Driving license transfer???????

has anyone managed to get a drivers license from any location (ie canada, europe) that allowed them to then not have to take the test in the UK? if you had to take the test and you got your initial license in America, how was the test and any tips???
thanks...
Gina

I believe that some (if not all) members of the EU can exchange thir license for a UK license without having to retake that test but I could be wrong.

June

I had an Ontario, Canada drivers licence and exchanged it for an automatic licence here in the UK.  For the most part, it was relatively easy and we didn't have to send in our passports.

I believe that some (if not all) members of the EU can exchange thir license for a UK license without having to retake that test but I could be wrong.

It's part of the EU rules:  If you have a license from another EU country on the basis of a test taken in that country, then the U.K. is obliged to swap it for a U.K. license.

Didn't we have a discussion a little while ago though about how a license from, say, France obtained as a swap from certain states could not then be used to get a U.K. license?

has anyone managed to get a drivers license from any location (ie canada, europe) that allowed them to then not have to take the test in the UK?

Yes, Cyprus but I lived there at the time.

Didn't we have a discussion a little while ago though about how a license from, say, France obtained as a swap from certain states could not then be used to get a U.K. license?

Yes we did.

sorry if this has been covered before, but if all the Americans on here had a US driving license when they got to the UK what did you do first? wait the year then take a UK test or have you found ways to switch with taking a UK test? I have heard if you switch to a Canadian license you have no issues when switching but can you swap a US to a Canadian one?.

Thanks

i investigated swaping my US licence to a EU or canadian licence, and then swapping that for a UK licence.  the hassle involved.... for me... wasn't worth it.  i just bellied up and took the theory, hazard perception, practical test. 

note- to make sure you can continue driving you need to start the US - UK licence transfer rigermaloe 6 months early.  (it's not really a transfer, but rather you going for your UK licence like any other 17 year old).  it took me about 4 months to study for theory & hazard preception, take test, practice for practical, book test date & pass. 

I'm an American living in Sweden (getting ready to move to the UK).  Sweden doesn't allow you to just swap an American license for a Swedish one either and I can tell you, the Swedish test is even harder than the British test (we have to do a skid test on ice as well).  I think it's probably more expensive as well, if you can believe that.

The only advantage I saw when I moved to Canada for a year after leaving California, was that I was able to swap my CA driver's licence to a Canadian one.  Then, when we came to the UK, I swapped my Canadian licence to a UK - automatic only.   I've now swapped my licence so many times, I've lost track. 

And don't wait until the year is up to do the test.  Start immediately!!!  It takes a bloody year just to get to the test stage.  There's a lot to do before you even can book the test!

A topic close to my heart…

The issue with driving permits is that in the US, driving permits are controlled by the individual states and almost everywhere else they are controlled at the national level.  So for a driving permit to be transferrable, each country would have to make a separate treaty with each state.  But the way things work in the US, states are not allowed to enter into treaties with foreign nations because making treaties is controlled by the Federal government. 

So generally the American expat has to start at square 1 when they need to acquire a foreign license.  It means sign up at a school and all that.

Back in the early 1990's, I had the dubious honor of setting a precedent in UK law about US nationals.  Since I had been living in Germany for 6 years, I had a German DL.  I got my German DL the hard way, from square 1.  And when I moved to the UK, I went to transfer it to a UK DL.  They said that yes, I have a German DL which would normally be transferrable under EU rules. 

*BUT* since I was American, the EU rules did not apply.  And therefore my German DL was null and void and I was driving illegally.  And OH!  Was I annoyed about that?  Was I upset about it?  You bet your sweet ass I was.  So it got very messy with solicitors.  This result is that today you can change an EU DL for a UK DL even if you are not an EU national.

And to IdahoSwede, the German test had high-speed driving on the Autobahn and driving on narrow twisty little streets in villages - so each country customizes according to tradition.  The German driving test is among the most stressful things I have ever done.

Interestingly and somewhat in contradiction, individual US states also own their own marriage and divorces laws, and the Federal government only gets involved in bigamy and so on.  But in the case of marriages and divorces, the US and the UK use the so-called Doctrine of Comity to recognize marriages and divorces in each other's country.

the Swedish test is even harder than the British test (we have to do a skid test on ice as well).  I think it's probably more expensive as well, if you can believe that.

     Sure makes me glad I took my test many years ago when it was much simpler and much less expensive.   (For those unfamiliar with the old system in the U.K., it used to be just one test appointment for the whole thing.  You were asked to read a license plate from a certain distance to confirm eyesight, then you had the half-hour or so drive, then back at the test center the examiner would ask -- verbally -- a half dozen Highway Code questions while still sitting in the car.  That was it!)

So generally the American expat has to start at square 1 when they need to acquire a foreign license.  It means sign up at a school and all that.

Something which I feel is grossly unfair when we're forced to swap licenses from so many other countries.

They said that yes, I have a German DL which would normally be transferrable under EU rules. 

*BUT* since I was American, the EU rules did not apply.  And therefore my German DL was null and void and I was driving illegally. 

That's crazy.  I don't blame you for being mad.  And congratulations on getting the rules changed.   

Since i moved over in Mid August I've been driving on my American Drivers License with an International Drivers Permit (which you can get from AAA for $10).  It's only valid for one year (so by next summer I will have to sit for my UK drivers test) but at least I've been able to operate a vehicle since I entered the country.

My partner's insurance company even accepted my International Drivers Permit and allow me to be covered under his plan.  Of course once i pass the test our insurance will go down, but for right now as a second listed driver it's not completely awful (think something like 100GBP for me to be added with my IDP).

I will admit i am dreading the UK test, especially since I'm sure in my 16 years of driving i've picked up bad habits like driving with one hand and not checking my mirrors every few seconds.  Have heard the written tests area a piece of cake, it's just the road test that is difficult.

while i dont' think the international drivers permit is a bad thing to have... it isn't necessary in the UK.  i drove here for 11 months on my us licence- insured and all.

I have to say that despite being frustrated at not being able to exchange my American (New Mexico) driver's license for a Swedish one, I really DO understand the reasoning, since when I took my license in New Mexico, you didn't even have to be literate to take the written test (somebody would read you the questions), the questions were about 20 true-false questions, incredibly simple, and the driving test was a simple, once around the block, no problems with traffic, type of driving test, which pretty much a chimpanzee could have passed, provided it could have reached the pedals.  Might be a few of the reasons why New Mexico has some of the highest accident rates in the nation per capita, don't know, but I sure wouldn't say that my NM license was necessarily the sign of a competent driver.  Of course before that, I had one from Washington, D.C., Oregon and Virginia, and those were a bit harder to get.