Learning to Drive in the UK

I have driven in the US but would like to start taking lessons in the UK and need to know if I am eligable to get a provisional license and start taking lessons. I am here on a fiance visa and arrived 16th December do I qualify to learn to drive yet?

Thank you in advance

Legally, you don't need a U.K. provisional license at all to start taking lessons.   You're covered under the 12-month rule for your state-issued American license.   

I do not have a current American licence so I would need to start from scratch here so need to know my eligeability here, what I can do and when?

I do not have a current American licence so I would need to start from scratch here so need to know my eligeability here, what I can do and when?

Hi Jamie...get a provisional one, you are entitled and the sooner you start the better . Need to get out of middlewich now and then .

I'm pretty sure you can just apply for a provisional licence and take lessons whenever you want even on a fiance visa, since if you did have a US licence, you would need to take all your lessons and tests within a year of moving to the UK to avoid being treated as an unlicenced driver after the year was up - and it can take several months to pass the tests, so for many US citizens moving in the UK, the sooner they start lessons, the better.

Thanks everyone! AHAHAHA HG you got that right!

Jamiem627, do appreciate that in the UK this is a two-stage process ..... theory test, then practical test.

So yes, as already suggested, proceed to get yourself a provisional driving licence, but also start studying for the theory test. After all it is legally impossible to even apply to take the practical test until you have actually passed the theory test. When you do apply to take the practical test, you will need to quote the number on the theory test pass certificate.

I do not have a current American licence so I would need to start from scratch here so need to know my eligeability here, what I can do and when?

Ah, O.K.   You just need to pick up application forms pack D1 from a Post Office, or you can request the pack online here:
 
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/NeedANewOrUpdatedLicence/DG_10012514

You'll need to provide proof of identity (your U.S. passport) and pay the £50 fee, then as soon as you receive your provisional license you'll be legal to practice on the roads under the same rules as any British learner (i.e. must display "L" plates front & rear, be accompanied by somebody 21 or over who has held a license for at least 3 years, not allowed to drive on motorways, etc.).

Jamiem627, do appreciate that in the UK this is a two-stage process ..... theory test, then practical test.

Don't forget that there is now an extra "hazard perception" test too -- All very complex and expensive compared to how it used to be.   

Don't forget that there is now an extra "hazard perception" test too -- All very complex and expensive compared to how it used to be.   

Amen, brother.  I'd recommend getting the Official DSA Learner Pack.  The theory test practice CD uses the same questions as the actual test, which really helped, and the hazard perception DVD gives you an idea of what to expect on that test, too.

good luck,
Carl

Oh ouch no driving experience??  It's gonna be expensive...  Get started asap!

I read on the website something about have to be a resident for so many days before I'm even eligible so....

I read on the website something about have to be a resident for so many days before I'm even eligible so....

That doesn't apply to you.   What happened was that a few years ago there were official "concerns" about people from certain other EU countries coming to the U.K. for just a few weeks in order to take the British test and obtain a U.K. license, which they could then simply exchange for their own nation's license upon returning home.  Germany, in particular, was objecting since their driving test and rules are, apparently, horrendously complex and expensive, and it was actually cheaper for German teenagers to come to the U.K. for a month and pay all the travel and accommodation costs than to go through the official licensing procedures in Germany!   So the government introduced the restriction that you had to be resident here for 6 months before being eligible for the U.K. test.

There was some confusion over whether this had been applied to everybody though, and I checked with the appropriate authorities earlier this year.  It does not apply to U.S. citizens coming directly from the U.S.A., and you can apply for a U.K. provisional license as soon as you become resident.

See here for the full discussion:
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=41338.0;all

When I took the practical driving test last June, I had to sign a document for the driving examiner which attested that I had been a UK resident for at least 6 months.

Did you move to the UK from elsewhere in the EEA? If so, that makes sense, otherwise it does not!

The wording on the DVLA website explains :-

Taking a driving test

If you want to take a British driving test you must be normally resident in GB. However, if you have moved to GB having recently been permanently resident in another state of the EC/EEA, you must have been normally resident in GB for 185 days in the 12 months prior to your application for a driving test and a full licence.

-: which therefore means that there is no such time restriction if a person moved to the UK from outside the EEA.

From the comments made on the other thread, and the way that the DSA bureaucracy works, it may well be that the examiner asked that question without even realizing that it would not apply to you (assuming you didn't come via another EU/EEA country as John says).

Sometimes you have to explain the rules to the people who should know them......