establishing residency

Announcement from Student Accounts:

Establishing Residency

To be eligible for resident tuition in the second year, it is important that students take steps to make New York State their documented residence as soon as they arrive in New York . These steps include transferring their driver's license and vehicle registration to the State of New York, filing income taxes as a New York State resident, registering to vote in the State, and changing their address on file with their bank to your New York address. Students should also keep a copy of their lease (or deed) for their residence.

New York State residency eligibility is based on the student's ability to demonstrate that they have taken steps to make New York your primary residence for the past year. In accordance with this policy, it is important that students take the outlined steps to document their  New York residence immediately following their arrival in the State. Failure to do so could make a student ineligible for resident tuition rates in their second year. Documentation should be transferred to New York within 30 days of your arrival in the state to ensure eligibility.

The New York State DMV has important information pertaining to this. As a New York State resident, it is necessary to change your driver's license to New York in accordance with New York State Department of Motor Vehicle law. The policy can be found at:  http://www.dmv.ny.gov/resident.htm.  A New York State driver’s license must be obtained within 30 days of claiming intent to become a New York State resident.  Personal property, such as vehicles, must be registered in New York State. If you move to New York and become a resident, you must register your vehicle within 30 days  of becoming a resident.The policy can be found at: https://dmv.ny.gov/registration/register-out-state-vehicle.  

Graduate/Professional students are expected to complete this application as an independent student. As such,  it is important that students are not claimed as a dependent on any income tax filing and that they file income taxes as a resident of the State of New York (if required). If the student has worked in a state other than New York, they must file as a part-year resident of that state and use their New York home address on the return.

Funded Graduate Students

In order to maintain full tuition scholarship funding, students are normally required to establish New York State residency by the start of their second year of study. Generally, all tuition scholarships are paid at the New York State resident rate for the second and subsequent years of study.

Funded graduate students are asked to complete a residency application by the residency deadline for the semester in which their funding reverts to the in-state rate. This will ensure that tuition scholarship funding is not interrupted. At the time of the application, students should have already made New York your primary and documented residence.

Students seeking information regarding transferring their license, vehicle registration, and voter registration to the State of New York should visit the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles website at: https://dmv.ny.gov/.

Students seeking information regarding taxes should visit the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance website at: https://www.tax.ny.gov/