US resident buying/registering UK vehicle

I knew there was a thread about the 6 month thing.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=91667.0

See ksand's answer.

It won't let me edit my answer again. Stupid mobile.

Are you sure about the 6 month thing? I seem to remember that it doesn't affect those of us on this forum... I may be wrong, but that's what I remember from previous threads.

ETA: Right, after doing a quick google the 6 month thing is to exchange your current, valid, non-UK license for a UK license. Sadly, Americans can't do this as we don't have a treaty with the UK for it. It's the 50 different licensing authorities, don'tcha know.

So if he had a license that he could trade, he needs to wait 6 months and no tests needed, but if he's taking the tests, he can take them as soon as he's ready.

I read the 6 month requirement when trying to book the test online

https://www.gov.uk/book-driving-test

“Before you start
You need your:

UK driving licence number
credit or debit card
driving instructor’s personal reference number if you want to check they’re available
You can check the cost of your driving test before you start.

You must have lived in England, Wales or Scotland for at least 185 days in the last 12 months before the day you take your test.”

I read the 6 month requirement when trying to book the test online

https://www.gov.uk/book-driving-test

“Before you start
You need your:

UK driving licence number
credit or debit card
driving instructor’s personal reference number if you want to check they’re available
You can check the cost of your driving test before you start.

You must have lived in England, Wales or Scotland for at least 185 days in the last 12 months before the day you take your test.”

They've just changed a ton of things on February 5th/6th so that may be something that changed as it didn't used to be that way. So weird.

They've just changed a ton of things on February 5th/6th so that may be something that changed as it didn't used to be that way. So weird.

Everything I had read on this didn't mention this requirement. However my son told me he had booked his theory test for later this month and that he planned to take the driving test in his own car so I went online to find out the requirements of using your own car (includes the need to have a rear view mirror on the passenger side for use by the examiner) and I came across this info on the 6 month residency requirement.

I believe this change may be to deter people from countries such as Germany coming over to take the test which is apparently much easier to pass here.

Everything I had read on this didn't mention this requirement. However my son told me he had booked his theory test for later this month and that he planned to take the driving test in his own car so I went online to find out the requirements of using your own car (includes the need to have a rear view mirror on the passenger side for use by the examiner) and I came across this info on the 6 month residency requirement.

I believe this change may be to deter people from countries such as Germany coming over to take the test which is apparently much easier to pass here.

It's always been 6 months for people from EEA/EC countries, as seen on the link in the UKY thread I posted earlier. Americans didn't have to wait 6 months though as we don't have a license trade available to us here in Europe.

It's always been 6 months for people from EEA/EC countries, as seen on the link in the UKY thread I posted earlier. Americans didn't have to wait 6 months though as we don't have a license trade available to us here in Europe.

Well, it appears to pretty clear on the website that it has now changed and according to this thread on this site it has been that way for some time now.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=58023.0

Sooo. . .I went to my practical driving test this morning, all nervous and hyped up to go, only to find that you must sign a document saying that you have lived in the UK for at least 184 days.  I've only lived here four months, so I had to give up my exam time and head home (word is still out on whether I will be charged for the rescheduled exam).  The thing is, I remember this coming up on the boards quite some time ago, but I believe people thought that it applied only to Europeans.  My examiner called the DSA and they told him that it was everyone.  I don't believe the DSA website said anything about it when I was scheduling my practical exam.

At any rate, I wanted to give people a heads up, just in case someone was in a position to make a similar mistake.

Well, it appears to pretty clear on the website that it has now changed and according to this thread on this site it has been that way for some time now.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=58023.0

That wording has been there for a number of years, but unless it’s changed in the last few days, it ONLY applies to EU/EEA citizens.


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Well, it appears to pretty clear on the website that it has now changed and according to this thread on this site it has been that way for some time now.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=58023.0

Did you read the official DVLA PDF that was on the thread I linked from September 2017 rather than 2009 as you reference? The PDF specifically states that that 6 months is for EEA/EC and that all other countries have a different requirement. It's on two different pages of the official DVLA PDF which may now be out of date but was accurate for that time last year.

That wording has been there for a number of years, but unless it’s changed in the last few days, it ONLY applies to EU/EEA citizens.


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The .gov site has epic changes for the driving section on Feb 5th and 6th. I can't find anything on the current version of the site for different circumstances, so they may have just changed it.

Did you read the official DVLA PDF that was on the thread I linked from September 2017 rather than 2009 as you reference? The PDF specifically states that that 6 months is for EEA/EC and that all other countries have a different requirement. It's on two different pages of the official DVLA PDF which may now be out of date but was accurate for that time last year.

Thanks, I have now read that leaflet and it seems pretty clear so why doesn't the official .gov site where you book your test have the same or similar language?

The .gov site has epic changes for the driving section on Feb 5th and 6th. I can't find anything on the current version of the site for different circumstances, so they may have just changed it.

I've just been going round and round in circles trying to find ANY information about residency on the gov.uk website... there are no links to any DVLA forms or anything, so I don't even know if they were updated or deleted or what.

I did see that the wording is different in the 'Drive in the UK on a Foreign Licence' page, versus the 'Exchange a Foreign Licence' page:

Driving in Great Britain on a non-GB licence
1 Are you:
- a resident of Great Britain?
- a visitor to Great Britain?
- a foreign student studying in Great Britain?

compared with (and we know US citizens cannot exchange their licence anyway):

Exchange a foreign driving licence
1 Are you a resident of Great Britain?
You’re normally a resident if you have a permanent address in Great Britain that you’ve lived in for at least 185 days.
- Yes
- No

I did find several FOI requests from between 2015 and 2017 where it was confirmed that as long as you have a visa valid more than 185 days you can apply for a licence whenever you like.

And someone on Expat Forum posted this in 2016, from the licence application itself:

Are you eligible?
Residency and Disqualifications
You can only get a GB driving licence if you are normally resident in Great Britain. To be normally resident you must usually live in Great Britain for 185 days in each calendar year.
Applicants who are not UK citizens or nationals of another EU or EEA country will not be considered normally resident if they:
do not have leave to remain in the UK, or are in the country on a temporary basis without leave to remain either while awaiting a decision to stay in the UK or following a decision refusing such an application.

Thanks, I have now read that leaflet and it seems pretty clear so why doesn't the official .gov site where you book your test have the same or similar language?

I think that leaflet may be several years old now - it has always been accurate information in the past though.

There's so much conflicting information around though that it's hard to figure out exactly what the situation is:
1) Various Freedom of Information requests state you only need a visa valid more than 185 days to apply
2) In 2016, the DVLA licence application form itself said that if you were not a UK/EU citizen, you just needed leave to enter/remain that allowed you to live in the UK for at least 185 days PER year
3) Some websites say only EU citizens have to wait 185 days
4) Some websites don't clarify who needs to wait and just say 'you must have been resident for 185 days'.

I decided to go ahead and try to book a test using that official .gov website to book it to see if the language changes when I get asked if I have lived in England or Wales for 185 days.

https://www.gov.uk/book-driving-test

HAH!!

You have to enter your driving licence number on the 2nd screen then prove you're not a bot with an image test but because I already have a full driving licence it doesn't let me go any further.

My son will meet the 185 days by end of March so, assuming his passes his theory test end of this month, I'll tell him to not to book his test before April 1st. He plans to have some driving lessons specifically aimed at passing his test so this possible time restriction won't be a problem to him, however it would be nice to have a definitive answer for the rest of the site members to know for sure.

There is an email address on the site to send inquiries to so I have now sent an email and will post the response when I get it.

The email address is customerservices@dvsa.gov.uk

There is an email address on the site to send inquiries to so I have now sent an email and will post the response when I get it.

The email address is customerservices@dvsa.gov.uk

Well, I'm taking my theory test next week. If I pass I'll check it out and see what it says. I have been here for a few years so it may not tell me the same things... we'll have to see!

I do wonder if maybe DVLA has similar issues of people not knowing everything like the UKVI helpline?

I would give Aviva a call, they insured our son’s car in September when he moved back from the USA and moved in with us. They accepted his Texas drivers licence and didn’t ask for proof of address plus they gave him full no claims discount based on a letter (pdf) from his US insurance company and copy of his US policy. He still has not passed his UK driving test (can’t take it until he has been resident here for 6 months).

Thanks for the information. I’ll see what they say.


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