How can we become legal Alaskan residents? (Anchorage, Metlakatla: condo, home)

[JD2AK&ME]

My husband and I would like to make Alaska our legal residence. We will be buying a condo and spending most of the year in Anchorage after we retire next year. We are not expecting to qualify for the permanent fund, we just want to be able to vote, register our car, file our taxes and call Alaska home. We can't seem to find a definitive answer as to how to go about becoming legal residents. Would appreciate any help with this. Thanks D

[Metlakatla]

Register your car and register to vote as soon as you get up here. After 30 days you can vote in state and local elections. Should be no problem at all. It's only for things like getting the pdf and entering the state land lotteries that you would need to have lived here for at least one year.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by JD2AK&ME

My husband and I would like to make Alaska our legal residence. We will be buying a condo and spending most of the year in Anchorage after we retire next year. We are not expecting to qualify for the permanent fund, we just want to be able to vote, register our car, file our taxes and call Alaska home. We can't seem to find a definitive answer as to how to go about becoming legal residents. Would appreciate any help with this. Thanks D

As Metlakatla said, after 30 days you can register and vote in local elections. However, it requires one year of residency to be an Alaskan citizen, plus an additional year before you qualify for the PDF dividend check. You can also buy a non-resident fishing/hunting license the day you arrive in the state to prove when you arrived.

[JD2AK&ME]

Originally Posted by Glitch

As Metlakatla said, after 30 days you can register and vote in local elections. However, it requires one year of residency to be an Alaskan citizen, plus an additional year before you qualify for the PDF dividend check. You can also buy a non-resident fishing/hunting license the day you arrive in the state to prove when you arrived.

Does "one year of residency" mean that after we move to Anchorage we have to live there 365 days out of the year or are you allowed to spend part of the year out of state? We will be spending some winter months in Maine but most of the year in Alaska. We have been NY state residences for the last 34 years but will need to establish a new residency state and really hope it can be Alaska. We are not really expecting to qualify for the PDF, just want to be a legal residence for all the other stuff like filling our taxes. Thanks D

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by JD2AK&ME

Does "one year of residency" mean that after we move to Anchorage we have to live there 365 days out of the year or are you allowed to spend part of the year out of state? We will be spending some winter months in Maine but most of the year in Alaska. We have been NY state residences for the last 34 years but will need to establish a new residency state and really hope it can be Alaska. We are not really expecting to qualify for the PDF, just want to be a legal residence for all the other stuff like filling our taxes. Thanks D

No, as far as residency is concerned, all you have to do is maintain an Alaskan address and claim it to be your primary residence. Even though you live somewhere else during the winter months, if you keep an Alaskan residence for 365 days you will be an Alaskan citizen. However, to meet the qualifications of the PDF dividend check you can't leave the state for a period of more than 90 days per year. So after two years, even though you will be an Alaskan citizen after the first year, if you spend your winters out of state you would not qualify for the PDF dividend check.

[RichardH]

Actually, you can be out of state for longer periods but you have to explain those absences and they may or may not disqualify you for PFD that year. What you do need to know is that your time away is investigated and if you are found to be filing fraudulently, the punishment can be severe!
So stay on the high ground and maintain your personal integrity!

[Tressa]

You will also need to get your Alaska Drivers license as soon as possible. My mother inlaw recently did the same thing, and my daughter works for the DMV. You can own all kinds of property up here but until you get your Alaska drivers license you are not giving up your residency in another state. Also once you've had your license for 30 days you can get a residency fishing and hunting license. If you plan to apply for the property tax exemption you will need to be a resident for 2 years within Anchorage. My husband and I are Alaska residents and will be snow birding it starting this year.

[tammy63]

Originally Posted by Tressa

You will also need to get your Alaska Drivers license as soon as possible. My mother inlaw recently did the same thing, and my daughter works for the DMV. You can own all kinds of property up here but until you get your Alaska drivers license you are not giving up your residency in another state. Also once you've had your license for 30 days you can get a residency fishing and hunting license. If you plan to apply for the property tax exemption you will need to be a resident for 2 years within Anchorage. My husband and I are Alaska residents and will be snow birding it starting this year.

Tressa.. that is great news for my husband. He is moving up in June and he thought he would have to be there an entire year before getting his residency fish/hunting license. He will be overjoyed to hear of this news. So after he gets his AK drivers license he waits 30 days to get his fish/hunt license?

Thanks!!

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by tammy63

he thought he would have to be there an entire year before getting his residency fish/hunting license.

You need some accurate information.

https://www.admin.adfg.state.ak.us/l..._infosheet.pdf

You cannot get a Resident Hunting/Fishing license until you have maintained residency in Alaska for at least one year. Alaska Statutes define, for this purpose, a resident as:

"(A) a person who for the 12 consecutive months immediately
preceding the tiem wehn the assertion of residence is made
has maintained the person's domicile in the state and who
is neither claiming residency in another state, territory, or
country nor obtaining benefits under a claim of residency in
another state, territory, or country;"
Alaska Statue 16.05.940(27)

See:

Alaska Statutes: AS 16.05.940. Definitions.

You do need to get a driver's license and to register your car within 60 days of being in Alaska. That is by law, and has nothing to do with eligibility for a Resident Hunting/Fishing license; at least not other than the fact that it will provide a date indicating when you arrived and it does suggest, though it does not prove, residency.

You have to maintain a home in Alaska for 12 consecutive months. You cannot be getting benefits that accrue due to residency in another state, and things such as having stored furnature in another state (not to mention maintaining a physical home in another state) are all taken as indication contrary to Alaska residency.

Another thing you need to be very aware of is that the courts do throw the book at people for violations of Fish & Game laws; hence, you want to be very conservative in how you interpret laws in regard to residency. Note also that most of it is not just regulation by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, but instead is actual Alaska Statutes, from the Legislature.

[tammy63]

Thanks Floyd,

I mentioned the fact and he has the same understanding as you. I appreciate your input!!