I have been living a nomadic life on and off for yrs and frequently have needed to provide a “permanent” address or residency address. I needed to do this to pay for my son’s tuition in the UK. My US bank requires a US address . If we sell our home in the US which has provided that address how do renew our passport, driver’s Licenses, provide a “permanent address” when requested, etc?
South Dakota let’s you attain residency using a mailing service and has no income tax. Example service https://www.dakotapost.net
South Dakota also has a stay requirement. I think it’s something like at least one night for every 5 years.
I wonder what it means to lose that residency. Would another state claim you as resident? What the downside?
If you’re thinking about state tax obligation, you can have one and only one domicile and one or more residences. State taxes are based on your domicile. The nature of your residency is one of the factors a state uses to decide if your in-state residence is your domicile.
Entities that require you to have such an address can use a USPS service to see if the address is actually a residential address. For example, it accurately states my US street address is a ‘Commercial Mail Receiving Agency’.
https://tools.usps.com/zip-code-lookup.htm?byaddress
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Hey Ken,
US citizen and DN for nearly a decade. As a DN you do not have a permanent address. That is what being a DN is. If you think you will need one, then consider simply being a full time traveler and using your home in the US as your base. Otherwise, the only option you have is to use a family member’s house as your permanent address (brother, sister, parents, etc). As far as a drivers license goes, that’s is gone. Every state requires you to be a resident to have and renew it. So when your current one expires, it will be gone for good. As far as renewing your Passport, that is rather easy actually, because you do not need a perm address for renewing. Just pick the embassy you want to use, and stay at a hotel in that country. Use the hotel address as your mailing address (page 1) and page 2 you just leave blank. I have been through all of that my friend. LOL, trying to keep the driver’s license and everything. It goes with the life!
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I am having the same issue with renewing drivers license in US . I haven’t lived there in 3 years . They want proof of address to mail it . I’m not sure what to do myself , lucky I have 1 1/2 years to figure something out. Sure the US Embassy in the country you are in will grant a new passport .
We have been told simply to use our last US address.NOt sure that would work for everything,but it has served us well so far.
Hi, I’m a Brit who’s worked abroad for half my life, but always maintained a permanent residence back home by using my mother’s address. I guess the system in the USA may be a bit different, but couldn’t you simply use a sibling’s address or other relative? Certainly, in the UK, the authorities are very strict about people who live in a house but ‘don’t’ declare it. This is due to the local ‘Council Tax’. But as long as this tax is paid, they don’t care if you’re really there or not. As far as everyone is concerned, I’m always on a very long business trip! 
In a similar situation, a friend of mine has been renting a room at a private home in central New Hampshire for something like $150/month. No income tax in New Hampshire, either - plus for occasional visits, it’s a lot closer to Boston and Europe than South Dakota. His roommate collects his mail and occasionally forwards to him as necessary. Cost adds up over time, but could be worth it for logistical purposes.