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.
