Don’t breathe yet.
Residency in general, eg, for voting, is not “residency for the purposes of tuition”
http://www.ucop.edu/residency/residency-requirements.html
"Residency requirements
There are four requirements you must fulfill in order to be a California resident for purposes of tuition at UC. All these requirements must be met by the residence determination date (generally the first day of classes) of the term for which you request a resident classification."
"1. Physical presence
You must be continuously physically present in California for more than one year (366 days) immediately prior to the residence determination date of the term for which you request resident status. If you moved to California primarily to attend the University of California, you are here for educational purposes and may not be eligible for a resident classification for purposes of tuition."
Back on my first link, see section III.
“The act necessary to establish residence is physical presence in California. The adult student and one parent must be physically present in California on a continuous basis for at least 366 daysimmediately prior to the Residence Determination Date (RDD) for the relevant term. Residence may not be established in absentia and the prior residence must have been relinquished. If a student is absent from the state during the 366 days s/he is establishing residence, the absence
will be carefully scrutinized to determine whether the physical presence requirement has been met. (See Absences from California, infra, Section III.D.)”
It seems to me all these quotes are the crux. Unfortunately, one often has to fill out the forms to get the determination. And they note that adcoms or FA based on instate costs are not determinative. It has to go through the process.
Seems Dad needs 6 months to confirm his residency.