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Nonresidents of New York State and Out-of status (Undocumented) Students

Nonresidents of New York State and out-of-status (undocumented) students who attended a New York State high school for at least two years and graduated, or obtained a New York State GED diploma, may apply for in-state tuition if they apply to CUNY within five years of receiving their diploma.

NONRESIDENTS OF NYS AND OUT-OF-STATUS (UNDOCUMENTED) STUDENTS
ESTABLISHING RESIDENCY FOR IN-STATE TUITION

• Pursuant to Section 6206 (7) (a) of the New York State Education Law, students who are not residents of the State of New York or are out-of-status (undocumented) qualify for the in-state tuition if ONE of the following conditions are met:

  1. The student attended an approved New York high school for two or more years, graduated, and applied to attend CUNY within five years of receiving their New York State diploma.

  2. The student has attended an approved New York State Program for General Equivalency Diploma (GED) exam preparation, received the GED issued within New York State, and applied to attend CUNY within five years of receiving their New York State GED diploma.

  3. Students who were enrolled in CUNY in the Fall 2001 semester and were authorized by CUNY to pay tuition at the resident rate. Thus, a student who attended CUNY in the Fall 2001 semester and paid the resident rate does not have to satisfy either of the conditions above.

• To be eligible for in-state tuition in addition to meeting the above requirements, out of status (undocumented) students must file a notarized affidavit stating that they have filed an application to legalize their immigration status or will file such an application as soon as they are eligible to do so.

• Students whose NYS residency has not been determined by the time their tuition bill is due (see due date on your bill), will be required to pay the out-of-state tuition. If the Residency Office later determines that they qualify for the in-state tuition rate, the Office of the Bursar will issue a tuition refund for the difference paid

• No residency documents will be accepted after the end of the semester for which they are applying for a determination.

The deadline to submit the CUNY Residency Form and all required documentation is on or before the last day of finals in the semester for which resident tuition is being sought. 

This website contains excerpts from the University Tuition & Fee Manual’s policy on Residency (chapter IV). The policy is available for review here.

*Students requesting resident status for tuition purposes are expected to be aware of the requirements necessary to qualify for State residency set forth in Part I of this Residency section of the Tuition and Fee Manual. Students are also expected to be aware of the resident and non-resident tuition rates, which are available on the CUNY web site, among other places, so that they know if they are being charged the correct tuition rate and quickly address any residency issues.