This publish is a part of a sequence sponsored by AgentSync.
An insurance coverage license might be the doorway to a rewarding and profitable profession. You would possibly even say insurance coverage is a discipline ripe for the making of the American Dream. So, how does it work for many who aren’t U.S. residents?
Effectively, states take differing views on topics like undocumented immigration or overstayed visas, and the insurance coverage trade isn’t immune from political theater.
We are able to’t tackle all the numerous nuances in a weblog like this, as a result of every state of affairs has totally different exceptions, exemptions, additions, and many others. However, we will expose the divide between states that take extra restrictive approaches to noncitizen licensees and states that take a broader method to who could also be licensed, and a number of the indicators to look out for when deciding whether or not to use for a license in any given state.
In fact, not one of the following is meant to be authorized steerage, however serves as a springboard into deeper, extra state-specific analysis for anybody confronted with a selected circumstance.
1. Do states require me to report my citizenship to get an insurance coverage license?
Possibly – particular person states take very particular person approaches.
We guess you already knew that, although! If this isn’t your first brush with insurance coverage, you’re probably all-too conversant in the nuances that include questions on who wants what for which licenses and the place. So, sure, questions on citizenship differ state to state (like practically the whole lot in insurance coverage).
States that require citizenship documentation for a producer licensing utility
It’s fairly widespread for states to require some kind of documentation for insurance coverage license candidates who aren’t U.S. residents. However two states take the method of requiring all candidates to add proof of their citizenship standing.
Georgia
Within the Georgia licensing handbook, the process for making use of to get a producer license requires candidates to sit down the examination after which full a citizenship affidavit:
“New license candidates are required to submit a notarized Citizenship Affidavit Type (GID-276-EN) testifying to both United States citizenship or lawful presence.”
As soon as the affidavit is full, then you possibly can proceed to the precise licensing course of.
Alabama
Alabama, too, requires proof of citizenship from all candidates earlier than the state will course of the license or renewal utility.
The state has a prolonged checklist of possible acceptable documentation, though it additionally factors out that issues like drivers’ licenses and state IDs from different states are solely acceptable if that state requires you to show your citizenship to acquire that ID.
The state’s FAQs additionally make it clear that your private home state (or resident state) license can’t be the idea for proof of citizenship as a result of some states don’t require you to show your citizenship.
2. How can noncitizens get an insurance coverage producer license?
At the least 13 states moreover Alabama and Georgia require noncitizen producers and would-be producers to offer “proof of U.S. work authorization” documentation of some type – together with an Employment Authorization Doc or EAD – to get a license.
In accordance with NOLO, the next paperwork could also be ample proof of labor authorization:
- an unexpired international passport with an I-551 stamp
- an alien registration receipt card or everlasting resident card
- an unexpired EAD, issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Companies, which comprises {a photograph}, or
- an unexpired international passport with Type I-94 containing an endorsement of nonimmigrant standing.
If you happen to’ve jumped by the numerous hoops of federal process to acquire a everlasting residency or an EAD for noncitizens, then, when required, you will need to add the related documentation to the Nationwide Insurance coverage Producer Registry’s Attachment Warehouse. So long as your paperwork are up-to-date on this NIPR file repository, then you need to have little bother sustaining your license and reciprocity throughout states.
3. Are you able to get an insurance coverage producer license for those who overstayed your visa or are an undocumented resident of the U.S.?
Acquiring an insurance coverage license, like many different actions, is kind of fraught for U.S. residents who aren’t residents and who don’t have a piece authorization, and who don’t have a path to acquire both.
Some states have legal guidelines that appear to sign their openness to permitting undocumented residents to use for and earn insurance coverage licenses.
For example, in 2021, Colorado repealed legislation that beforehand required state directors to validate citizenship and work authorizations for skilled license candidates. The brand new regulation is known as, “Take away Lawful Presence Verification Credentialing.” A state abstract of the laws stated, “The act additionally specifies that lawful presence just isn’t required of any applicant for any state or native license, certificates, or registration. The act is a state regulation inside the which means of the federal regulation that offers states authority to offer for eligibility for state and native public advantages to individuals who’re unlawfully residing in the US.”
To that impact, in 2022, the state’s DOI repealed the bulletin that beforehand required proof of citizenship or proof of labor authorization. These modifications suggest, with out explicitly stating, that candidates in Colorado needn’t have documentation to confirm their work or citizenship standing so as to get a license with the DOI. California, as effectively, though it requires a background test with full fingerprints by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, doesn’t require documentation of labor authorization.
But, because the legislative abstract suggests, state regulation can solely function “inside the which means of the federal regulation,” which brings us to the federal Immigration Reform and Management Act.
Affect from the federal Immigration Reform and Management Act
Signed underneath the Gipper, the 1986 Immigration Reform and Management Act imposes the requirement that employers maintain information of their staff and staff’ citizenship standing. This consists of requiring staff to validate their authorized capability to work. So, even in a state like Colorado the place an undocumented resident would possibly acquire a license, there’s no assure that they’ll be capable of discover employment as an insurance coverage producer.
Additional, the break up of state necessities could make it harder to work throughout state strains as a result of, must you discover employment and licensure in Colorado even with out a work authorization, you should still be barred from getting a nonresident license anyplace else.
The truth is, for everybody who isn’t a citizen, and even for many who are, there should be a number of paperwork standing between the place you might be immediately and the place you wish to be, with licenses and appointments in hand.
Whereas AgentSync can’t do something for the myriad vagaries of the U.S. immigration system, we can make dealing with licensing and appointment compliance for producers, adjusters, and variable strains brokers much less hellacious. To see how we might help you enhance your velocity to income, drive effectivity, and onboard or terminate seasonal groups in bulk for peak compliance, schedule a demo.
