In the particular case of W&M, DC working at Busch Gardens or Colonial Williamsburg or some other place usually produces pay stubs and W-2 documents to further show DC's residency. Of course, DC also would need to file a VA Resident tax return - and should do even that if their income is below filing threshold.

Voter registration - and then actually voting in an election - often also is a large factor for residency. This usually is not difficult to do, once one has an apartment and a driving license showing that apt address.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I forgot to add/ask - if we stay here and my spouse rents an apartment in the new state, would the clock start ticking even though we are here and he's there?

Are you paying taxes here? That’s going to be a biggie. You must establish you aren’t here solely to establish in state residency. Working in VA would help that a lot. Obviously so would renting in VA, keeping a car registered in your name here, keeping a VA Drivers license and voting here (the amount of paperwork you need to establish VA residency is, frankly, nuts).

I’m getting ready to move and have a rising senior at W&M. You apply in VA, where you have lived and paid taxes and have a drivers license and your kid has attended HS and a zillion other things they ask you to document. At W&M (and I’d assume other VA schools are the same), if parents move OOS, the kid has a 12 month grace period to establish residency on their own and not solely for tuition purposes.

For the first year, they keep in state tuition. And then to establish residency on their own, there is a list of things they look at— car in their name registered in state, apartment lease, registration to vote, etc. If they don’t establish residency in the 12 months, you pay OOS tuition (but will have gotten the instate admission bump).

So, we will likely move September of my kid’s senior year, and legally and without fudging pay in state tuition for fall and spring semesters under the 12 months grace period without her doing anything. Any earlier (like after sophomore year) and she would have needed to establish residency or we’d have to pay OOS.

That said, she is interested in a VA college for grad school. She’ll be able to apply in state (12 month rule). But, we’ll have to weigh that this fall in deciding whether it’s worth the gamble to establish residency for her for tuition purposes.

I know it’s generally possible to establish residency for your kid, but can be a logistic mess/headache. I’m not sure I know how it would work at W&M though, because it has a 2 year residency requirement, so your kid wouldn’t rent an apartment as a sophomore.

My advice? Look at the specific schools website on parents moving and make sure what they want is feasible. Have your kid get in as in state Pay fall (and spring) tuition as in state. Then work directly with the school to make sure you give them exactly what they want to establish your kid as in state on their own.

BTW— this does not apply to military transfers. That’s its own separate thing.

OP here. I forgot to add/ask - if we stay here and my spouse rents an apartment in the new state, would the clock start ticking even though we are here and he's there?

Anonymous wrote:We've got a rising senior and a relocation on the table that would take us out of our current state (VA).

How does this work? Can we still apply in-state in VA (we will stay for the final year) or can we apply in the new state? Both? I'm not trying to cheat, I'm just trying to understand how it works...realizing this must happen to people all the time with job transfers?

It depends on each state involved. It's pretty easy to be in-state nowhere. It typically takes a year of residency to qualify and out-of-state HS diploma will at least mean more paperwork.

All states are different in how they classify in-state. Most common is that your child will be considered in-state for Virginia as he is graduating from there. He will become in state 12 months after your family establishes residency in the new state.

We've got a rising senior and a relocation on the table that would take us out of our current state (VA).

How does this work? Can we still apply in-state in VA (we will stay for the final year) or can we apply in the new state? Both? I'm not trying to cheat, I'm just trying to understand how it works...realizing this must happen to people all the time with job transfers?