Under Florida statute 1009.21, full-time students who are a citizen of a Latin American or Caribbean country (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and who receive scholarships from the federal or state government shall be classified as residents for tuition purposes. This provision of the law provides an opportunity to encourage the continued internationalization of UF and to attract more high-quality students from Latin America and the Caribbean.
To qualify, UF students must be awarded a non-duty scholarship of a minimum of $500 per semester paid from either state funds appropriated to universities in the General Appropriations Act, investment earnings as provided under section 1011.43, Florida Statutes, or from federally authorized scholarship funds. Universities may use equal matching funds from private businesses, private foundations, and public agencies. Students must be full-time and in good academic standing. Graduate or research assistantships are not considered scholarships for this purpose. Note that this program provides eligibility; it is not a guaranteed scholarship. Scholarship decisions are made by the colleges.
To obtain residency for tuition purposes, the qualified student must obtain a letter (using the template below) from their college at the start of each semester, indicating the amount of the scholarship and the semester for which it is awarded. This letter must be presented to the International Center for processing of the application for residency status for tuition purposes under Florida Statutes 1009.21.
Citizens from the following countries are eligible for the LAC scholarship:
Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Caribbean Netherlands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Barthelemy, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten/St. Martin, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama.
South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela.
North America: Mexico
Form
- LAC Award Letter Template (The LAC Award Letter must be printed on Departmental Letter Head. The student will need to obtain UFIC approval before the application for residency goes to the Office of the Registrar for processing).
For further information, please contact the UF International Center.
