United States Citizens
An independent student who has established and maintained a domicile in the State of Georgia for a period of at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the first day of classes for the term shall be classified as “in-state” for tuition purposes.
It is presumed that no student shall have gained or acquired in-state classification while attending any postsecondary educational institution in this state without clear evidence of having established domicile in Georgia for purposes other than attending a postsecondary educational institution in this state.
A dependent student shall be classified as “in-state” for tuition purposes if either i) the dependent student’s parent has established and maintained domicile in the State of Georgia for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the first day of classes for the term and the student has graduated from a Georgia high school or ii) the dependent student’s parent has established and maintained domicile in the State of Georgia for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the first day of classes for the term and the parent claimed the student as a dependent on the parent’s most recent federal income tax return.
A dependent student shall be classified as “in-state” for tuition purposes if a U.S. court-appointed legal guardian has established and maintained domicile in the State of Georgia for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the first day of classes for the term, provided that appointment was not made to avoid payment of out- of-state tuition and the U.S. court-appointed legal guardian can provide clear evidence of having established and maintained domicile in the State of Georgia for a period of at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the first day of classes for the term.
If an independent student classified as “in-state” relocates temporarily but returns to the State of Georgia within 12 months, the student shall be entitled to retain in-state tuition classification.
If the parent or U.S. court-appointed legal guardian of a dependent student currently classified as “in-state” for tuition purposes establishes domicile outside of Georgia after having established and maintained domicile in the State of Georgia, the student may retain in-state tuition classification as long as the student remains continuously enrolled in a public postsecondary educational institution in the state, regardless of the domicile of the parent or U.S. court- appointed legal guardian.
Noncitizens
Noncitizens initially shall not be classified as “in-state” for tuition purposes unless there is evidence to warrant consideration of in-state classification. Lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, or other eligible noncitizens as defined by federal Title IV regulations may be extended the same consideration as citizens of the United States in determining whether they qualify for in-state classification. International students who reside in the United States under nonimmigrant status conditioned at least in part upon intent not to abandon a foreign domicile are not eligible for in-state classification.
A glossary defining the terms in the tuition classification policy can be found in the University System of Georgia Board of Regents Tuition Classification Guidelines Manual (BR Minutes, June 2006).
