(1)For any Idaho public institution of higher education, a "resident student" is:
(a)Any student who has one (1) or more parent or parents or court-appointed guardians who are domiciled in the state of Idaho, and the parent, parents or guardians provide at least fifty percent (50%) of the student’s support. Domicile, as used in this section, means that individual’s true, fixed and permanent home and place of habitation. It is the place where that individual intends to remain, and to which that individual expects to return when that individual leaves without intending to establish a new domicile elsewhere. To qualify under this section, the parent, parents or guardians must have maintained a domicile in the state of Idaho for at least twelve (12) months prior to the opening day of the ter
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(1) For any Idaho public institution of higher education, a "resident student" is:
(a) Any student who has one (1) or more parent or parents or court-appointed guardians who are domiciled in the state of Idaho, and the parent, parents or guardians provide at least fifty percent (50%) of the student’s support. Domicile, as used in this section, means that individual’s true, fixed and permanent home and place of habitation. It is the place where that individual intends to remain, and to which that individual expects to return when that individual leaves without intending to establish a new domicile elsewhere. To qualify under this section, the parent, parents or guardians must have maintained a domicile in the state of Idaho for at least twelve (12) months prior to the opening day of the term for which the student matriculates.
(b) Any student who receives less than fifty percent (50%) of the student’s support from a parent, parents or legal guardians and who has continuously resided and maintained a bona fide domicile in the state of Idaho primarily for purposes other than educational for twelve (12) months preceding the opening day of the term for which the student matriculates.
(c) Any student who is a graduate of an accredited secondary school in the state of Idaho pursuant to section 33-119, Idaho Code, is domiciled in Idaho, and matriculates at an Idaho public institution of higher education within eight (8) years immediately following secondary school graduation regardless of the domicile of the student’s parent or guardian, or any student who completes six (6) years of elementary and secondary education in Idaho, is domiciled in Idaho, and matriculates at an Idaho public institution of higher education within eight (8) years immediately following completion of secondary education.
(d) The spouse of a person who is classified, or is eligible for classification, as a resident of the state of Idaho for the purposes of attending an Idaho public institution of higher education, except that a student who was enrolled as a full-time student in any term during the twelve (12) month period before the term in which the student proposes to enroll as a resident student must independently establish domicile under subsection (2) of this section.
(e) A member of the armed forces of the United States who entered service as an Idaho resident and who has maintained Idaho resident status, but is not stationed within the state of Idaho on military orders.
(f) A member of the armed forces of the United States, stationed in the state of Idaho on military orders.
(g) An officer or an enlisted member of the Idaho national guard.
(h) A person separated, under honorable conditions, from the United States armed forces after at least two (2) years of service, who at the time of separation designates the state of Idaho as his intended domicile or who has Idaho as the home of record in service and enters a college or university in the state of Idaho within one (1) year of the date of separation, or who moves to Idaho for the purpose of establishing domicile; provided however, to maintain status as a resident student, such person must actively establish domicile in Idaho within one (1) year of matriculation in a public institution of higher education in Idaho.
(i) The dependent child of a person who qualifies as a resident student under the provisions of paragraphs (e) through (g) of this subsection and who receives at least fifty percent (50%) support from such person shall also be a resident student and shall not lose that resident status if, after he or she enters an Idaho public institution of higher education, the parent or guardian is transferred out of the state of Idaho on military orders.
(j) A student who is a member of an Idaho Native American Indian tribe, whose traditional and customary tribal boundaries included portions of the state of Idaho, or whose Indian tribe was granted reserved lands within the state of Idaho. The state board of education shall maintain a list of tribes that meet these requirements.
(k) A student matriculating at and attending a public institution of higher education in Idaho in a graduate or professional program who:
(i) Graduated from an institution of higher education located in Idaho that:
1. Is public;
2. Is private and holds a certificate of registration with the board pursuant to section 33-2402, Idaho Code; or
3. Is private, nonprofit and exempt from registration with the board pursuant to section 33-2402, Idaho Code;
(ii) Physically resided in Idaho for at least the final twelve (12) months of undergraduate studies;
(iii) Earned a baccalaureate degree from the undergraduate institution sufficient to meet the standards for admission into the graduate or professional program; and
(iv) Enrolls in the graduate or professional program no later than thirty-six (36) months after receiving a baccalaureate degree from the undergraduate institution.
(2) The establishment of a new domicile in Idaho by a person formerly domiciled in another state has occurred if such person has resided in Idaho for the prior twelve (12) months and:
(a) Is physically present in Idaho primarily for purposes other than educational. An undergraduate student who is enrolled as a full-time student in any term during the prior twelve (12) month period shall be presumed to be in Idaho for primarily educational purposes. Such period of enrollment shall not be counted toward the establishment of a domicile in this state unless the student can provide proof of full-time employment in Idaho for twelve (12) months before the term in which the student proposes to enroll as a resident student and the filing of an Idaho state resident income tax return for the prior tax year; or
(b) Is a full-time student in a graduate or professional program at an institution of higher education in Idaho.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of this section, the following students shall be considered nonresidents for tuition purposes:
(a) A student attending an Idaho public institution of higher education with financial assistance provided by another country or governmental unit or agency thereof. Such nonresidency shall continue for twelve (12) months after the completion of the last semester for which such assistance was provided.
(b) A student who is not a United States citizen, unless lawfully present in the United States.
(4) The state board of education and the board of regents of the university of Idaho shall adopt uniform and standard rules applicable to all Idaho public institutions of higher education now or hereafter established to determine residency status of any student and to establish procedures for review of that status.
(5) Appeal from a final determination denying residency status may be initiated by the filing of an action in the district court of the county in which the affected public institution of higher education is located. An appeal from the district court shall lie as in all civil actions.
(6) Nothing contained herein shall prevent the state board of education and the board of regents of the university of Idaho from establishing quotas, standards for admission, standards for readmission, or other terms and requirements governing persons who are not residents for purposes of higher education.
(7) For students who apply for special graduate and professional programs including but not limited to the WICHE student exchange programs and the Idaho medical, dental, and veterinary medicine education programs, no applicant shall be certified or otherwise designated as a beneficiary of such special program who does not meet the definition of resident student as set forth in subsection (1) of this section.
[33-3717B, added 2005, ch. 210, sec. 4, p. 627; am. 2008, ch. 66, sec. 2, p. 170; am. 2008, ch. 226, sec. 1, p. 690; am. 2009, ch. 329, sec. 1, p. 939; am. 2010, ch. 77, sec. 1, p. 126; am. 2012, ch. 21, sec. 1, p. 74; am. 2014, ch. 75, sec. 2, p. 198; am. 2016, ch. 114, sec. 1, p. 324; am. 2018, ch. 200, sec. 1, p. 451; am. 2025, ch. 257, sec. 1, p. 1124.]