Residency for Tuition Purposes

The residency information provided during your admissions review will initiate your residence review. You may be asked to provide further information to determine your eligibility for resident tuition.

In general, to be eligible for resident tuition, you must be a bona fide resident of Wisconsin during the 12 months prior to enrollment. Individuals who enter and remain in Wisconsin primarily for educational purposes do NOT qualify as bona fide residents for tuition purposes even after living in Wisconsin a year or more.

If you do not qualify as a Wisconsin resident, you will be classified as a nonresident and pay nonresident tuition. The nonresident classification will continue in effect until you overcome the presumption that you are here primarily for educational purposes.

Note: Under Federal law some active duty members of the armed forces and their families may be eligible for resident tuition as outlined in 20 USC 1015d.  This information focuses on the Wisconsin laws governing resident status for tuition purposes. Eligibility for resident tuition under Federal law is not the same thing as meeting the criteria for Resident Status under Wisconsin law. Students eligible for in-state tuition through military affiliation are classified as non-residents while receiving the resident tuition rate. Veterans may also be eligible.

Bona fide residence is defined in Wisconsin Statutes § 36.27(2)(e). It requires that a person be able to demonstrate intent to establish and maintain a permanent home in Wisconsin:

“Intent may be demonstrated or disproved by factors including, but not limited to, timely filing of a Wisconsin income tax return of the type that only full-year Wisconsin residents may file, voter registration in Wisconsin, motor vehicle registration in Wisconsin, possession of a Wisconsin operator’s license, place of employment, self-support, involvement in community activities in Wisconsin, physical presence in Wisconsin for at least 12 months preceding the beginning of the semester or session for which the student registers, and, if the student is not a U.S. citizen, possession of a visa that permits indefinite residence in the United States.” Wisconsin Statutes § 36.27(2)(e).”

There are some exceptions to the 12-month bona fide resident requirement.  You may qualify to pay tuition and fees at the resident rate without being a bona fide Wisconsin resident for the 12 months prior to enrollment if:

• You graduated from a Wisconsin high school and your parent(s) are bona fide residents of the state of Wisconsin for the 12 months prior to your enrollment
• You are a tax dependent of one of your parents and one of your parents has been a bona fide Wisconsin resident for the 12 months prior to enrollment
• You are a minor whose parent has been a bona fide Wisconsin resident for the 12 months prior to enrollment
• You are a minor who lived in Wisconsin during the 12 months prior to enrollment and substantially during your years of minority
• You, your spouse, or someone who claims you as a tax dependent, was relocated to Wisconsin for full-time continuous employment by his or her current employer; or moved to Wisconsin for employment purposes and accepted their new, full-time employment before moving to Wisconsin and before applying for admission to a UW System institution. In these cases, the employed person must continue working full-time with the same employer, and the student must demonstrate intent to establish and maintain a permanent home in Wisconsin
• You are a refugee who came to Wisconsin immediately upon entering the United States and have resided in Wisconsin since then
• You, your spouse, or your parent is an active duty member of the Armed Forces stationed in Wisconsin, or is living in Wisconsin and stationed at a federal military installation within 90 miles of the Wisconsin state border
• You, your spouse, or your parent is or was on active duty in the Armed Forces and meets other requirements outlined in the state statute
• You, or your parent, lived and worked in Wisconsin as a migrant worker for a required period of time during the five years prior to enrollment
• You are a member of the Wisconsin National Guard or a reserve unit of the U.S. Armed forces for six months immediately prior to enrollment in a semester, and you have resided in Wisconsin for a six-month period immediately prior to enrollment in that semester

There are also provisions in the statute identifying other circumstances that may make you eligible for resident tuition. These additional provisions may allow you to attend at the resident rate while being formally classified as a non-resident.

Minnesota/Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity Information

• Minnesota residents may be eligible to pay Minnesota resident tuition rates to attend public Wisconsin institutions through the Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity Program (Section 39.47–Minnesota-Wisconsin Student Reciprocity Agreement).
• To participate in this program, you must apply and be approved. Visit the Minnesota Office of Higher Education website for more information and the reciprocity application form.

Other non-resident tuition programs

• For more information on the Midwest Student Exchange Program, Return to Wisconsin, or Illinois Partial Tuition Waiver program, learn more here.