Driving Licence in case of Hard Brexit

[Mirek]

Just read this on BBC web site

Brexit: UK drivers living in the EU urged to get new licence

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46865094

[smudger]

Useful info. As one (or actually two) who travel at least three times a year backwards and forwards to UK this is much appreciated as it could be critical for us, and doubt I wiukd have seen it elsewhere.

[ApusApus]

Technically, your driving licence should show your current residence address which is why the authorities turn a blind eye when you are driving abroad! We exchanged our UK ones to Cypriot ones a couple of years ago when we went back to the UK and got a hire car, realising that our UK licences showed our old UK address where we no longer lived!


Shane

[trevnhil]

The Authorities are not 'turning a blind eye' when you use your UK licence here. The present rules allow you to do so..

[ApusApus]

Technically, it is illegal if your main place of residence is Cyprus or any other European Country for that matter!


Shane

[trevnhil]

Please, read the rules.... It is only illegal to have the wrong place of residence on your licence IF YOU STILL LIVE IN THE UK.

The UK rules, and the Cypriot rules, allow you to use your UK licence in Cyprus with your last UK address on the card..

There are no 'if's' or 'but's' ... At the moment it is the law..

[PolemIan]

Trev, the local authorities here my turn a blind eye, but the DVLA are very clear that whenever you change address you should notify them within 6 months are risk a fineo f up to £1,000 though I gather they are fairly lenient on this. They also say “If you’re moving abroad
You cannot register your new address on your British driving licence. Contact the driving licence authority in your new country of residence”. Based on that logic and figuring it may be harder after March, I finally changed last year which was a fairly painless processs. I used Stevie’s down by the lights near Papantoniou to help with the paperwork - €25 plus €40 payable to the transport office.

Though I did discover, a) best to keep a copy of old licence before surrendering as the new one will have a new start date which makes it look like you have only just passed your test and b) you can’t rent a boat from the likes of Latchi water ports with a CY licence.

I also discovered from a friend that the U.K. departments are more connected with information sharing. It looks like Info about those who are regsisterd here for tax purposes here is being shared with DVLA as a friend of mine was refused car hire at Gatwick because of this mismatch and has subsequently swapped licence for a CY one and has had no further problems. I’ve also heard a couple of stories about some CY insurers using inconsistencies on address and licence as a get out clause on claims, but no hard facts on that.

I’m aware that there are ways around this - using a family members address, the tax thing potentially makes this less effective I guess, or reporting a licence as lost & getting a new one sent over etc - if you get the timing right you end up with a U.K. and CY licence, but that’s a personal choice.

My simple view is that if I live here, I’d rather have the correct papers.

Ian

[galexinda]

When you exchange a UK licence for a Cypriot driving licence DVLA is informed and your UK licence is cancelled. It has been recommended by government websites that EU residents change their driving licences before 29 March. I changed mine when the photograph expired and have used it overseas.

[trevnhil]

Both my wife and I arrived here in 2006 with our UK licences .. Both of us kept and used the licences until we were 70 years old. In that time I was stopped by the police for checks and they accepted that my UK licence was valid here. I have also hired cars from different firms in the UK, with my Cyprus address and produced the UK licence ... No problems...
Both my wife and I now have Cypriot driving licences

It is a fact, that when you come to live here you cannot change your UK licence for a Cypriot one until you have been here 6 months..

[ApusApus]

Please, read the rules.... It is only illegal to have the wrong place of residence on your licence IF YOU STILL LIVE IN THE UK.

The UK rules, and the Cypriot rules, allow you to use your UK licence in Cyprus with your last UK address on the card..

There are no 'if's' or 'but's' ... At the moment it is the law..

I suggest you read my previous posts again as I said if you permanently reside in Cyprus not if you still live in the UK? In the past, it has never been a problem, like not having a yellow slip, but things have changed! You may also find that driving in the UK on a licence that doesn't show you correct residence address may invalidate your insurance or certainly give the insurance company an excuse to refuse any claim should they so wish!


Shane

[trevnhil]

Strangely of course a Cypriot licence does not show your address. Or at least mine doesn't..

[wilky]

Had not noticed that no address is on the cyprus driving license until we hired a car in the UK in september last year when I was asked for an address I gave my daughters address and that was accepted.