BNA_flyer

This sounds like what we dealt with in Massachusetts--a gradually decreasing tax on your car's value that went to your local municipality. At the time I had one five-year-old, paid-for car and a second two-year-old, leased car, so the damage wasn't too bad. Also like CA, MA had the "register as soon as you get here" requirement, and would reward your neighbors for turning you in.

Sorry to hijack this thread--I should hop a flight to HNL one weekend and get a Hawaii license, I guess.

stockmanjr

Since the OP is considered a resident of HI wouldn't he have to pay HI taxes even though his income is earned in FL?
Cheers
Howie

797-3

This could bite you in many ways:

1. Hawaii contends that you are a state resident and owe state income tax. If you say you fabricated your address to get a driver's license, you could open yourself to prosecution if they wanted to do that.

2. You better check Florida laws to see if Florida residents must have Florida driver's licenses. Many states require you to get a license. If you are stopped by the police, they could issue you a citation and say "speak with the judge".

3. If someone hits you/your car, the opposing attorney may pressure you to settle by pressuring you in a deposition to disclose your driver's license and why you did what you did.

4. I have seen a recent Florida driver's license. It does not have SSN on them but you are required to disclose it. You might be able to use a box address or a work address.

I saw a Robert Redford and Brad Pitt spy movie, Spy Game. Redford tells Pitt not to lie too much when undercover because pretty soon you can't keep your lies straight.

LLM

How about Nick Poppageorgio?

MKEbound

Many do.

In many states you only need to prove that you can d-r-i-v-e to get a DL.

Off the top of my head I think that CT, CA & WI don't require you to prove you are not a foreigner, only that you live in the state and can pass the drivers test.

enthusiastic flier

Being a foreigner doesn't equate to not having a ssn. My experiences in the US (handful of states on east coast and mid west) were that 1 you needed ssn card, and 2 the license would be valid for as long as you are valid in the country (the date on your visa, or I-20 if you're a student), plus a 2-3 months grace period (or sometimes not even that). I remember MD to be especially anal - only specific DMVs' were assigned to deal w/non-citizens, couldn't go w/out an appointment and one wasn't available for months so on n' so forth

enthusiastic flier

Huhh? If you are legitimately in the country, are working studying etc., you should be able to apply for a driving license of the state you are in. If you're not a citizen you will need to bring your passport and associated paperwork showing you're legal in the country. Did you really think "foreigners" weren't able to get a driving license?

Tourists visiting the country shouldn't be able to get one (although I remember reading on FT abt it being "possible"), and my statement above excludes this exception.

slippahs

Hmmm... I wonder if a fraud argument could be made here. If the application said "permanent address" and the OP put the MBE address, that might not be considered a material misrepresentation per se to be fraud but it would most certainly be a false statement of fact.
As for jury duty, the OP could probably get out of it but it'll be a hassle and the court administrators would demand a reason... Needing to get an HDL for purposes of evading the TSA probably won't fly too nicely and might not get a pass on the jury duty (speaking of which, I've been called to serve in a few weeks--woohoo...). Re: taxes, probably not a big deal since the OP isn't claiming "residency" in Hawaii and doesn't qualify for residency unless filing state taxes, getting a permanent job here in the Islands, etc.

As for State ID cards, they've tightned up on issuing for those people taking advantage of it solely for kama'aina discount purposes. See http://starbulletin.com/2002/02/19/news/kokualine.html

And an interesting read:
http://www.mauiresident.com/what_not_to_do.htm

Interesting stuff.

bocastephen

I've already covered the issue of residency - as far as my Hawaii DL is concerned, I've not changed my official residency. As I wrote upthread, I could put any address I want on the license, and claim any address as my permanent address. I already cleared this fact with the Honolulu DMV. I could theoretically change the permanent address on file with the HI DMV to my FL address, while keeping the address appearing on the card itself, the one in Honolulu. Only the mailing address appears on the license, not the permanent address. Thinking about it after the fact, nothing would have been wrong with putting my FL address on the license app and using the Honolulu mailbox address as the 'mailing address' appearing on the license. Perfectly legal according to HI state law, and I can go online and update it if I feel it could be an issue later.

I'm not concerned with the issue of the Florida law - thousands of people are living in FL right now with out of state licenses and out of state license tags, and have been doing it for years, a few of my own neighbors are examples of this.

I don't think #3 is relevant or something I would be concerned about. If someone in a legal capacity forced me to claim a reason for the HI license, I'd answer 'in-state discounts and I'm thinking about a permanent move there' - I'm not going to talk about the issue of airport ID.

I know the new FL DL cards do not show the SSN - but my main reason for not getting a new FL DL is due to the state selling personal information to marketers and their 'secure' computer systems being hacked with a loss of digital photos and digitized signatures. When Tallahassee learns to respect my personal privacy and protect my personal data, I might consider getting a license there, but not now.

Avoiding the Florida DMV experience is alone worth the whole effort of getting a license in another state.

nacirema

perhaps you meant something different, but as it is, please tell me which state requires you to get a license?

imagine all the handicapped people, blind people, or just simply people that don't want to drive. all criminals?

soitgoes

Michigan started denying legal immigrants without permanent residency the ability to get a driver's license in January:
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/...or_illega.html
(I do not know the current status of this asinine policy.)

aceman

I specifically mean that I wanted one as a tourist, and I basically wanted it for ID reasons. I spend most of my time in vegas when I'm there, and carrying my passport around with me everywhere is sooner or later going to cause me massive problems. In addition my home driving license is a piece of crap which has given my countless hassles at car rental agencies in the US.

I really don't understand why a DL in ameica has such an association with residency and right to remain. It should be specifically a permit to allow you to drive. AFAIK anyone visiting england etc can just give an address and take the test.

I've heard that a provisional license may be posible to obtain prior to a full DL, and just be kept for ID purposes. Does anyone know if this is the case?

soitgoes

That you can change...just exchange your UK license for the new EU-format card-style license.

aceman

My current licence isn't an english licence, would make my life easier if it was, but I specifically don't want one of them either...

Cargojon

Just understand that this new HI address WILL end up on your credit reports.

In my day, I've removed the following from my credit reports:
My brother and his wife's address
My father's office address
My old employer's address

Addresses are something that they hoarde like gold. It will find it's way onto your credit report.

PS - you do know there are much easier ways to keep your ID "safe", right?