If you are classified as Out-of-State and your residency status has changed OR you believe the Out-of-State coding is inaccurate, complete one of the forms to initiate reclassification:
- Residency Affidavit – for students who have a high school diploma (or equivalent) and have maintained a primary residence, for purposes other than postsecondary education, in Washington for at least one year prior to starting at RTC (Please refer to Affidavit of Residency Page to learn if you qualify).
- Residence Questionnaire – Financially Dependent Students – for financially dependent students with a parent who has met Washington residency requirements.
- Residence Questionnaire – Financially Independent Students – for financially independent students who have met Washington residency requirements.
Questionnaires and supporting documentation will be accepted up to the 30th calendar day of the quarter. If all documentation required has not been submitted by the 30th calendar day, that request will be considered for the following quarter. Submitting the Residency Questionnaire and any supporting documentation does not guarantee residency for tuition purposes.
Additional documentation or clarification may be required, to determine whether you have met the requirements for residency for tuition purposes.
For more information on how to Establish Bona Fide Domicile, please refer to the Residency Requirements.
Application Process/How to Return the Form:
- Complete the required documentation
- If you complete the WA Residence Questionnaire, you need to submit the supporting documentation
- Return the documentation. Forms can be returned:
- In person at the Enrollment Services Desk in Building I or;
- Uploaded to Residency on ctcLink (please notify residency@rtc.edu if you upload) or;
- Emailed from your RTC student email to: residency@rtc.edu
RTC recommends that documents are submitted in person at the Enrollment Services desk OR uploaded to ctcLink.
Financially Dependent Students
Students who are financially dependent upon parents, legal guardians, or others (excepting spouses) must provide documentation to prove their parents/court-appointed legal guardians have established a bona fide domicile in the state of Washington. Documentation of financial dependence is also required. To be considered, students and parents/legal guardians must have a qualifying citizenship/immigration status to apply.
The student and parent(s)/legal guardian(s) will need to complete the Residence Questionnaire. The student’s information will be completed on page one. The parent’s/legal guardian’s information will be completed on page two (Section 3). Both student and parent(s)/legal guardian(s) must sign and date the Statement of Intent (page two).
In cases of legal guardianship, documentation is required to verify the guardianship is court-appointed.
- Dependents of parents/legal guardians who are either divorced or legally separated
may be classified as residents as long as the dependent student demonstrates financial
dependence (claimed as a dependent exemption on income taxes for the most recent tax
year or shows actual financial dependence) and at least one parent/legal guardian
has established bona fide domicile in Washington State.
- This process requires documentation of (1) bona fide legal domicile from the Washington resident parent/legal guardian and (2) taxes from the person who claimed the student or documentation of the significant financial support received by the student in the current and/or previous calendar year
- The documentation of bona fide legal domicile will be of the parent/legal guardian signing the residency application (not a combination of documents between two parents/legal guardians).
Note: Married students are to complete their residency application as a financially independent applicant unless they are significantly financially dependent on someone other than their spouse
Financially Independent Students
Students whose parents or court-appointed legal guardians do not reside in Washington can only obtain residency for tuition purposes by fulfilling
the requirements as financially independent students. Students must complete and sign
the Residence Questionnaire form (both pages) and provide all documentation as requested
on the Residence Questionnaire.
To be considered as financially independent, students must meet all of the following criteria in addition to meeting all of the other bona fide residency
requirements:
- Parents/legal guardians or others (except spouse) have not claimed and will not claim the student as a dependent on Federal Income Tax returns for the current and previous calendar years;
- Parents/legal guardians or others (except spouse) have not and will not provide the student with significant financial assistance, directly or indirectly, for the current and previous calendar years;
- Students have been and will be independently paying at least 51% of their combined total expenses (cost of attendance and room/board) with their own independent income/resources for the current calendar year and previous calendar year.
Students Who Are:
25 Years of Age or Younger (Married/Domestic Partnership)
Students who are receiving significant financial assistance from a spouse or registered domestic partner may qualify as financially independent as long as the marriage or domestic partnership has been in place for at least one calendar year prior to the quarter of application for residency for tuition purposes. Documentation of marital or domestic partnership and financial information must be provided.
(Students who are receiving significant financial assistance from someone other than their spouse or registered domestic partner will be considered financially dependent regardless of their marital or domestic partnership status if they do not meet the three criteria of financial independence.)
25 Years of Age or Older
Students that are 25 years of age (for the entire academic year prior to the quarter of application) and older may be presumed financially independent unless there is evidence proving otherwise. In this situation, students may not be required to provide information from their parent/legal guardians; however, they are still required to provide their own financial information.
Incomplete Applications
Residency applications submitted without all required documentation and/or missing information are considered incomplete.
Incomplete applications will be placed on hold and students will be notified via preferred email on ctcLink. Students have 10 business days from the notification of the hold to submit the missing information and/or required documentation before their reclassification is denied.
If reclassification is denied, students are required to resubmit forms and supporting documentation by appropriate quarter deadlines for reclassification.
Disclaimer: All reclassifications will be accepted up to the 30th calendar day of the quarter. If all documentation required has not been submitted by the 30th calendar day, that request will be considered for the following quarter. Submitting documentation and any supporting information does not guarantee residency for tuition purposes. Residency is not retroactive and cannot be redetermined for a previous quarter. Residency does not automatically update, once a student has lived in WA for 12 months; students must submit the needed documents and request the update on their account. Residency Officers may ask for additional documentation or information to clarify residency status.