- 1). Graduate from a Texas high school, or get a GED in Texas. This automatically qualifies you as a Texas resident, as long as you have lived in Texas for the 36 months immediately prior to graduation. International students and foreign citizens with permanent residency can also qualify to pay in-state tuition this way. If you are a foreign citizen and do not already have permanent residency when you graduate high school, you must also submit a residency affidavit, stating that you intend to apply for permanent residency as soon as you are eligible.
- 2). Establish domicile (permanent residence). If you did not graduate from a Texas high school or did not live in Texas for 36 months prior to graduation, you can qualify to pay in-state tuition by establishing domicile in Texas. To establish domicile, you, or your parents if you are a dependent, must live in Texas for 12 months and also own a business in the state, own residential property in Texas and live in that property, or be married for 12 months to a Texas resident. This method of establishing residency is open to United States citizens, permanent residents and international students.
- 3). Establish residency by proving a temporary absence. If you graduated from a Texas high school but did not live in Texas for the 36 months prior to graduation, you can establish residency by showing that you or your parents were temporarily absent from Texas. To claim a temporary absence, the absence must be caused by military service, temporary employment out of state or moving out of state for education.
- 4). Marry a Texas resident. You can qualify as a Texas resident for the purpose of paying in-state tuition by marrying a Texas resident and living in Texas for 12 months. You must be married for at least 12 months before qualifying for residency.
- 5). List Texas as your legal residence if you are in the military. This will preserve your status as a Texas resident for educational purposes while you are in the military, no matter where you are posted. In order to claim Texas as your legal residence while you are in the military, you must have lived in Texas for 12 months at some point in your life.
- 6). Fill out the Apply Texas application form when applying to a Texas university (see Resources). You will be asked to include information about your residence. If the information you supply on the form indicates that you may qualify for Texas residency, you will be asked to submit a residence affidavit stating that you qualify for Texas residency. Print out the form, sign it and have it notarized. It must be submitted to the university in order for you to pay in-state tuition.
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