Residency Requirements

Residency Classification for Tuition Purposes

Students are initially assigned residency status in the admissions process. If a student wants to apply for a change in residency status, an application must be made to the Office of the Registrar. The application may be downloaded from the Forms webpage on the Office of the Registrar’s website. Supporting documentation and/or evidence should be attached to the application and submitted to the Office of the Registrar by the 15th calendar day of the term. If the request for reclassification is approved, it shall be effective for the semester in which the application was filed and for each semester thereafter, so long as the circumstances upon which the reclassification was based remain unchanged. Appropriate refunds shall be made following such reclassification.

The decision of the Registrar may be appealed to the Provost’s Office in Academic and Student Affairs. Also, the President is authorized to make exceptions within the spirit of this policy and is authorized to establish procedures and delegate authority for classifying and reclassifying students as Michigan residents or out-of-state residents. 

It is the responsibility of the student to register under the proper residency classification, to advise the Office of the Registrar of possible changes in residency and to furnish all requested information. Students who enroll at SVSU as non-residents continue to be classified as such throughout their attendance unless the classification is officially changed. International students attending SVSU on F-1 or J-1 visas will not be considered for residency status upon admission to SVSU.

Determination of Residency

For the purposes of this policy, a resident student is defined as a student domiciled in Michigan for a period of at least six months, with the intention of making Michigan their permanent home, or entering Michigan from another state of residency for the purpose of accepting an offer of permanent employment in this state with the intention of making Michigan his or her permanent home.

A non-resident student is defined as one who is domiciled in another state or foreign country. A student is not considered domiciled in Michigan unless he or she is in continuous physical residence in this state and intends to make Michigan his or her permanent home, not only while in attendance at SVSU but indefinitely thereafter and has no domicile or interest to be domiciled in another state or country. Upon qualifying for Michigan residency, a student in attendance at SVSU may apply for reclassification. 

Documented evidence of the following facts and circumstances, although not necessarily conclusive evidence of domicile in Michigan, will be considered in support of a claim of resident status:

1. Continuous presence in Michigan during a six-month period when not enrolled as a student.
2. Reliance upon Michigan sources for financial support.
3. Domicile in Michigan for family, guardian or other relatives or persons legally responsible for the student.
4. Ownership and occupancy by the student of a home in Michigan.
5. Payment of Michigan property tax as a resident. 
6. An alien who has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States.
7. A legal alien and/or dependent(s) in possession of a valid United States H-1 or L-1 visa who enters the state of Michigan under the directive of their employer shall, upon submission of said visa and verification of said employment, be classified as a Michigan resident for tuition purposes as long as said visa remains valid.
8. A student who enters the state of Michigan from another state of residency for the purpose of accepting employment as a cooperative education student or a student intern with a firm or industry in the state of Michigan, upon submission of verification of said employment, be classified as a Michigan resident for tuition purposes during his or her tenure of said classification.

A student may submit any other pertinent evidence of intent to make Michigan their domicile after completion of college or university attendance. Each case is determined on its own particular merits.

Special Circumstances Affecting Michigan Residency 

A student who has been employed as a migrant worker in Michigan or whose parents have been so employed will be granted resident status for purposes of tuition on the basis of proof of employment in this state for at least two months per calendar year in three of the five calendar years immediately preceding the initial enrollment of the student, or at least three months per calendar year in each of two of the five calendar years immediately preceding the initial enrollment. Enrollment in any of the summer terms constitutes one semester of enrollment. 

If a family of a student with resident status moves out of Michigan, the student will nevertheless maintain resident status for as long as he or she is continuously enrolled. Continuous enrollment is defined as enrollment during at least two of three successive semesters. A student who withdraws will be regarded as having been enrolled, provided tuition was paid in full and the withdrawal occurred after the end of the refund period.