A. Classification:
A student shall be classified as a "resident" for tuition purposes upon
admission to a public institution of higher education in the state of
New Jersey if the student has been domiciled within the state of New
Jersey for at least one year immediately prior to enrollment.
Students
who are classified as dependent students are presumed to share the
domicile of his or her parent(s) or legal guardian. Persons who have
been resident in this state for more than 12 months prior to initial
enrollment are presumed to be domiciliaries of New Jersey for tuition
purposes. In those cases in which a dependent student with out-of-state
parent(s) or legal guardian has resided in New Jersey for 12
consecutive months prior to enrollment, the student may petition on his
or her own to establish domicile in the state.
Persons who
have been domiciled within this state for less than 12 months prior to
initial enrollment are presumed to be nondomiciliaries for tuition
purposes. Persons presumed to be nondomiciled, or persons who are
presumed to be domiciled but whose domiciliary status is challenged by
the institution, must prove their domicile according to the following
regulations.
B. Domicile: "Domicile" is a legal concept
defined by New Jersey law. In general terms, "domicile" means the place
where a person has his or her true, fixed, permanent home and principal
living establishment, and to which, whenever he or she is absent, he or
she has the intention of returning. New Jersey domicile must be
acquired prior to the beginning of the semester for which you are
requesting a change in residency status. Although actual presence is
not necessary to preserve domicile once it has been acquired, a person,
if absent from the state, must have the intention of returning to New
Jersey in order to remain a domiciliary. Domicile is distinct from
residence--while a person may have several residences, he or she can
have only one legal domicile. Therefore, in order to establish a new
domicile in New Jersey, a person must first abandon the prior domicile
in which he or she previously resided and sever all legal connections
to that former domicile.
In determining whether domiciliary
status has been shown, mere physical presence and declaration of intent
to remain in the state may not be sufficient. To assist in determining
whether a person is a New Jersey domiciliary, the primary evidence is,
but is not limited to, a notarized affidavit setting forth domicile and
a state-certified copy of a New Jersey Resident Income Tax Return or in
the case of a dependent student, a state-certified copy of his or her
parent(s')/U.S. Court-appointed (prior to the student attaining age 18)
legal guardian(s') New Jersey Resident Income Tax Return. The following
additional items should be submitted: New Jersey voter registration
materials; a New Jersey driver's license (or nondriver's ID); New
Jersey motor vehicle registration; a long-term apartment/house lease or
a house/condo deed; presence of spouse and children in New Jersey; the
location of a local New Jersey bank(s); and copies of recent monthly
bills (utility, phone, etc.) addressed to the claimant(s). In unusual
circumstances, if primary evidence is not available, the institution
may make a determination of New Jersey domicile based exclusively on
supplementary evidence; however, supplementary evidence may be deemed
insufficient to justify a determination of domiciliary status.
C. Dependent/Independent Student Defined:
In determining whether a student is independent, the following is
considered: N.J.A.C.9A:9-2.6 (examples of documentation given below).
(a) The term independent when used with respect to a student means any individual who:
1. Was born BEFORE January 1, 1984.
Documentation: birth certificate, secondary school transcript, driver's license, draft registration letter; or
2. Meets the requirements of (b) below.
(b) An individual meets the requirements of this section if such individual:
1. Is an orphan or ward of the court; or was a ward of the court until age 18;
Documentation for orphan: death certificate or a letter from a social
services agency or from a respected member of the community who is
unrelated to the applicant (minister, school administrator, etc.).
Documentation for ward of the court: court document or a letter from
the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) or other social
agency; or
2. Is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States. Documentation: DD214; or
3. Is a graduate or graduate professional student (not applicable for undergraduate students); or
4. Is a married individual.
Documentation: marriage certificate; or
5. Has legal dependents other than a spouse.
Documentation if dependent is a child: birth certificate.
Documentation if dependent is other than a child: If the person was
dependent on the applicant in the prior year: IRS or New Jersey
Division of Taxation certified copy of the applicant's prior year tax
return showing the person listed as an "other dependent." If the person
was not dependent on the applicant in the prior year: a document such
as a driver's license, a Post Office address change, or a statement
from the landlord or respected member of the community confirming that
the person currently resides in the student's household; or
6. Is a student for whom a financial aid administrator makes a
documented determination of independence by reason of other unusual
circumstances as provided under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 1087vv, and its implementing regulations
and rules. For purposes of receiving state financial assistance as an
independent student due to unusual circumstances, the following
conditions apply:
i. Determinations of
independence must satisfy all applicable federal standards set forth
under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, and its
implementing regulations and rules;
ii. Individual determinations of independent student status for state
student aid programs shall be made in a manner consistent with the
institutional policies regarding the awarding of all need-based
financial aid, including federal and state aid; and
iii. The institution shall share with the Office of Student Assistance
any material findings or audit exceptions related to the determination
of dependency status at any time they are revealed in the course of an
audit or program review.
(c)
A dependent student shall be any student who does not meet any of the
eligibility criteria listed in (a) or (b) above for independent student
status.
The university reserves the right to request a student
to have the Internal Revenue Service and/or New Jersey Division of
Taxation forward certified tax records to the appropriate university
office for review.
An individual who claims to have
established a new domicile in New Jersey must show (1) a physical
abandonment of the previous domicile, together with an intent not to
return to it, and (2) actual presence in New Jersey with the intention
of remaining permanently in the state.
An individual from
another state who has enrolled in any type of educational institution
in New Jersey will be presumed to be in New Jersey primarily for
educational purposes and will be presumed not to have established
domicile in New Jersey. Although the student may present proof to
overcome these presumptions, it must be noted that continued residence
in New Jersey during vacation periods or occasional periods of
interruption to the course of study does not of itself overcome the
presumptions. All students who are not domiciliaries of New Jersey will
be assessed out-of-state tuition rates. Residency for tuition purposes
is governed by New Jersey Administrative Code 9A:5-1.1 et seq., which
requires that individuals must be legally domiciled in the state for 12
months before becoming eligible for in-state tuition rates. The law
also permits those living in the state for less than 12 months to
petition for resident status through the admissions office or the
Office of the Registrar, as appropriate. Petitions for resident status
will be granted only in those cases where there is clear and compelling
evidence that New Jersey is the legal domicile of the student or of the
parent(s) or of the U.S. Court-appointed (prior to the student
attaining age 18) legal guardian(s) on whom the student is dependent.
D. The Effect of Marriage or Civil Union:
A nonresident student who marries or enters into a civil union with a
bona fide New Jersey domiciliary assumes the domicile of that spouse or
civil union partner for tuition purposes in the semester following
marriage or civil union. The same test for residency will be applied to
spouses or civil union partners when a marriage or civil union is
claimed as the basis for domicile. No change in status will occur when
a domiciliary student marries or enters into a civil union with a
nondomiciliary.
E. Foreign Nationals: Alien nationals
who are in the United States and hold permanent resident status or
special refugee visas (being processed for permanent residency) will be
considered the same as United States citizens for purposes of assessing
tuition. In either instance, the approval date on the visa must be
prior to the first day of the semester for which the change in status
is sought. However, any other foreign national will be classified as a
nonresident for assessment of tuition unless he or she has the right to
remain permanently in the United States and can demonstrate by
affirmative proof that he or she has a domicile in New Jersey.
F. Presence in New Jersey Due to Military Service:
As a general rule, in the absence of any intention to effect a change
of domicile, the domicile of a New Jersey resident is not affected or
changed by reason of his or her entry into the military service. By
action of the New Jersey legislature (N.J.S.A. 18A:62-4.1), United
States military personnel and their dependents that are living in New
Jersey shall be regarded as residents of the state for tuition
purposes.
G. In Every Instance: A record of the
evidence utilized in determining domicile pursuant to this section
shall be maintained with the student's records.
