If you have students who are not U.S. citizens and want to find out if they can receive federal student aid, point them to StudentAid.gov/noncitizen for a list of the noncitizen categories that qualify for federal student aid.
Tip: If the student provides background information, it's often easier to find out what category the student will fall in, rather than reviewing each categoriey.
2024–25 FAFSA® form
2023–24 FAFSA® form
2024–25 FAFSA® Form
How should an eligible noncitizen student fill out the FAFSA® form?
On the 2024–25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form, an eligible noncitizen student should select the "Eligible noncitizen" option under the "Student Citizenship Status" section.
Tip: During the application process, students will often be worried about how and when they will be asked about their citizenship or immigration status. Walk students through the question on the FAFSA form by using screenshots from the FAFSA Preview Presentations available on the Toolkit's Search Financial Aid Tools and Resources" page. Knowing how the question will be asked will help them prepare and may reduce any fear of completing the application or completing it wrong.
Talking point: If the student identifies as an eligible noncitizen and reports an A-number on the FAFSA form, that information is checked against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's database. If the match doesn't confirm the student is an eligible noncitizen, the student will have to submit immigration documentation to the college or career school they plan to attend for review. A student is not eligible for federal student aid until the student's status as an eligible noncitizen is resolved.
Does the student's parents' U.S. citizenship or immigration status matter?
The parents' immigration status is not taken into account in determining the student's eligibility for federal student aid.
Talking points:
- When the FAFSA form is processed, only the student's citizenship/eligible noncitizen eligibility is verified.
- The FAFSA form does not ask about a parent's citizenship status.
Note: Parents' U.S. citizenship or eligible noncitizen matters when the parent of a dependent undergraduate wants to take out a Direct PLUS Loan or if the parent wants to go to college or career school as a student.
Does the parent need a Social Security number for the student's FAFSA® form?
No, the parent doesn't need a Social Security number (SSN) for the student's FAFSA form. Starting in December 2023, parents will be able to get an FSA ID (account username and password) without having an SSN to access and complete their section of the 2024–25 FAFSA form.
On the 2024–25 FAFSA form, if the parent is completing their own section and doesn't have an SSN, the SSN will be blank and disabled. If the parent has an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), they should add it to the FAFSA form. If they don't have an ITIN, they should leave that question blank.
How should the student fill out the FAFSA® form if the family lives outside the United States?
For the 2024–25 FAFSA form, the student or parent should enter the contributor's mailing address as usual if
- they are inviting a contributor;
- they are prompted to enter the contributor's mailing address; and
- the contributor's mailing address is in Canada, a U.S. territory, or a military installation.
For the state question, the user should choose the appropriate country, U.S. territory, or military installation from the following list:
- American Samoa
- Canada (provinces are listed)
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Guam
- Marshall Islands
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Puerto Rico
- Palau
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Military
For all other addresses outside the United States, the student or parent should enter the contributor's mailing address the following way on the 2024–25 FAFSA form:
- Enter the city in the space for the City question.
- Select "Foreign Country" as the answer to the State question.
- Type the zip code in the Zip Code question.
- Select the country from the Country dropdown menu.
If mailing address information needs to be updated, the student, parent, and other contributors can update their information through their Account Settings after logging in to StudentAid.gov
Can an undocumented student get any kind of financial aid for college?
If the student is neither a U.S. citizen nor an eligible noncitizen, they are not eligible for federal student aid. You can help them find possible sources of aid via StudentAid.gov/noncitizen. Listservs for counselors and college access professionals can be a good source of information on which colleges or career schools provide aid for undocumented students.
Undocumented Students and Financial Aid(Result Type: General)
Description:
Web page providing answers to frequently asked questions about financial aid for undocumented students and DACA recipients.
Resource Type:
Web Resource or Tool
2023–24 FAFSA® Form
How should an eligible noncitizen student fill out the FAFSA® form?
On the 2023–24 FAFSA form, under the citizenship question on the FAFSA form, an eligible noncitizen student should select "No, but I am an eligible noncitizen."
Tip: During the application process, students will often be worried about how and when they will be asked about their citizenship or immigration status. Walk students through the question on the FAFSA form by using screenshots from the FAFSA Preview Presentations available on the Toolkit's "Search Financial Aid Tools and Resources" page. Knowing how the question will be asked will help them prepare and may reduce any fear of completing the application or completing it wrong.
Talking point: If the student identifies as an eligible noncitizen and reports an A-number on the FAFSA form, that information is checked against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's database. If the match doesn't confirm the student is an eligible noncitizen, the student will have to submit immigration documentation to the college or career school they plan to attend for review. A student is not eligible for federal student aid until the student's status as an eligible noncitizen is resolved.
Does the student's parents' U.S. citizenship or immigration status matter?
The parents' immigration status is not taken into account in determining the student's eligibility for federal student aid.
Talking points:
- When the FAFSA form is processed, only the student's citizenship/eligible noncitizen eligibility is verified.
- The FAFSA form does not ask about a parent's citizenship status.
Note: Parents' U.S. citizenship or eligible noncitizen status matters when the parent of a dependent undergraduate wants to take out a Direct PLUS Loan or if the parent wants to go to college or career school as a student.
Does the parent need an SSN for the student's FAFSA® form?
No, the parent doesn't need an SSN for the student's FAFSA® form.
On the 2023–24 FAFSA form, if a parent doesn't have an SSN, the parent must enter all zeros without dashes (e.g., 000000000).
Note: The StudentAid.gov account your parent creates for the 2024–25 FAFSA form can't be used for the 2023–24 FAFSA form.
How should the student fill out the FAFSA® form if the family lives outside the United States?
For the 2023–24 FAFSA form, if the student's mailing address is in Canada, Mexico, a U.S. territory, or a military installation, the student should enter their address as usual. For the state question, the user should choose the appropriate country, territory, or military installation from the following list:
- American Samoa
- Canada (provinces are listed)
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Guam
- Marshall Islands
- Mexico
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Puerto Rico
- Palau
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Military
For all other addresses outside the United States, the student should do the following on the 2023–24 FAFSA form:
- Enter the city and country in the space for City (abbreviations are acceptable but must be understandable).
- Select "Foreign Country" for the answer to the State question.
- Type 00000 in the Zip Code question.
Can an undocumented student get any kind of financial aid for college?
If the student is neither a U.S. citizen nor an eligible noncitizen, they are not eligible for federal student aid. You can help them find possible sources of aid via StudentAid.gov/noncitizen. Listservs for counselors and college access professionals can be a good source of information on which schools provide aid for undocumented students.