Are you eligible for residency?
If you live in New Mexico only to attend school and have a residence out-of-state the rest of the year, you are resident of that state and are not eligible for New Mexico residency. If you are financially independent and can provide documentation of residing in New Mexico for the past 12 consecutive months, you may be eligible to petition for residency and secure resident tuition.

How do you prove New Mexico residency?
In addition to providing The University of New Mexico with proof of living in New Mexico, there are several overt acts required to also show intent of residency. These requirements are set forth by the New Mexico Commission of Higher Education and are as follows:

acquiring a New Mexico driver’s license;
registering your vehicle in New Mexico;
registering to vote in New Mexico;
if employed, showing evidence of employment in New Mexico and
if employed, showing payment of New Mexico state taxes.

(See complete Commission of Higher Education Residency text below)

How do you petition for New Mexico residency?
You can download the Petition for Residency and a checklist of documentation required for the petition from the main UNM website at http://www.unm.edu/%7Eunmreg/forms.htm. You can also find other forms for programs available to nonresidents. All documents submitted for this purpose will be kept confidential. Residency petitions will be accepted beginning the first week of July for the Fall semester and the first week of December for the Spring semester. Return the completed petition no later then the second Friday of each Fall and Spring semester to the Office of the Registrar, Student Services Center, Room 261.

Proving/Establishing New Mexico Sate Residency - CHE Rule 910

Established by the NM Commission on Higher Education
Effective Fall 1996
All students are classified according to their residency status for tuition purposes. Any student wishing to change from nonresident to resident classification must petition through the Registrar's Office. New students must change their residency status through the Admissions Office (Student Affairs).

To become a legal resident of New Mexico for tuition purposes, four basic requirements must be completed. Each person must meet the requirements individually.

1. THE TWELVE MONTH CONSECUTIVE PRESENCE REQUIREMENT.* A person must physically reside in the state for the twelve consecutive months immediately preceding the term for which the resident classification is requested. Note: Students must be 19 years old to establish their own residency.

2. THE FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE REQUIREMENT. Only persons who are financially independent may establish residency apart from parents or guardians. A student cannot be approved for residency who is financially dependent upon his/her parents or guardians who are nonresidents of New Mexico. Dependency is always based on the previous tax year for residency purposes. If under the age of 23 at the time the student applies for residency, a copy of his/her parents' or guardians' 1040 or 1040A U.S. income tax form for the previous tax year must be submitted with the application to verify this status. If the student is shown to be a dependent on this tax form, he/she will not be considered financially independent during the current year.

3. THE WRITTEN DECLARATION OF "INTENT" REQUIREMENT. The student must sign a written declaration of intent to relinquish residency in any other state and establish it in New Mexico.

4. THE OVERT ACTS REQUIREMENT. New Mexico requires the completion of several "overt" acts which support the student's written declaration of intent to become a permanent resident. The student must meet the requirement of all of the overt acts listed in this section unless they can sufficiently demonstrate why the are unable to do so. The required overt acts are:

1) if employed, evidence of employment within the state of New Mexico;
2) if employed in New Mexico, evidence of payment of New Mexico state in come tax;
3) a New Mexico driver's license;
4) a New Mexico vehicle registration; and,
5) voter registration in New Mexico.

NOTE: Any act considered inconsistent with being a New Mexico resident--such as voting, securing and/or maintaining a driver's license or automobile registration in another state, etc.--will cause the petition to be denied.
Active duty military stationed in New Mexico, their spouses and dependents, are eligible for waivers for nonresident tuition. A form must be submitted to obtain this waiver.
* The spouse and dependent children of a person who has moved to New Mexico and has obtained permanent full-time employment (sufficient documentation is required) shall not be required to complete the twelve month durational requirement. However, all other requirements must be satisfied.