I know there are posts about this topic but none answer my question. Hoping someone can help.
We are US citizens living overseas and currently do not have a residence in America (last state of residency was NJ 12 years ago)
My oldest son starts college in California in August 2017. He is not the issue - all finalized/admitted etc
However his younger brother -who is still 3 +years away from finishing high school is aiming to go to college also in California, in particular a UC.
As we have just been through the whole college admission process we understand how difficult admission to a UC can be and is made marginally easier by being instate rather than out iof state or international.
My questions are:
If we were to return to the US and move to California, how quickly are we considered residents for the sake of college admission.
If we were to buy a property now for our oldest son to live in while at college would this help in anyway to establish residency.
Our main concern at this stage would be a more advantageous position for acceptance into a UC (ie considered in state) rather than tuition costs. We are by no means rolling in money - our oldest son received a full scholarship so it has taken the pressure off tuition.
I know there are no guarantees with admission into anywhere but just trying to think through the process and do the due diligence
Thanks
http://ucop.edu/residency/establishing-residency.html
http://www.calstate.edu/sas/residency/
Note that residency depends on parents until the student is independent for financial aid purposes (age 24, married, veteran, graduate student, etc.).
Buying your son a place to live isn’t going to help you.
The parent primary residence needs to be in CA.
I believe it takes two years of residency to be considered an in state resident for tuition purposes.
If you have income below $80,000 a year…and think your second son might be Calgrant eligible…I believe you need to reside in the state for three years and your son would need to graduate from a CA high school.
When are you planning to move back to the states?
Sooner than later would be best.
If you are hoping to gain an edge in acceptance at say…UCLA or Berkeley…please know…these are highly competitive even for instate students.
You should also consider that OOS/country students get very little aid at California public schools even if they would qualify for a full scholarship at many other schools. You may be ready to pay $50k, but just wanted you to be aware in case you were thinking that your second son would qualify for something because of high grades and scores. Unfortunately, not the case.
Thank you for responses / links
I may have to dig further. It seems illogical when we move back to the states we should be able to claim residency somewhere almost immediateky. After all we will be paying state tax immediately (still file federal taxes from overseas). Maybe it defaults to your last state of residency.
Yes thumper1. Just been through the UCLA and Berkeley admission process with older son. There are no ‘sure things’.
I would suggest thinking about where you want to live and where you can afford to live before worrying about at possible UC acceptance. Housing costs in parts of CA are so high that it may not make sense to pay a $500,000 premium to live in a particular location.
I’ve heard that North Dakota has a really high acceptance rate to the ivy league. 
You will get residency immediately when you move back to the states, but residency isn’t the same as residency for tuition purposes. You can pick any state you want and get immediate residency. You will register your cars and get a license and check out library books and buy a fishing license at the ‘in state’ rate. Once you live there 20-30 days, you can vote in elections. Your children can immediately go to public elementary or secondary schools. Residency for tuition purposes is often defined by the state legislature, and sometimes by the school. Some states are 1 year, some longer. It is important to immediately get a license and rental agreement and other anchors to establish a start date.
You would not be instate for NJ, and get no credit for the years you were a resident.
In my state it is one calendar year before classes begin.
thank you all for your responses. It is all a little frustrating
The whole idea of requiring at least a year of residency in a state to get instate tuition is to avoid those who move just for the purpose of paying less for public colleges. Different states have different rules, and as I understand it from CC, schools within a state may also be more/less strict. Owning property without that being your primary residence does not work anywhere (Illinois residents own vacation places in Wisconsin, but sorry, that doesn’t count- no matter how expensive and how much you pay in real estate taxes).
Plan your move for where you want to live and work. Every place has pros and cons. Do not move to a state presuming your younger child will get accepted to the state school of choice! Stay overseas if that is where you see yourselves five years from now. There are reasons you chose to move years ago and it worked for you. Trying to pay instate tuition is NOT the reason to move to a state and disrupt your entire lifestyle.
^I agree. Buying a house in California will negate the in-state rate unless you plan on living in one of the smaller, less expensive farming communities, or in some not so safe neighborhoods, but jobs may not be plentiful in those communities.
FYI: Some rents are more expensive than mortgages. Additionally, transportation costs and commutes are not good.
I agree with the above posters that expecting to be an in-state resident in order to try to gain admission into a UC is a risk. If you’ve already promised your son this future, then I suggest you have a discussion about speaking too soon about a guarantee.
Thank you all. We are well aware of real estate pricing/mortgages etc within USA and would not consider moving to an area where we struggled to work - that goes without saying. We always look at the bigger picture when it comes to family and always do what is best (as I’m sure everyone does) which is why we are doing our due dilligence now with our research. I was only really asking about residency rules when we repatriate back to the USA . Thankyou
You can be a resident anywhere when you move back. You cannget a driver’s license, register to vote, pay taxes, etc.
However…that does NOT mean your college student will be viewed as an instate resident for tuition purposes or college residency purposes.
Rules vary college by college. Some extend in-state tuition to graduates of that states HS, regardless or residency or nationality. Others are a lot more picky.