US citizen, Canadian License, Can I exchange for a UK license

Hello,

I have a US license (and am a citizen) that I am exchanging for a Canadian license (due to a need to renew and an uncertainty of where we will be transferred in the next year) If we end up staying in the UK, will I be able to exchange the Canadian license for a UK or will I need to apply and go through all the UK testing?

Yes, you should be able to exchange your Canadian licence for a UK one without taking the tests.

According to this webpage: https://www.gov.uk/exchange-a-foreign-driving-licence/y/yes/car_motorcycle/des/can, you have 5 years to exchange the Canadian licence, providing it is still valid, and it will cost you £50.

However, it also says you will only be legally licenced to drive automatic cars, so if you wanted to be able to drive manual cars, you would need to take the UK manual driving tests.

If you didn't have a Canadian licence and only had a US one, you would not be able to exchange your licence for a UK one and would have to take all the tests to be able to drive after 12 months in the UK (this is because the US has no reciprocal exchange agreement with the UK, but Canada does).

Who is going to be the guinea pig?
You are in the UK 4 years driving on a Canadian drivers license. Say you get questioned by the British Police and you have a Canadian drivers license and are also using a US Passport??? Tell me how it comes out.

If you passed your test in the US and didn't take a Canadian test, then you cannot convert your licence.

I originally passed my test in the US, converted my licence to a Swiss licence (over 7 years before I tried to exchange) and had to take the UK test, despite Switzerland being a designated country and exchanges are possible. The explanation was I didn't pass my test in a country with an exchange.

They don't make this clear on their website at all  

Wow, this can be a really useful information for those who try to move there in Uk and worried about their driving licence. I just want to ask ? Is it possible online or not. I mean if a person is currently in Canada not in UK.

You can't do it online - you must be a resident of the UK to get the license.