Residency Requirements

• Residency Requirements

Residency Requirements

United States Residency Verification

Pursuant to compliance with Arizona law, NPC must verify the U.S. residency status of all students. The verification process must be completed at time of registration and may involve student documentation of residency status. The most commonly used documents to verify U.S. residency are:

• Current valid Arizona Motor Vehicle Department Driver’s License/Instruction Permit/ID card (issued October 1, 1996 or later).
• Driver’s license issued in another state, territory or possession of the U.S., except per Arizona law for the following states that do not verify lawful presence in the U.S.: Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington.
• Confirmation of citizenship through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process.
• BIA or tribal ID card, certificate of birth or certificate of Indian blood.
• Birth certificate showing birth in the United States, which includes Puerto Rico (on or after January 13, 1941), Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands (on or after January 17, 1917), American Samoa, Swains Island or the Northern Mariana Islands, unless the person was born to foreign diplomats residing in the U.S.

If a student cannot or will not verify their U.S. residency status, they will be charged out-of-state tuition and denied access to all state funds.

Note: Although some documents may instruct the holder not to photocopy them, the USCIS has advised the Department of Education that these documents and others may be photocopied if done for lawful purposes, such as documenting citizenship for the purpose of determining eligibility.

Students registering for noncredit classes will not be required to submit residency verification. Current high school students will not be required to submit residency verification because it is already a requirement of our high school partners.

For other acceptable documents or the latest information on the U.S. residency verification process at NPC, please visit the NPC Records and Registration Office webpage at www.npc.edu/records-registration and view the Residency tab.

In-State Residency Requirements

Classification of Students for Tuition Purposes

Students that have not established residency in Arizona by residing here for at least one year, will be charged out-of-state resident rates. Students that would like to be considered for in-state tuition, may choose to fill out the Domicile Affidavit. Please be aware that in order to approve or deny a domicile, the Records and Registration Office may require and request additional documentation to prove residency. A student must file a Domicile Affidavit every semester if there is an in-state residency question.

Arizona Revised Statute: §15-1801

Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. “Armed forces of the United States” means the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, the commissioned corps of the United States Public Health Services, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Guard and any military reserve unit of any branch of the armed forces of the United States.
2. “Continuous attendance” means enrollment at an educational institution in this state as a full-time student, as such term is defined by the governing body of the educational institution, for a normal academic year since the beginning of the period for which continuous attendance is claimed. Such person need not attend summer sessions or any other intersession beyond the normal academic year in order to maintain continuous attendance.
3. “Domicile” means a person’s true, fixed and permanent home and place of habitation. It is the place where he intends to remain and to which he expects to return when he leaves without intending to establish a new domicile elsewhere.
4. “Emancipated person” means a person who is neither under a legal duty of service to his parent nor entitled to the support of such parent under the laws of this state.
5. “Parent” means a person’s father or mother, or if one parent has custody, that parent, or if there is no surviving parent or the whereabouts of the parents are unknown, then a guardian of an unemancipated person if there are not circumstances indicating that such guardianship was created primarily for the purpose of conferring the status of an in-state student on such unemancipated person.

Arizona Revised Statute: §15-1802

In-state Student Status

1. Except as otherwise provided in this article, no person having a domicile elsewhere than in this state is eligible for classification as an in-state student for tuition purposes.
2. A person is not entitled to classification as an in-state student until the person is domiciled in this state for one year, except that a person whose domicile is in this state is entitled to classification as an in-state student if the person meets one of the following requirements:
   1. The domicile of the person’s parent is in this state and the parent is entitled to claim the person as an exemption for state and federal tax purposes.
   2. The person is an employee of an employer that transferred the person to this state for employment purposes or the person is the spouse of such an employee.
   3. The person is an employee of a school district in this state and is under contract to teach on a fulltime basis or is employed as a full-time noncertified classroom aide at a school within that school district. For purposes of this paragraph, the person is eligible for classification as an in-state student only for courses necessary to complete the requirements for certification by the state board of education to teach in a school district in this state. No member of the person’s family is eligible for classification as an in-state student if the person is eligible for classification as an in-state student pursuant to this paragraph, unless the family member is otherwise eligible for classification as an in-state student pursuant to this section.
   4. The person’s spouse has established domicile in this state for at least one year and has demonstrated intent and financial independence and is entitled to claim the student as an exemption for state and federal tax purposes or the person’s spouse was temporarily out of state for educational purposes, but maintained a domicile in this state. If the person is a noncitizen, the person must be in an eligible visa status pursuant to federal law to classify as an in-state student for tuition purposes.
3. The domicile of an unemancipated person is that of the person’s parent.
4. Any unemancipated person who remains in this state when the person’s parent, who had been domiciled in this state, removes from this state is entitled to classification as an in-state student until attainment of the degree for which the person is currently enrolled, as long as the person maintains continuous attendance.
5. A person who is a member of the armed forces of the United States and who is stationed in this state pursuant to military orders or who is the spouse or a dependent child as defined in section 43-1001 of a person who is a member of the armed forces of the United States and who is stationed in this state pursuant to military orders is entitled to classification as an in-state student. A spouse or a dependent child does not lose in-state student classification under this subsection if the spouse or dependent child qualifies for in-state tuition classification at the time the spouse or dependent child is accepted for admission to a community college under the jurisdiction of a community college district governing board or a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona Board of Regents. The student, while in continuous attendance toward the degree for which currently enrolled, does not lose in-state student classification.
6. A person who is a member of the armed forces of the United States or the spouse or a dependent as defined in section 43-1001 of a member of the armed forces of the United States is entitled to classification as an in-state student if the member of the armed forces has claimed this state as the person’s state of legal residence for at least twelve (12) consecutive months before the member of the armed forces, spouse or dependent enrolls in a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona Board of Regents or a community college under the jurisdiction of a community college district governing board. For purposes of this subsection, the requirement that a person be domiciled in this state for one year before enrollment to qualify for in-state student classification does not apply.
7. A person holding an honorable discharge from the uniformed services of the United States from either active duty or reserve or national guard status, or who has retired from active duty or reserve or national guard status, shall be granted immediate classification as an in-state student and, while continuously enrolled, does not lose in-state student classification if the person has demonstrated objective evidence of intent to be a resident of Arizona that, for the purposes of this section, includes at least one of the following:
   1. Registration to vote in this state.
   2. An Arizona driver’s license.
   3. Arizona motor vehicle registration.
   4. Employment history in Arizona.
   5. Transfer of major banking services to Arizona.
   6. Change of permanent address on all pertinent records.
   7. Other materials of whatever kind or source relevant to domicile or residency status.
8. A person who, while using educational assistance under 38 United States Code chapter 30 or 33, enrolls in a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona Board of Regents or a community college under the jurisdiction of a community college district governing board within three (3) years after the veteran’s discharge from active duty service of ninety (90) or more days or within three (3) years after the service member’s death in the line of duty following a period of active duty service of ninety (90) or more days or who remains continuously enrolled beyond the three-year period following the discharge of the veteran or the service member’s death shall be granted immediate classification as an in-state student and does not lose in-state student classification if the person has demonstrated objective evidence of intent to be a resident of this state that, for the purposes of this section, includes at least one of the following:
   1. Registration to vote in this state.
   2. An Arizona driver’s license.
   3. Arizona motor vehicle registration.
   4. Employment history in Arizona.
   5. Transfer of major banking services to Arizona.
   6. Change of permanent address on all pertinent records.
   7. Other materials of whatever kind or source relevant to domicile or residency status.
9. A person who is a member of an Indian tribe recognized by the United States Department of the Interior whose reservation land lies in this state and extends into another state and who is a resident of the reservation is entitled to classification as an in-state student.
10. A person who has participated in the AmeriCorps program or the Volunteers in Service to America program for at least one year in this state is entitled to classification as an in-state student.

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