North Carolina Residency for Tuition Purposes

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Who should apply for North Carolina residency?

All students admitted to an academic program in the Graduate School are considered nonresidents for tuition purposes until they submit a residency application. Students who are new admits, have had a break in enrollment (either a fall or spring term missed) or have changed programs need to apply. This is regardless of time lived in the state or previous status as an undergrad or non-degree seeking students.

Once granted in-state status the determination will continue to roll over unless the student fails to enroll or exhibits a change in circumstance. The student will then need to apply for reclassification during the proper filing period.

The online residency application is not a part of your admission application and pertains to admitted students only. Please see filing periods below.

All MD, JD, PHARM D, AUD, DDS, MBA, MAC, PHYT, EDSA, EDEX, EDD, PHDM, PHMA, PHYT, PHTX, CYTO, MMDS, UNDERGRAD OR, CONTINUING STUDIES students should submit a paper application directly to your department. DO NOT SUBMIT AN ONLINE FORM.

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Requirements

Under North Carolina General Statute Chapter 116.143.1, to qualify for in-state tuition an applicant (legal resident) must demonstrate a preponderance of evidence:

A legal resident is a person who qualifies as a domiciliary of North Carolina.

A domicile is a person's permanent home for legal purposes. A domicile is not a temporary residence established for attending the University after which you intend to depart from the state. A person can have only one domicile, but numerous residences.

It is not the day you step foot in North Carolina that starts your clock, but the accumulation of evidence that starts it.

Preponderance of Evidence is the greater weight of evidence. The classifier is looking for a cluster of factual events/activities in support of the applicants claim for in-state residency for tuition purposes. If the evidence shows a cluster of significant events occurring at about the same time (within the same week, for example), the classifier will start counting from that point to determine if the twelve-month requirement has been met. If instead the evidence has gradually accumulated over time, the classifier must decide at what point a preponderance of the evidence shows intent to establish a North Carolina domicile. If this date is after the first day of classes for the term specified on the application, the classifier will not render an in-state decision for the term in question.

Indefinitely refers to duration of time having no exact limits. Indefinite does not mean you intend to stay in the state forever, instead it means that you have no end date predetermined.

Determination of Intent takes into consideration the following items which may be significant in determining “domiciliary intent”; however, THE BELOW IS NOT A CHECKLIST. Not one element by itself guarantees or denies residency and these items are not comprehensive of evidence that could be used in support of a case.

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Types of Students

New Applicants & Enrolled Applicants

To be considered an in-state resident for tuition purposes you will be required to complete the ONLINE RESIDENCY APPLICATION in accordance to filing period dates, regardless of how long you have lived in the state. New applicants should note that within the Graduate School, residency status is not a factor in admission consideration. Enrolled students who wish to change their residency status may request re-classification once they have satisfied the requirements for becoming a North Carolina legal resident for tuition purposes. New and enrolled students who have not held a domicile in the state for the required time period will not qualify for in-state tuition unless they qualify for a special benefit or provision. There are no exceptions.

It is very important for you to fill out the online residency application completely and to respond to requests for additional information as quickly as possible. If you feel that your answers do not give an accurate picture of your case, you may provide an explanation in the additional comment section.

International Students

There are certain capacity granting statuses for International Students, such as Permanent Resident, H-1B, H-4, K-3, K-4, L-1, L-2, V-2 and V-3. These statuses may be considered, provided you meet the necessary requirements and supply documentation. The clock will start ticking from the date a capacity granting visa was issued. Please upload a copy of card or visa. You may mail or fax appropriate documentation (copy of visa) to The Graduate School at 919-966-4010. International Student & Scholar Services at 962-5661 has more information regarding visa designations.

Visas that do not grant capacity to establish residency are “No Go” visas, examples are B, C, D, F, J, M, P, Q and S visas. The above list is not comprehensive, contact the Graduate School if you do not see your designation listed.

Employee Tuition Benefit

A person who is a full-time permanent employee of The University of North Carolina System (UNC Health Care included), or is the spouse or dependent child of said full-time permanent employee and who is a legal resident of North Carolina, qualifies as a resident for tuition purposes. It is not required to have maintained legal residence for at least 12-months immediately prior to his or her classification as a resident for tuition purposes. The employee must be continuously employed during course of enrollment in order to receive this benefit. Teacher’s Assistant, Research Assistant, Post-Doc or Resident/Fellows are not included.

You must wait 30 days prior to but no later than the first day of classes of the term for which this benefit is sought to apply. At that time you should complete the online residency application and submit a letter on official letterhead from your supervisor or human resources representative stating your employment status to the Graduate School at CB# 4010, 200 Bynum Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599.

Here is a link listing all of the 16-UNC Campuses and links to their websites: http://www.northcarolina.edu/content.php/campus/campusmap.htm

Teacher’s Tuition Benefit

North Carolina Public School teachers and other persons may receive the residency for tuition benefit for courses “relevant to teacher certification or to professional development as a teacher” approved by the principal of the employee’s school. The teacher or other person must be paid on the North Carolina Teacher Salary Schedule incident to full-time employment at a North Carolina Public School. To be eligible he or she must be a North Carolina legal resident (domiciliary) and must have established North Carolina domicile before the commencement of the approved course(s), but does not have to satisfy the 12-month requirement. Applicants must submit the online residency for tuition purposes application, which includes N.C. Teachers Tuition Benefit questioning and a link to a “Principal’s Declaration for In-State Tuition Benefit for N.C. teachers,” 30 days before but no later than the first day of classes of the term for which this benefit is sought.

Military and Dependents

Military and their dependents submit the completed online residency application, along with all required affidavits for the Military Tuition Benefit, no sooner than 30 days before and no later than the day before the first day of your first term of enrollment. Also note that you must still qualify academically for admission.

To be eligible for the Military Tuition Benefit as a member of the armed services, you must:

Those military members honorably discharged/retired from one of the aforementioned branches and a resident of the state do not have to satisfy the 12-month requirement, but do have to establish domicile in the state within 30 days of discharge. To qualify for the Military Tuition Benefit as a military dependent, you must submit an affidavit from the appropriate military authority that says you are the military dependent of a service member who is stationed in North Carolina (PCS orders) on active duty. In addition, you must be living with that service member. And, if you are a male between the ages of 18 and 26, you must be registered with the Selective Service System.

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Special Provisions

The Grace Period

According to North Carolina law, if a student has been classified as a resident for tuition purposes and loses his or her North Carolina domicile for some reason while enrolled at a North Carolina institution of higher education, the student can continue to pay the in-state tuition rate for a twelve-month grace period. The twelve months begin at the time the student lost his or her North Carolina domicile. If the grace period expires during the middle of a term, the student is allowed to pay the in-state tuition rate through the end of that term.

Re-establishment of Abandoned Domicile within Twelve Months

According to North Carolina law, if an individual was classified a resident for tuition purposes at a North Carolina institution of higher education at the time he or she left school or graduated, and if that person subsequently abandons North Carolina domicile and then re-establishes North Carolina domicile within twelve months of abandoning it, he or she may re-enroll at a North Carolina institution of higher education as a resident without having to meet the twelve months durational requirement. An individual may take advantage of this statutory provision only once in a lifetime.

The Effect of Marriage on Domicile and the Spouse-Pair Provision

All spousal information is voluntarily submitted. If both spouses have established a North Carolina domicile and one spouse has been a domiciliary longer than the other, the member of the couple who has the shorter duration of domicile may borrow his or her spouse's duration of domicile to meet the twelve months requirement. For example, if A and B are married and A has been a North Carolina domiciliary for twelve months but B has only been a domiciliary for a month, B can use A's duration of domicile to meet the twelve months requirement. The two durations cannot be added together to meet the twelve months requirement so, if A had only been a domiciliary for eleven months, B would still be a month short and could not qualify until the following term. Being married does not make a better application it only makes a different application.

For spouses of full time permanent employees of the UNC system see Employee Tuition Benefit.

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Decision Notification

After you submit the online residency application you will receive an email notification that your application is in process. You, and your department, will receive official notification of the decision regarding your residence application after two weeks or longer from the date of submission. However, if you are contacted for additional information your decision will be delayed. If you are classified a non-resident, you may appeal the decision to the Residence Status Committee. Appeals must be filed within 15 days from receipt of the classification letter.

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Appeal Process

If you have not lived in the state for the requisite 12 months and do not qualify for any benefit or provision your appeal will be moot and you will remain a non-resident.

If you are classified non-resident by the Classifier, you may appeal the decision to the Residence Status Committee within 15 working days of receipt of the classification with a email/letter declaring your wish to appeal. You will then receive an email stating that your information has been sent to the Appeals committee. Following, you will be contacted by a representative of the Committee to coordinate the date, time, and place of your appeal meeting.

Usually you will meet with a panel of three members of the Residence Status Committee. This committee is made up of members of the University community, appointed by the Chancellor, whose work makes them familiar with and who receive extensive training in the residency process. The committee will review your application and documentation prior to meeting you. At the meeting they may or may not ask questions, but will definitely give you an opportunity to make a statement. You should receive a decision notification letter from the chair of the Residence Status Committee within a week of the hearing.

If you are classified non-resident by the Residence Status Committee you may either reapply for a later term when you feel your circumstances have changed or you may appeal the decision to the State Residence Committee. You have ten days from receipt of the Residence Status Committee decision notification letter to file notice of appeal. To do so you need only send a simple, signed notice that you want to appeal. Grounds for appeal and instructions on how to file a notice of appeal are detailed in the Residence Status Committee decision notification letter. Once you file a notice of appeal you will receive a letter outlining instructions on how to complete the appeal process. The State Residence Committee does not hold hearings but will consider your appeal entirely on the written record if chosen for review.

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Online Residency Application

All MD, JD, PHARM D, AUD, DDS, MBA, MAC, PHYT, EDSA, EDEX, EDD, PHDM, PHMA, PHYT, PHTX, CYTO, MMDS, UNDERGRAD OR, CONTINUING STUDIES students should submit a paper application directly to your department. DO NOT SUBMIT AN ONLINE FORM.

All Graduate School students use our ONLINE RESIDENCY APPLICATION process. The online process is faster and easier and provides a quicker response than the paper-based process. To access the online form you must have an ONYEN account.

Please note anyone found to purposely present false/misleading information will be subject to the conditions of the University Honor Code.

Creating an ONYEN Account

Obtain your ONYEN using your PID number or your birth date and Social Security Number. NOTE: You can create your ONYEN 10 days after paying your enrollment deposit

  1. Go to the following web site http://onyen.unc.edu
  2. Follow steps to Create an ONYEN account
    1. Without PID number: Follow the link to obtain your PID with your birth date and Social Security Number
    2. With PID number: Click “Create an ONYEN” on top left side of the page

Steps for Online Residency Application

  1. Click ONLINE RESIDENCY APPLICATION
  2. Enter ONYEN/Password
  3. Click “Start a New Graduate School Residency Application”
  4. Complete General Information Section
  5. Click “next”
  6. Complete remaining Application sections
  7. Click “submit”
  8. If problems occur with Online Application, please use the “Feedback” tab

Once you submit the application you will receive an email notification that your application is in process. You and your department will later receive a decision via email.

PDF uploading

Any student may be asked to submit copies of evidence to the Graduate School. But students who have lived in the State of North Carolina less than three years will automatically be asked to submit certain information via a pdf attachment section prior to submission. If the student is in possession of any of the below, he/she may attach a copy via the online application:

If the student chooses not to attach, please mail in a copy to the Graduate School Residency Coordinator at 200 Bynum Hall, CB 4010, Chapel Hill, NC 27599.

DO NOT attach personal pictures, essays or other images not pertinent to the issue of residency.

This will hopefully reduce the amount of time spent requesting and waiting for items to be mailed in, as well as, present clearer cases of a student's residency. Students may elect to mail in items if they wish.

Application Filing Periods

Fall 2009 Submit no earlier than March 16, 2009 and end on Monday, August 31, 2009.
Spring 2010 Submit no earlier than September 15, 2009 and end on Friday, January 15, 2010.
Summer I 2010 Submit no earlier than December 15, 2009, no later than June 15, 2010 (last day of exams of exams for that term)
Summer II 2010 Submit no earlier than January 22, 2010, no later than July 23, 2010 (last day of exams of exams for that term)
Military Benefit Submit no earlier than 30 days prior to the term for which you are applying, but no later than the day before classes start for the same term
Teacher Benefit Submit no earlier than 30 days prior to the term for which you are applying, but no later than the 1st day of classes of that term
Employee Benefit Submit no earlier than 30 days prior to the term for which you are applying, but no later than the 1st day of classes of that term

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Residency Workshops

North Carolina Residency Workshop
Representatives from the Graduate School will facilitate an information session and field questions about the application process.

Establishing NC Residency for Tuition Purposes
Monday September 14, 2009
10:00-11:00am
Graduate Student Center, 211A West Cameron Ave.
Register for Establishing NC Residency for Tuition Purposes

Thursday October 15, 2009
2:00-3:00pm
Graduate Student Center, 211A West Cameron Ave.
Register for Establishing NC Residency for Tuition Purposes

Monday November 9, 2009
10:00-11:00am
Graduate Student Center, 211A West Cameron Ave.
Register for Establishing NC Residency for Tuition Purposes

Thursday November 19, 2009
2:00-3:00pm
Graduate Student Center, 211A West Cameron Ave.
Register for Establishing NC Residency for Tuition Purposes

Thursday January 14, 2010
2:00-3:00pm
Graduate Student Center, 211A West Cameron Ave.
Registration coming soon

View Latest Short Workshop Presentation: PowerPointpowerpoint icon or PDFpdf icon

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Paper-based Residency Applications for Non-Graduate School Students

All MD, JD, PHARM D, AUD, DDS, MBA, MAC, PHYT, EDSA, EDEX, EDD, PHDM, PHMA, PHYT, PHTX, CYTO, MMDS, UNDERGRAD OR, CONTINUING STUDIES students should submit a paper application directly to your department. DO NOT SUBMIT AN ONLINE FORM.

Below are listed links to the various paper forms of the application. Complete and submit each form that represents your circumstances. Please be sure to submit to your admitting office.

Short Residency Form
If you have lived in the state of North Carolina for three years or longer by the first day of classes of the term
Long Residency Form
If you have lived in the state of North Carolina fewer than three years but greater than one year by the first day of classes of the term for which you are applying
Supplemental Form
If you are international (non-U.S. citizens)
Spousal Supplemental Form
If your spouse is international (non-U.S. citizen). Spousal information is voluntary unless needed to verify modes of support.
Employee
Full-time permanent employees of The University of North Carolina system (including UNC Health Care), or their spouse and/or dependent child should submit an official letter stating their employment status.
Application for Military Tuition Benefit
Military Applicants, Spouses, or Dependents
Teacher's Tuition Benefit Form and Principal’s Affidavit
North Carolina Public School Employees paid on North Carolina Teacher Salary Schedule

FAXED AND EMAILED APPLICATIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTED

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Contact:

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