One year driving rights on US license.

Has anyone checked out the temporary v permanent resident's right to drive. According to DVLA, you may drive on your US license for one year from the date of entry if you are a permanent resident. However, temporary residents may drive for one year from their most recent entry. As I understand it, I am a temporary resident (work permit status) and should therefore not have to worry about obtaining a UK license until I obtain permanent resident status. Right? Or am I grasping at straws considering my one year anniversary is Wednesday...

I so hope you are right!!

Pam, I'll post here when I find out definitively. Keep your fingers crossed...and your toes....and your eyes....and anything else you can think of....

If I were you I would I get the licence. I could not figure out if I needed to get a licence so to play it safe, I ended up getting one.( in January)  I thought it was a complete waste of my time and money because I am here for less the 2 years.  I am leaving to go back to the US in July. I was told by AA ( when I called to renew our car insurance )that I needed to get the licence and if I drove without it, I would be breaking the law. My understanding was that you are a temporary resident if you are attending university here or in the country for less than a year and you are permanent when you (or your spouse) are working and sign a lease to rent or buy a home.  Good luck.

As I understand it, I am a temporary resident (work permit status) and should therefore not have to worry about obtaining a UK license until I obtain permanent resident status. Right? Or am I grasping at straws considering my one year anniversary is Wednesday...

Paula, Paula, you know you want to go through the hassle of getting a provisional, taking the theory, spending lots of pounds and hours behind the wheel before you finally get the guts to take the test.  I've started and I hope to be much less "temporary" than you!! 

Ah, but your semantics would be perfect for my situation next month when my dad comes to visit.  There are definitely people who follow your theory though!

Paula, Paula, you know you want to go through the hassle of getting a provisional, taking the theory, spending lots of pounds and hours behind the wheel before you finally get the guts to take the test. 

Yeah, like I want to have root canal without anesthesia!

Ah, but your semantics would be perfect for my situation next month when my dad comes to visit.  There are definitely people who follow your theory though!

I'm sure some people do but I want to do it legally. I just don't have the time (or energy) right now to undertake the whole thing and it's not like I'm going to own a car in the forseeable future. I just want to be able to rent one occasionally.

What started me down this path was some friends want to add me onto their auto insurance so that I can use their car occassionally. When they checked with their agent they were told that if I was a temporary resident I could continue to use my US license.

I guess I'll have to break down and write a letter to DVLA asking for clarification. Besides, it would be useful to have it IN WRITING if they say I can continue to use my US license.

I'll let y'all know what I find out.

Paula here are some links for you to look at..

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/MotoringDecisionTrees/ExchangeaTestPassorForeignLicence/can_you_drive_in_gb.dsb
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/DrivingInGbOnAForeignLicence/DG_4022561

Hope they help.. Im pretty sure its 12 months from the time you become resident here in the UK so if you are here for 18 months you would be okay for the first 12 but would need a UK license for the second 6 months. But hopefully the sites will clarify things ....

Your 12 months starts the day you become a resident here. Even if you don't drive or have a car the first 12 months you are here, DVLA won't make any exceptions.  I don't think this is a very fair rule. Drivers from the EU can just exchange their licence for a UK one. US licence holders have to basically start over from scratch to get their UK licence. I don't know if anyone else feels this way but, I really get mad seeing drivers who have no clue of how to drive here. Some of them drive really dangerously. They should have the same rules for everyone regarding obtaining a UK licence.

Thanks for the links, Kaylesh. I'll check it out.

It's clear than the 12-month period runs from the time at which one becomes resident in the U.K., but when that is deemd to be from a legal point of view seems to be a little vague in some cases.

With regard to asking DVLA for clarification, I would ask them to quote the actual legislation (e.g. The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licence) Regulations 1987 or whatever) so that you can double-check the situation for yourself.    It's not at all unusual for DVLA to "quote" rules which don't actually exist! 

Drivers from the EU can just exchange their licence for a UK one. US licence holders have to basically start over from scratch to get their UK licence. I don't know if anyone else feels this way but, I really get mad seeing drivers who have no clue of how to drive here. Some of them drive really dangerously. They should have the same rules for everyone regarding obtaining a UK licence.

As I've said before, I find this totally unfair as well.  It's ridiculous that someone from Romania or Greece can just obtain a U.K. license as a swap but Americans are forced to go through the whole sets of tests expected of a learner.   

Thanks, Paul, I was waiting for you to post. It is how the DVLA defines resident that I want clarified. I plan to get them to put it in writing and if I can continue to drive on my US license, I plan to carry the letter from DVLA with me at all times...just in case. 

If I'm going to rely upon something I've been told by an official, then I would always demand that it be put in writing.   

The main point here is that the "policy" of some departments is often at odds with what the law says, and if they can't quote an actual piece of legislation to back up their position, then I don't think their policy would be worth much in a court of law.   

The 12-month residency is stated quite clearly in The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999, section 80:

80.  - (1) A person who becomes resident in Great Britain who is -

      (a) the holder of a relevant permit, and

      (b) not disqualified for holding or obtaining a licence in Great Britain

shall, during the period of one year after he becomes so resident, be treated for the purposes of section 87 of the Traffic Act as the holder of a licence authorising him to drive all classes of small vehicle, motor bicycle or moped which he is authorised to drive by that permit.

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1999/19992864.htm#80

Unfortunately, that act does not define what constitutes residency in this context.  I think there are different definitions for different purposes, e.g. I believe Inland Revenue has a 183-day rule for income tax.

Hi all,

I am a bit confused here about applying for a UK driver license when I still hold a valid US driver license.

I checked DVLA website and it seems that the process is as follow:
- Fill out form D1 (still waiting for DVLA to send the form)
- Provide proof of identity (HSMP approval letter, permanent address)
- Sign up for DRIVING test ONLY

Is this correct?

My Internet connection is up and down due to my issue unable to open a landline for the next 1.5 months (see my other post about this), so I couldn't do multiple searches on this forum on the topic.

Hi all,

I am a bit confused here about applying for a UK driver license when I still hold a valid US driver license.

I checked DVLA website and it seems that the process is as follow:
- Fill out form D1 (still waiting for DVLA to send the form)
- Provide proof of identity (HSMP approval letter, permanent address)
- Sign up for DRIVING test ONLY

Is this correct?

My Internet connection is up and down due to my issue unable to open a landline for the next 1.5 months (see my other post about this), so I couldn't do multiple searches on this forum on the topic.

Hmmm not sure where you were reading this information....the procedure is the same if you hold a US license as it would be if you were just starting out unfortunately.
You need to apply for a provosional license, take a theory test and then a practical test. The only difference is that if you are within in your year you can drive during this time without following the provisional license rules.

I made some changes to my post and my Internet connection went down!

Anyways...

You need to apply for a provosional license, take a theory test and then a practical test. The only difference is that if you are within in your year you can drive during this time without following the provisional license rules.

This is the bit that I am confused. Is the provisional driver license used ONLY for taking driving test? The website stated that once I sent the D1 form, they will send the provisional driving license in 3 week. This is a driving license, so I can use it to drive, no?

I think I am confused on what is the step-by-step process for obtaining an ACTUAL GB driver license for DRIVING a car here.

BTW, on DVLA websites, it states

"To ensure continuous driving entitlement a provisional GB licence must have been obtained and a driving test(s) passed before the 12-month period elapses.

It also said that I need to apply using Form D1. So if I apply for the provisional license using form D1, why did their website says that

"You can apply for your provisional driving licence by completing the D1 application form that is available from the DVLA form ordering service or Post Office® branches. DVLA aim to deliver your driving licence to you within three weeks of receiving your application."

So I can get the provisional driving license within 3 weeks? How about the test that I need to take?