Resident, Nonresident, Foreign license?

[sisu]

I've had this thought revolving around the rafters for about 30 years. Why don't the 50 states have a foreigner license? We have resident and non-resident, and someone from Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy, etc. sure as hell is not a non-resident and they sure as hell don't pay into the federal tax program, so I believe with all my might they should be paying BIG BUCKS to fish and hunt in our country! Other countries sell foreign license why don't we?

[robb92]

I don't agree with that, the money from your hunting and fishing license is supposed to go the the game department so why would you charge them anymore money? Each state charges different rates for out of state hunting and fishing permits. Take Maryland for an out of state hunting licence it is 125 dollars for the licence then another 50 bucks or so for a bow stamp and then the same amount for a muzzleloader stamp. WA it is even higher and you can only take 1 deer compared to MD's bag limit of 10 and 2 for each weapon.

To me it would deter potential foreign hunters from coming here to hunt, by that I mean the people who couldn't afford to spend the big money to come here.


When I was in England I didn't have to buy a different license than the locals had to. It was 15 dollars and I could shoot any upland bird as well as waterfowl.

Hunting in the countries you listed is very hard to do. To have a gun in Germany is very hard you have to pay out a lot of money and then go to several hours of classes. Japan is just as hard, most military members who get orders to Japan, Italy, and Germany are told to leave their guns at home as it is not worth the hassle of trying to bring them into the country.

[MikeWalking]

I don't see a problem with it. I would cut Canadians some slack simply because many GMU's would be such a short trip.  If someone can afford to fly from Europe or Asia to hunt here they can afford a higher license. I'm sure folks in Safari Club pay a premium to go after exotic game in Central Asia.

People already travel here just to shoot. Got a buddy in Japan right now that told me about a travel agency that puts together trips for people to come shoot "like they do in Hollywood"

I guess the bigger question is;  Are there a lot of foreigners coming here to hunt?

[WDFW-SUX]

Colorado has a non resident alien tag tag for people from outside of the US.  I think they are required to have an outfitter and the price is 3X that of a normal non resident tag.

[cohoho]

Alaska also has a Nonresident Alien hunting license that are about $200 higher than US Nonresident licenses and the big game tags are roughly another hundred or so depending upon the type animal the tag is for.  Minimal amounts considering what they are spending for the guides requirements. The fishing is really the same as any nonresident.

[Curly]

Yes, there should be an additional foreign license fee for those people not citizens of the U.S.; or at a minimum there should not be any licenses given to illegal aliens.

I remember reading about a hunting accident that happened in Oregon a few years ago.  There was a few illegal aliens that went and bought hunting licenses and deer tags as residents of Oregon.  It was technically legal, I guess, since the Oregon definition of resident of the State is if you live there for at least 6 months.

Anyway, opening day of deer season this illegal thought he was shooting at a deer and ended up critically wounding a person.  The guy barely lived after being air lifted off the mountain and spending much time in the hospital.  The gunshot victim did not press charges because the illegal would have been deported and then the victim would not be able to get any money from the illegal for his hospital bills.  (Maybe someone can google and find an article about it; I think it was an article in Washington-Oregon Game & Fish)

So, ever since I read about that incident I've been pissed about the idea of people that are not U.S. citizens being able to get in State resident licenses.  What's up with that   I bet illegal aliens get resident licenses in this state too.

[GoldTip]

I would agree with seeing a different license with a higher fee for Non resident aliens versus simply a non resident of the state.  Remember, some of the monies for our game departments also come from the Pittman-Robertson fund which is taxes on guns, ammo, archery equipment, and most if not all of the non resident aliens have not paid into that at all.