License and tier 2 visa

So as I currently us my US license to drive in the UK when I visit.  My company is offering me a tier 2 visa for a 3 year assignment based in London.  I will still be returning home to the US on occasion, maybe 1 or 2 months a year.  Will I need to get a UK license after my first year or will my trips home allow me to continue to use my US license? 

So as I currently us my US license to drive in the UK when I visit.  My company is offering me a tier 2 visa for a 3 year assignment based in London.  I will still be returning home to the US on occasion, maybe 1 or 2 months a year.  Will I need to get a UK license after my first year or will my trips home allow me to continue to use my US license?

You will need the license, as you will be considered resident in the UK...

Twelve months from your first entry date on your Tier 2.

Thanks guys.  That's a bummer.  I'm probably going to turn the job down down for that reason.  It mostly has to do with my motorcycle license and the UK cc limits to learners.  I need a motorcycle to work and a small cc bike can't handle the trips I will be doing with it.  I'm fine now as I can rent any size on my US license.

I've been living in the UK for almost 2 years and only just got my license. I had no problem renting cars with my US license after the first year, they never asked for a passport or anything. The official website we checked when we moved here said in one place that it was a year from your first move and in another it was a year from your last visit to the US, so that was going to be our defense if anything ever came up, but it didn't. Not saying I recommend doing this, but just putting it out there.

I had no problem renting cars with my US license after the first year, they never asked for a passport or anything. The official website we checked when we moved here said in one place that it was a year from your first move and in another it was a year from your last visit to the US, so that was going to be our defense if anything ever came up, but it didn't. Not saying I recommend doing this, but just putting it out there.

It's definitely a year from your first entry to the UK if you have moved here - it does not reset each time... otherwise people would just come and go very year to reset it and never have to get a UK licence.

So, you were actually driving illegally on your US licence after that first year - and any insurance you had was invalid.

You were very lucky that you weren't stopped by the police or had to make an insurance claim, because you could have been charged with driving without a valid licence and driving without valid insurance. And ignorance is no defence... even if you had said that as your defence, you were still breaking the law.

This is the official government webpage regarding how long you can drive on your US licence in the UK:

Driving in Great Britain on a non-GB licence

1  Are you:
    a resident of Great Britain?

2  What kind of driving licence do you have?
    Full car and/or motorcycle

3  Where did you pass your test?
    Any other country

You can drive in Great Britain on your full, valid driving licence for 12 months from when you became resident

https://www.gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence/y/a-resident-of-great-britain/full-car-and-or-motorcycle/any-other-country

Yes, from the time of first moving to the UK, you have 1 year to pass the theory and practical tests.

However, you cannot take the tests until you've been here at least 6 months, so in reality, one only has 6 months to pass the theory and practical tests.

It's definitely a year from your first entry to the UK if you have moved here - it does not reset each time... otherwise people would just come and go very year to reset it and never have to get a UK licence.

So, you were actually driving illegally on your US licence after that first year - and any insurance you had was invalid.

You were very lucky that you weren't stopped by the police or had to make an insurance claim, because you could have been charged with driving without a valid licence and driving without valid insurance. And ignorance is no defence... even if you had said that as your defence, you were still breaking the law.

This is the official government webpage regarding how long you can drive on your US licence in the UK:
https://www.gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence/y/a-resident-of-great-britain/full-car-and-or-motorcycle/any-other-country

Ive been combing the internet trying to find out if being on a Tier 2 means you are a resident.  I thought that after being on the tier 2 for 5 years then allows you to take the residency test...so that would be until that point I am not a resident. Where does it say that Tier 2 visa is a resident?

All visas except visitor visas mean you're resident.

If it's valid for more than 6 months and is a visa for work, study or moving to the UK with family, then you become resident on the day you arrive in the UK on that visa.

The 5 years is for permanent residency which is a completely different thing. Your US license is only valid for the first 12 months after arriving in the UK on a visa so if you want to keep driving once you have lived in the UK on a visa for 12 months, you must get a UK licence.

If you don't and are stopped by the police for any reason after the first 12 months you can be charged for driving without a valid license and without valid insurance.

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You are a resident if you hold a visa to live in the UK.  Easiest way to describe this is the visas are now issued as a biometric resident permit. 

The official guidance is layed out by HMRC.  You are a resident of the UK if you spend more than 183 days a year here OR your only home (whether owned or rented) is in the UK.

Anyone can take the Life in the UK test at anytime, it doesn't equate to residency.  Indefinite Leave to Remain makes a person considered settled, but you can be a resident without ILR.

https://www.gov.uk/tax-foreign-income/residence

Thanks for the clarification.  I suppose I had better start looking for a quick way to get my license now so that I don't lose my job!!

There are week long intensive courses. Have a Google.   

I've been living in the UK for almost 2 years and only just got my license. I had no problem renting cars with my US license after the first year, they never asked for a passport or anything. The official website we checked when we moved here said in one place that it was a year from your first move and in another it was a year from your last visit to the US, so that was going to be our defense if anything ever came up, but it didn't. Not saying I recommend doing this, but just putting it out there.

That excuse has been tried and tested and always fails in court. ''Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence' is a court appearance and when convicted, added to that persons criminal record in the UK.

This ''Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence' appears time after time on immigration forums as a court conviction is a fail of the Good Character requirement. As I recall, a fail of 3 (?) years from the court case date, not the offence.

For those on a work visa that now have a time limit for how many years they can stay on this visa, a court offence can mean the difference between being allowed to stay in the UK and having to leave. i.e. They would fail ILR but can't renew their Tier 2 visa as they have used all those years up.

Being in an accident even if you didn't cause it, getting caught by a speed camera, being pulled over by the police on a routine check, would have revealed that you didn't have a licence that allowed you to drive in the UK. I doubt the insurers would pay out in the event of an accident and you and the car owner (the hire company) would be resposible for paying.

So is it legal to drive on your US license while actively in the process of trying to get a uk license?  I am mainly taking about the period of time between the provisional license and the full license where you are not to be driving solo.

Only if you are still within the first 12 months of living in the UK, during which your US licence is still valid to drive on.

As soon as the 12 months are up, you are treated as a completely new driver with no valid license and have to adhere to Learner driver rules (L plates displayed, always accompanied by someone over 21 who has held a full UK licence for at least 3 years, no driving on motorways).


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