Are they really this strict about establishing California residency?

[maelia8]

As I'll be attending a state school in California next year, I'm required to establish residency by the end of my first year to get in-state tuition by the beginning of my second year at the university. I was reading through the residency requirements and this passage jumped out at me: 

 

"If you are a nonresident student who is in the process of establishing California residency for tuition purposes and you leave California during nonacademic periods (for example, to return to your former or parent's home state), your presence in California will be presumed to be solely for educational purposes, and only convincing evidence to the contrary will rebut this presumption. Students who are in the state solely for educational purposes will NOT be classified as residents for tuition purposes, regardless of the length of stay. Your intent will be questioned if you return to your prior state of residence when the University is not in session."

 

Does this really mean what I think it means, i.e. that I can't go home to visit my family for an entire year, even for Christmas or Thanksgiving (especially not at those times, because they are during "nonacademic periods")? Anybody have experience with California residency who can tell me to what extent this is true? And if so, how do they enforce it? My family is in Oregon just half a day's drive from my school - if I drove up there on a weekend, how would they know that I'd left the state (have the secret residency police question my friends)? Any clarification would be helpful.

[Sizzle]

What they're really investigating is your intent to establish permanent residency in California. Visiting your family for short periods is one thing, but moving home for extended periods is quite another. Doing the latter would imply that your only reason for being in California is scholastic, and that violates the rules of California residency for tuition purposes. I would bet that having no summer lease and spending two months in Oregon, a hypothetical situation, would show you're not intent on staying. I would think about whether you're maintaining a record if residency (rent, utility bills, etc) if you're worried about it.

[spunky]

 I would think about whether you're maintaining a record if residency (rent, utility bills, etc) if you're worried about it.

 

that's how two friends of mine did it. they trusted each other a lot, so they exchanged credit/debit cards and when one was away, the other use said credit/debit card for regular purchases (groceries, etc.), they shared the same apt so could both show continuous use of the lease, and utilities, etc.

 

i don't think California authorities have any way of knowing where you're going and for how long, but they can ask for whatever kind of paperwork they feel like asking if they're suspicious.

 

if you coordinate it well, it's not super hard to get all the documents you may need. 

Edited May 17, 2014 by spunky

[spellbanisher]

If you are a nonresident student who is in the process of establishing California residency for tuition purposes and you leave California during nonacademic periods (for example, to return to your former or parent's home state)

 

I think this means you actually staying in your former state of residence like how undergraduates return home during nonacademic periods (i.e. during the summer and Christmas breaks). I don't think this refers to brief visits. Here is what the UC Residence Policy States

 

 

A short absence from California during one’s first year of residence will be evaluated to determine whether it is consistent with a claim of continued residence. Absences totaling more than six weeks over the first year are presumed to be inconsistent with an intent to reside permanently in California and will be scrutinized in light of the totality of the circumstances. A student who leaves California during non-instruction periods, particularly the summer months, is presumed to be in California solely for educational purposes. Here, the burden is on the student to prove otherwise.

A student (or parent) who is temporarily absent from California will not lose residence status, unless s/he acts inconsistently with the claim of continued California residence during the absence. If a student (or parent) leaves the state during the first 366 days of physical presence, the Residence Deputy will determine whether the absence was consistent with an intent to remain permanently in the state. Students and parents have the burden of providing clear and convincing evidence of their continuing California residence during all absences from the state.

 

http://www.ucop.edu/general-counsel/_files/ed-affairs/uc-residence-policy.pdf

 

What they want to see is that

1. Your permanent residence is in the state of California. If they see, for instance, that you only rented an apartment for 9 months, they are going to assume you are not permanently residing in California. What they want to see is that your sole legal residence has been in California for 366 consecutive days.

2. That you have severed all legal ties to other states.

3. That you have established legal ties in California, such as a driver's license, registering to vote, etc.

Edited May 17, 2014 by spellbanisher

[agraham263]

Isn't there something in the residency rules that states that you're not allowed to receive more than line $500 a year from your parents or have lived with them in the last 3 years if you want to establish CA residency?

[CageFree]

Basically, you need to get a yearlong lease and get a California-based bank account. Going up to Oregon to visit your family isn't a problem; moving to Oregon for the whole summer is. 

[NavyMom]

You can leave to visit your family over a weekend.  They are talking about if, say during the summer months you return home because there is no schedule you will only be classified as non-resident.  If you live here for a year, attend school for the entire year, work, etc... you can classify yourself as a resident.

 

Some students only stay at the school during the academic year (Fall and Spring), and return home for the rest of the periods... those students are not instate students.