According to CollegeBoard.com, a person, or that person's parents, if claimed as a dependent, must establish and maintain legal residency in the state of Florida for 12 months. The applicant for Florida residency status must also prove that his or her presence in the state is solely for the purpose of enrollment in an educational institution. Proper documentation must be dated 12 months prior to enrollment in a college. The applicant must also have no ties to another state during this 12-month period. Also important, as Florida State University Admissions notes, to apply for Florida residency, an individual must also be a "U.S. citizen, permanent resident alien, or legal alien granted indefinite stay by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services." Living in or going to a school in Florida will not automatically qualify an individual as a resident for tuition purposes. Furthermore, if a student depends on out-of-state parents for support, that same individual will be considered a resident of his or her parents' state, according to Florida State University Admissions. Also the marriage of a nonresident to a bona fide, or permanent and legal, state resident may receive residency status for tuition purposes once the nonresident becomes a legal resident of Florida, according to CollegeBoard.com.
A Florida driver's license, Florida voter registration, Florida bank accounts, and Florida home ownership are examples of documents that can be used as evidence of established residency, according to CollegeBoard.com. During the college application process, students are required by their prospective colleges to fill out an affidavit and possibly submit supporting documentation, including the student's and possibly his or her parents' tax returns as evidence of residency in the state of Florida, according to Florida State University Admissions.
In some cases, the state makes exceptions to the residency requirements. Tuition waivers can be offered for students in honors programs; out-of-state graduate students in assistantships; students with special skills in arts and athletics; and graduate students with "high academic capabilities," according to CollegeBoard.com.