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Honolulu Community College

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Hawai?i Residency

Learn about Honolulu Community College’s criteria for determining who is a Hawai‘i resident for tuition purposes.

Establishing Residency in the State of Hawai?i for Tuition Purposes

The University of Hawai?i, like all public institutions of higher learning, has residency requirements for payment of resident tuition. Similar to those in other states, these requirements are complex. Consequently, students applying to Honolulu Community College often have questions about their residency status as it applies to tuition.

This page is designed to acquaint you with the University of Hawai?i’s residency regulations and to answer questions you might have. The information provided is not a complete explanation of residency laws and regulations. Furthermore, residency rules may change as a result of legislation or administrative action. Residency Officers on all campuses of the University of Hawai?i have the most up-to-date information on all aspects of residency. Detailed information is available in Hawai?i Administrative Rules Title 20, Chapter 4: .

In general, except as otherwise provided by the Board of Regents, in order to be considered a resident for tuition purposes, you must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident for one calendar year (365 days). You cannot maintain domicile in Hawai?i and another place simultaneously.

For further clarification of our residency laws and regulations, please call 808-845-9129 or email us at honcc@hawaii.edu.

Residency FAQs

To qualify for resident tuition, you must have been a bona fide resident of Hawai?i for at least one calendar year (365 days) prior to the semester for which you want resident tuition status. This applies to adults 18 years of age or older. If you are a minor (under 18 years of age), your parents or court-ordered guardians must have been bona fide residents for the calendar year in question.

In addition, whether you are an adult or minor, you must not have been claimed as a dependent for tax purposes by your parents or court-ordered guardians for the calendar year in question if they are not legal residents of Hawai?i.

Bona fide residency is similar to the legal concept of domicile. A person’s domicile is the place where he or she lives permanently and returns to after any absence. To be a bona fide resident of Hawai?i, you must be physically present in the state and demonstrate during the calendar year in question your intent to make Hawai?i your permanent residence.

Intent for resident tuition purposes is based not on your future actions, but on what you have done in the immediate past (i.e., prior to the semester for which you want resident tuition status). We may request the following documents to help us determine your residency status:

  • State of Hawai?i personal income tax, filing as a resident by the:
    • Adult student who is not claimed as a dependent for tax purposes; or
    • Minor student who is declared an emancipated minor; or
    • Parent or guardian of the student if the student is declared as a dependent
  • State of Hawaii Voter Certificate that indicates voting at least twelve months preceding the residency determination date
  • State of Hawai?i General Excise License
  • Employment verification
  • Lease agreement
  • Proof of property ownership
  • Other documents as needed

You may also submit any other evidence you wish to have considered. Not all documents are required, as one may be substituted for another.
Please keep copies of your documents as they will not be able to be returned to you once submitted to Honolulu Community College.

Except as otherwise provided by the Board of Regents, in order to be considered a resident for tuition purposes, you must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident for one calendar year (365 days). You cannot maintain domicile in Hawai?i and another place simultaneously. In other words, you cannot be a bona fide resident of Hawai?i if you appear to maintain your domicile somewhere else at the same time.

The one-calendar-year “clock” begins when you take the first action demonstrating your intent to make Hawai?i your permanent residence (i.e., start employment, register to vote, purchase property, or get a general excise license).

You cannot establish residency by simply enrolling in school. If you are a nonresident student, it is presumed that you are living in Hawai?i primarily to attend school and that your presence is temporary even if you live in Hawai?i during vacation and other breaks from study.

Yes, but there is a credit restriction during the one calendar year (365 days) during which you are establishing residency. You are limited to taking only five semester credits each semester at any school in Hawai?i. You may take online/distance learning courses that are offered in a different state, but you must pay that institution’s nonresident tuition rate.

Yes, the University of Hawai’i recognizes several categories of nonresident students who are allowed to pay resident tuition:

  • United States military personnel, their spouses, and their authorized dependents (up to age 23) during the period the military personnel is stationed in Hawai?i on active duty
  • Members of the Hawai?i National Guard or Hawai?i-based Reserve who are under contract in Hawai?i
  • Certain employees of the University of Hawai?i, their spouses, and dependents
  • East-West Center student grantees pursuing baccalaureate or advanced degrees at the University of Hawai?i
  • Native Hawaiians, descendants of the aboriginal peoples who inhabited the Hawaiian Islands and exercised sovereignty in the Hawaiian Islands in 1778
  • Citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau

In addition, the University of Hawai?i also allows citizens of certain Pacific islands that do not have baccalaureate-granting public institutions to pay 150 percent of the resident tuition:

  • American Samoa
  • Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas
  • Cook Islands
  • Futuna
  • Kiribati
  • Nauru
  • Niue
  • Solomon Islands
  • Tokelau
  • Tonga
  • Tuvalu
  • Vanuatu
  • Wallis

Because everyone’s situation is different, contact our Admissions Office to discuss your specific situation. We will help you determine what action to take and what documents to provide when you become eligible for resident tuition. We can be reached at honcc@hawaii.edu or 808-845-9129.

Each University of Hawai?i campus has a Residency Officer who oversees the resident and nonresident status of all students at that campus. All residency decisions are based on Hawai?i Administrative Rules Title 20, Chapter 4: Determination of Residency as Applied to Tuition and Admission. If the residency process seems rigorous and detailed, it is because, by law, Residency Officers must be precise in determining each student’s residency status.

There is an appeal process. Please contact the Admissions Office at honcc@hawaii.edu for more information.

We recommend contacting the Admissions Office before you arrive in Hawai?i so that we can discuss your specific situation and advise you about your next steps. There is a time sensitive component to the process of establishing residency. This time sensitive component will determine the earliest semester you could qualify for resident tuition status. We can be reached at honcc@hawaii.edu or 808-845-9129.

Misrepresentation: A student or prospective student who intentionally or willfully misrepresents any fact on any form or document intended for use in determination of residency status for tuition purposes will be subject to the regular disciplinary measures of the University of Hawai?i.