Residency Requirements for Out-of-State Students (8/28/02)
Out-of-state students attending college in North Dakota should be aware of residency requirements before purchasing state hunting and fishing licenses, reports Bruce Burkett, district warden supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, Devils Lake.
A student from another state attending college in North Dakota doesn't automatically qualify for a resident license, Burkett said. "Each fall a number of out-of-state students assume they qualify for a resident license," he added. "It is not that they are purposely breaking the law, they just don't understand the requirement."
State law defines a resident as any person who has actually lived within this state or maintained that person's home for at least six months. A nonresident is any person who has not done so.
"A number of students think if they rent an apartment for the school year, that makes them eligible for a resident license," Burkett said. "That is not the case."
Out-of-state students have these rules of thumb to consider: 1) if the college or university the student is attending holds the person in nonresident status, the student would have to get a hunting/fishing license in North Dakota as a nonresident; and 2) if the student's parents claim the student on their taxes, the student would have to get a nonresident license.
The residency issue is mainly in question when out-of-state students inquire on bird hunting and fishing in North Dakota, according to Carrie Whitney, department licensing supervisor. "Big game seasons, because of the lottery procedure, require persons reside in North Dakota six months prior to the application process," Whitney added. "So those students from out-of-state who are starting college now would have to apply for leftover deer licenses as a nonresident."
One last point of interest, Whitney said, is once an individual moves out of North Dakota the resident license becomes invalid immediately. "You cannot come back into North Dakota and hunt or fish with that resident license," she said. "You instantly become a nonresident."
Students with questions on residency status, Burkett noted, should ask before making a mistake. "Any student that has a question of residency status and legal ability to obtain any license should contact their nearest District Game Warden," he said.
-G&F-