All students are classified as either a resident of the State of California or non-resident when applying for admission. If you were classified as a non-resident but you meet the requirements for California residency, please check out this Residency Checklist to help guide you as you collect documentation for proving your California residency. After you collect your documentation, please email Admissions@sccollege.edu with the documentation and request that your residency be updated. Please include your student ID number in your email.
A "resident" is a student who has residence in the state for more than one year before the initiation of a semester or term (EC 68017), based on the “Residency Determination Date" which is the day immediately preceding the opening of instruction.
A non-resident is a student who has not established residence in the State of California for one year as of the residency determination date.
- Persons who are 18 years of age or older (adults) establish residency in accordance with EC 68017 above. Adult residency begins after the 18th birthday.
- Persons who are under 18 years of age (minors) establish residence in accordance with above “resident" definition and the following:
- Married minors may establish their own residence.
- The residence of the parent with whom an unmarried minor child maintains a place of abode is the residence of the unmarried minor child. When the minor lives with neither parent, residence is that of the parent with whom the minor last resided. The minor may establish residence when both parents are deceased and a legal guardian has not been appointed.
- The residency of unmarried minors who have a parent living cannot be changed by their own acts, appointment of legal guardians, or relinquishment of a parent's right of control (EC 68062).
- Exceptions apply under certain conditions to active members of the military.
- Students eligible for GI Bill educational benefits including the Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty Program (Chapter 30), the Veterans Readiness and Employment program (formerly called Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment) (Chapter 31), or the Post-9/11 GI Bill Program (Chapter 33) are exempt from paying nonresident tuition regardless of when the veteran separated from the military.
- Specific residency problems will be answered by the Admissions & Records Office or referred to the County Counsel.
- NON-CITIZEN STUDENTS: Students with a “permanent resident" visa, refugee status, or amnesty approval may establish residency in accordance with above discussion. All visas must be examined by the college to determine residency status.
- RESIDENCY DETERMINATION DATE: In order to be a California resident, a student must provide documentation, preferably a CA driver's license or DMV-issued ID, federal and state income tax forms, and/or one year of documentation from a state agency, such as CalWORKs. This documentation must be at least one year and a day prior to the start of the semester or term. Students who have applied for a change of status to become a US resident must bring in all application paperwork related to this request for change of status.
- AB 2210: Education Code section 60875.6 grants an immediate nonresident tuition fee exemption to eligible Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders and refugee students who settled in California upon entering the United States. This exemption is granted for one year from the date the student settled in California upon entering the United States.
This exemption applies to the following:
