen. Proof of emancipation is the responsibility of the minor.

Married minors. Minors who are married have the power and capacity of single persons of full age.

Dependents whose parents move to another state or foreign country and no longer claim residence in Texas. If both of the parents of dependents who have been enrolled as resident students move their residence to another state or foreign country, the dependents shall be classified as nonresidents at all subsequent registration periods. Under the provisions of Texas Education Code section 54.055, although classified as nonresidents, the minors will be entitled to pay the resident tuition fee as long as they remain continuously enrolled in a state-supported institution of higher education. Such dependent students must enroll for the next available fall or spring semester immediately following the parents' change of legal residence to another state.

When the parents of dependents who have established their legal residence in another state or foreign country return and reestablish their legal residence in Texas, the dependents must continue to be classified as nonresidents until the first registration after the parents have resided in the state for a twelve-month period.

Dependents whose parents move to another state or foreign country but continue to claim Texas residence. If both of the parents of dependents move to another state or foreign country, or reside outside the state or in a foreign country at the time the dependents enroll in a state-supported institution of higher education, but claim residence in Texas, conclusive evidence must be presented that the parents are still claiming legal residence in the State of Texas and that they have the present intent to return to the state. A certificate from the employer of the parents that the move outside the state was temporary, generally less than five years, and that there are definite plans to return the parents to Texas by a determinable future date will be considered in this connection.

Persons who resided in Texas for at least five years prior to moving from the state, and who have returned to the state for residence purposes before having resided out of the state for a year, will be classified as residents. The parent(s) of dependents must return to the state to live in order for the dependent to be considered a resident.