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Spouse Arizona Domicile Affidavit
The Spouse Arizona Domicile Affidavit is for students who are married to an Arizona resident. This affidavit option does not require the student overcome the student presumption making it an ideal option for married students who cannot overcome student presumption or prove financial independence on the Independent Residency Reclassification Petition.
The student must meet ALL four of these requirements as defined by the Arizona Board of Regents to be considered an Arizona resident for tuition purposes. Those requirements are:
1. The student’s spouse must have established Domicile in Arizona Accordion Closed
- “Domicile” or “Domiciled” means an individual’s true, fixed, and permanent home and place of habitation. It is the place where the individual lives, intends to remain, and to which the individual intends to return when leaving without intending to establish a new domicile elsewhere.
2. The spouse must demonstrate 12 months of physical presence in the state. Accordion Closed
- This is defined by the student being continuously physically present in Arizona for the 12 calendar months immediately preceding the last day of registration for the term which the student is seeking classification as an in-state resident for tuition purposes, as demonstrated by objective evidence.
3. The student’s spouse must demonstrate financial independence Accordion Closed
- “Financial Independence” means the spouse is capable of paying for the couple’s living expenses (i.e., housing, utilities, transportation, insurance, groceries/food) and university tuition with funds earned by the individuals or with funds that are the sole property of the individuals, without receiving significant financial support from someone other than a spouse.
- This affidavit also requires that the student’s parents have not claimed them as dependent on their taxes for at least the most recent tax year.
- Spouses 24 years old and under are assumed to be financially dependent on their parents regardless of how taxes are filed; they must provide convincing evidence proving otherwise.
4. The student must be legally married to their spouse Accordion Closed
- The student’s spouse is entitled to claim the student as an exemption for federal and state tax purposes.
- The student and spouse must be married at the time of submission.
If you are not sure if you meet these criteria, you can explore other pathways to residency listed on our website or using the residency navigator to see if there is a different pathway to residency for you. Please contact the residency office with questions.
Definitions and Things to Know:
- “Objective Evidence” means documentation or information other than your own statement(s) of intent.
- The term “resident for tuition purposes” differs from other definitions of Arizona residency. You can be a resident for other purposes and not be a resident for tuition purposes.
- To qualify as an Arizona resident for tuition purposes, you must have U.S. Citizenship, a permanent resident card, or an eligible visa to qualify. You can view the visa eligibility here.
- The residency office will review all facets of your academic career in our review of your petition – this includes your application for admission, financial aid awards and any communications with the residency office or other NAU offices. We may verify or investigate the authenticity of any documents submitted.
- Missing or incomplete documentation can cause your petition to be denied or delayed. If there is something you cannot provide, please explain in the missing documentation explanation section instead.
- Additional documentation may be requested by the residency office after our initial review of your petition and supporting documents. Please respond promptly to ensure your review can be completed.
- We will communicate with the student via their NAU email address. It is the student’s responsibility to check their email and respond in a timely manner.
- Spouses, if you are looking for an update regarding an affidavit first ask the student if they have received anything to their NAU email account. We may require the student to have a FERPA release on file before releasing any account information.
- The residency office is required to follow Arizona Board of Regents policy, which is state law.