Residency Requirements

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Hawai`i Residency Requirements

ESTABLISHING RESIDENCY IN THE STATE OF HAWAIʻI FOR TUITION PURPOSES

The University of Hawaiʻi, like all public institutions of higher learning, has residency requirements for payment of resident tuition. Similar to those in other states, these requirements are complex. Consequently, students applying to UH Maui College often have questions about their residency status as it applies to tuition.

This page is designed to acquaint you with the University of Hawaiʻi's residency regulations and to answer questions you might have. The information provided is not a complete explanation of residency laws and regulations. Furthermore, residency rules may change as a result of legislation or administrative action. Residency Officers on all campuses of the University of Hawaiʻi have the most up-to-date information on all aspects of residency.

Detailed information is available in Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules Title 20, Chapter 4: Determination of Residency as Applied to Tuition and Admission (PDF).

For further clarification, call 808-984-3267 or 1-800-479-6692 and ask to speak to a residency advisor.

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 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 Hawaiʻi.

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 semester for which you want resident tuition status). The following documents may be required to help determine resident tuition:

State of Hawaiʻi personal income tax, filing as a resident (required in all cases)
State of Hawaiʻi Voter Certificate
State of Hawaiʻi General Excise License
Employment verification
Bank account active in Hawaiʻi
Lease agreement
Proof of property ownership
Other documents as needed

You may also submit any other evidence you wish to have considered. Not all documents are required, as one may be substituted for another. Please call 808-984-3267 or 1-800-479-6692 and ask for a residency advisor to discuss your specific situation.

Except as otherwise provided by the Board of Regents, in order to be considered a resident for tuition purposes, you must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident for one calendar year (365 days). Those who are undocumented and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are eligible for resident tuition status. Complete the Undocumented Student Residency Tuition Request Form [PDF] and submit to the Office of Admissions for review.

You cannot maintain domicile in Hawaiʻi and another place simultaneously. In other words, you cannot be a bona fide resident of Hawaiʻi if you appear to maintain your domicile somewhere else at the same time.

The one-calendar-year “clock” begins when you take the first action demonstrating your intent to make Hawaiʻi your permanent residence (i.e., start employment, register to vote, purchase property, or get a general excise license).

You cannot establish residency by simply enrolling in school. If you are a nonresident student, it is presumed that you are living in Hawaiʻi primarily to attend school and that your presence is temporary even if you live in Hawaiʻi during vacation and other breaks from study.

Yes, State of Hawaiʻi law recognizes several categories of nonresident students who are allowed to pay resident tuition:

United States military personnel, their spouses, and their authorized dependents (up to age 23) during the period the military personnel is stationed in Hawaiʻi on active duty
Members of the Hawaiʻi National Guard or Hawaiʻi-based Reserve who are under contract in Hawaiʻi
Certain employees of the University of Hawaiʻi, their spouses, and dependents
East-West Center student grantees pursuing baccalaureate or advanced degrees at the University of Hawaiʻi
Native Hawaiians, descendants of the aboriginal peoples who inhabited the Hawaiian Islands and exercised sovereignty in the Hawaiian Islands in 1778

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:

American Samoa
Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas
Cook Islands
Federated States of Micronesia
Futuna
Kiribati
Nauru
Niue
Republic of the Marshall Islands
Republic of Palau
Solomon Islands
Tokelau
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Wallis

Each University of Hawaiʻi campus has a Residency Officer who oversees the resident and nonresident 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 rigorous and detailed, it is because, by law, Residency Officers must be precise in determining each student’s residency status.

If possible, call 808-984-3267 or 1-800-479-6692 and ask for a residency advisor before you arrive in Hawaiʻi. There is a time sensitive component to the establishing of residency process. This time sensitive component will determine the earliest semester you could qualify for resident tuition status.
If possible, physically visit with a residency advisor. The residency advisor offers a checklist for you to follow when you are establishing residency. Based on your discussion, the checklist will be marked specifically to your situation.
Do not deviate from what you have discussed with the residency advisor. One change could affect your eligibility for resident tuition status. If you do deviate from what has been discussed, contact a residency advisor as soon as possible to see how this will affect your eligibility for resident tuition status.
Contact a residency advisor by phone before you turn in your documents to establish residency. By doing so, the residency advisor can determine if you have everything to be eligible for resident tuition or if you are missing document(s). The residency advisor wants to make the process easy for you and does not want to turn you away if you do not have all the documents necessary for the resident tuition status.
Make copies of everything that will be turned in to the residency advisor. Bring both the original and copy and the residency advisor will decide what he/she will keep for his/her records.