Residency Requirements

TCSG Residency Procedure

Each technical college shall be responsible for the verification of the lawful presence in the United States of every successfully admitted student applying for Georgia resident tuition status as required by state and federal immigration laws. Verification procedures shall comply with O.C.G.A. § 50-36-1.
Determining a student’s residency status must be based on the existence of surrounding objective circumstances that indicate a student’s intent to maintain a permanent presence, or Domicile, in the State of Georgia. No single factor is conclusive. Similarly, there is no predetermined number of factors required to be met. The following indicators may be considered when documenting the Domicile of an individual, but this is not an exhaustive list:
1. Location of employment.
  1. Location of voter registration.
  2. Location of property, including home purchase, and taxes paid thereon.
  3. State for which the individual filed and paid state income taxes.
  4. Address and other information on federal and state income tax returns.
  5. State where the person’s automobile title is registered and the payment of property taxes thereon.
  6. Address on driver’s license and state of issuance.
  7. Address on the Georgia Driver’s License Bureau ID.
  8. Reason for initially coming to Georgia.
  9. State of issuance of business, professional, or other licenses.
  10. Location of checking, savings, or other banking accounts.
2. Citizenship Requirements:
  1. A student meets the Citizenship Requirements, for purposes of this procedure and the related policies, if he or she is a United States Citizen, born or naturalized.
  2. A student meets the Citizenship requirements, for purposes of this procedure and the related policies, if he or she is an Eligible non-Citizen, according to the Federal Title IV definition.
  3. Ineligible Non-Citizens: A Non-Citizen cannot qualify for in-state tuition. However, in the discretion of the President of the college the international tuition may be waived in favor of an out-of-state tuition rate for a Non-Citizen who has been verified as lawfully present in the United States in accordance with state and federal immigration laws.
Georgia Residency
1. Dependent Students:
  1. A Dependent Student meets the Georgia Residency Requirements, for purposes of this procedure and the related policies, if his or her Parent has established and maintained Domicile in the State of Georgia for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the first day of classes of the school term for which the student is seeking in-state tuition, and
  2. Such student graduated from an Eligible High School located in the State of Georgia; or
  3. The Parent claimed the student as a dependent on the Parent’s most recent federal income tax return.
  4. A Dependent Student meets the Georgia Residency Requirements, for purposes of this procedure and related policies, if a United States 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 of the school term for which the student is seeking in-state tuition, provided that the appointment was not made to avoid payment of Out-of-State Tuition.
  5. Individuals applying for the HOPE High School Equivalency (HSE) Examination Grant are considered dependent solely for determining residency for the HOPE HSE Examination Grant if they are under the age of 18 at the time of applying.
2. Independent Students:
  1. An Independent Student meets the Georgia Residency requirements, for purposes of this procedure and the related policies, if he or she has established and maintained Domicile in the State of Georgia for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the first day of classes of the school term for which the student is seeking In-State Tuition.
  2. It is presumed that no Independent Student shall have gained or acquired Georgia Residency, for purposes of this procedure and the related policies, while attending a TCSG college without clear evidence of having established a Domicile in the State of Georgia for purposes other than attending a TCSG college.
  3. Individuals applying for the HOPE HSE Examination Grant are considered independent solely for determining residency for the HOPE HSE Examination Grant if they are 18 years of age or greater at the time of applying.
Retaining Georgia Residency
1. Dependent Students: If the Parent or United States court-appointed Legal Guardian of a Dependent Student who was correctly determined to meet Georgia Residency requirements for the purposes of this procedure and the related policies, establishes Domicile outside the State of Georgia, such student shall continue to retain his or her status as a Georgia Resident, for purposes of this procedure and the related policies, as long as such student remains Continuously Enrolled in a TCSG college.
2. Independent Students: If an Independent Student who was correctly determined to meet Georgia Residency requirements, for purposes of this procedure and the related policies, temporarily relocates outside the State of Georgia, but returns to the State of Georgia within 12 months, such student shall retain his or her status as a Georgia Resident, for purposes of In-State Tuition.
Eligibility for Out-of-State Tuition Exemption:
1. Students in the following classifications are eligible for Out of State Tuition Exemption. These exemptions do not affect the student’s eligibility for the HOPE Scholarship or Grant, except for exemptions for military personnel and their dependents as provided for in the GSFC regulations:
2. Employees, their spouses, and their children who move to Georgia for employment with a new or expanding industry as defined in OCGA 20-4-40;
3. Full-time employees of the Technical College System of Georgia, their spouses, and dependent children;
4. Full-time teachers in a public school, a military base, or a public postsecondary college, their spouses, and dependent children;
5. United States military personnel stationed in Georgia and on active duty and their dependents living in Georgia;
6. United States military personnel, spouses and dependent children reassigned outside Georgia, who remain continuously enrolled and on active military status;
7. United States military personnel and their dependents that are Domiciled in Georgia, but are stationed outside the State;
8. Students who are Domiciled in out-of-state counties bordering on Georgia counties and who are enrolled in a Technical College with a local reciprocity agreement;
9. Career consular officers and their dependents that are citizens of the foreign nation which their consular office represents, and who are living in Georgia under orders of their respective governments. This exemption shall apply only to those consular officers whose nations operate on the principle of educational reciprocity with the United States.
10. Members of a uniformed military service of the United States who enroll in an academic program and demonstrate an intent to become domiciled in Georgia. This exemption may also be granted to their spouses and dependent children. This exemption also applies to recipients of transferred GI Bill^® benefits who enroll in an academic program and demonstrate an intent to become domiciled in Georgia. An individual or former service member so described retains the exemption if they remain continuously enrolled (other than during regularly scheduled breaks) and uses educational benefits, even if the student enrolls in multiple programs.
11. Students using transferred GI Bill^® while the transferor is on active duty who demonstrate an intent to become domiciled in Georgia and students using the Marine Gunnery John David Fry Scholarship who demonstrate an intent to become domiciled in Georgia.
  
  GI Bill^® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website at http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.
12. Students who are described as covered individuals in 38 U.S.C. 3679(c)
13. Student from a homesless situtation as defind in OCGA 20-3-66
14. Students who are dually enrolled and participating in Dual Enrollment.

Notwithstanding any provision in this procedure, no person who is unlawfully present in the United States shall be eligible for any exemption of the tuition differential.