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can ex-pats renew UK driving license


Keelstow
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[quote user="Keelstow"]

my brother lives outside UK and needs to renew licence to enable him to hire cars back in the UK.

[/quote]

Strange question.

What does he do about driving in the country where he lives? Does he have a locally issued licence and does he think it's won't be valid for hiring cars in the UK?

 

 

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not as strange as it seems when he lives in a big city where taxi fares are dirt cheap and keeping a car would be a hassle.. as it would be for many Londoners.

he got caught out at heathrow when his licence was in date but the photo was out of date. He managed to get a car eventually after a phone call to DVLC.

Looks like an international licence is th best bet
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[quote user="Sunday Driver"]Simplest way is to apply for an exchange licence in the country where he is living. [/quote]But that also requires a current UK licence (including photocard), or a letter of entitlement from DVLA which at least he can get over the phone and have sent anywhere not just UK.

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thanks for the replies to to original posting. I guessed this site would be well versed in this subject area but was suprised by the amount of quick replies

I will pass on your advice to my brother so he is well prepared for his future travels

martin
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  • 1 month later...
I renewed my UK licence when I was living in Singapore, just did a change of address to my parents house ..... no need for proof of address & new licence arrived in post no probs.

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When I had my wallet stolen while I was resident abroad and so losing my licence DVLA advised me they could issue a new one but they needed a UK address. They were aware of my situation and were very helpful.
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[quote user="Chancer"]

That "legally" word again!

What law do you reckon they would have broken if they were not UK resident?

[/quote]

Simple. Its called falsely completing an application form. (providing a fictitious address)

£1000.00 fine used to be the penalty, I've not checked recently.

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Legal schmegal, who cares. Legality in this context depends purely on the whims of the bureaucrats who devised the forms.

I'm sure every legal expert here obeys every law to the "T" all the time and never attempts to make the facts fit the requirements of the paperwork. Not.

Does anyone here personally know anyone fined for filling out a form wrongly?

 

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For a couple of years in my 20s I lived without a fixed abode, almost exclusively outside the UK and in places where nobody would want to hold a driving license – you imagine turning up at the Hertz desk at Heathrow with a license they know very well could be purchased for £ 20 . DVLA advice was that provided the people at the address quoted knew where in the World to find you there was not a problem

Couple of interesting debates below :

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/drivers_of_no_fixed_abode

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=3740

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[quote user="Bugsy"][quote user="Chancer"][/quote]

Simple. Its called falsely completing an application form. (providing a fictitious address)

£1000.00 fine used to be the penalty, I've not checked recently.
[/quote]

Now you have got me frightened, when I think of the various job application forms that I have filled out over the years they could put me away for centuries [:P][:P]

Seriously though are you saying that there is a law against falsely filling out an application form be it driving license or otherwise?

The reason I made the comment is that many people and it seems especially so on forums, confuse rules which can change at the whim of whoever writes them with laws which generally dont.

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[quote user="Bugsy"][quote user="Chancer"]

That "legally" word again!

What law do you reckon they would have broken if they were not UK resident?

[/quote]

Simple. Its called falsely completing an application form. (providing a fictitious address)

£1000.00 fine used to be the penalty, I've not checked recently.
[/quote]Provided you give an address where you can be contacted(Good friend or family) then I doubt if you would be prosecuted
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Chancer, I have in front of me a 'Request for Information' from the Valuation Office Agency. The return of said document must be completed within 56 days or suffer the consequences - i.e. a £100 penalty.

There is also provision highlighting the fact that the making of false statements will render one liable for prosecution.

So to satisfy your curiosity, yes there are provisions within the law against the filling in of official documents with false information.

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[quote user="Keelstow"]not as strange as it seems when he lives in a big city where taxi fares are dirt cheap and keeping a car would be a hassle.. as it would be for many Londoners.

he got caught out at heathrow when his licence was in date but the photo was out of date. He managed to get a car eventually after a phone call to DVLC.

Looks like an international licence is th best bet[/quote]

As a point of interest, the UK Gov website states that the photo being out of date does not affect the validity of your driving licence, you are still allowed to drive (all other things being equal)
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A fairly predictable response to the chancers [Www] on the forum who all seem to live in La La Land.

No, I've never met anyone who has been caught out giving a false address either but read the following possible scenario.

Aren't the officers of UK Border Control annoying when they ask those silly questions. "Where have you come from, sir?"

Maybe, seeing that you're driving a French registered car they confirm with you that you are French resident. The next question asks "For how long?"

A week later a letter arrives at your mate's/granny's from the DVLA asking for the return of your UK driving licence which you renewed earlier this year.

Wouldn't happen? Maybe with all the information shared between Government departments it could.

I for one wouldn't then like to sit a French/Spanish/German or what driving test.  [:D]

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The rules say 'holds, or has held and is not disqualified from holding' a driving licence so the only way you would actually be driving without a licence is if you were disqualified or it had been revoked or suspended which can happen if for instance you have been convicted of an offence but have failed to submit your licence for the endorsement to be entered on it.

To the best of my knowledge there are no other ways in which they can take away your right to drive.

Anything else, such as an expired photocard or failure to notify a change of address (or even supplying a false one), is simply a potential fine.

[quote user="powerdesal"]Looks like an international licence is the best bet[/quote]It might be if there were such a thing but there isn't !

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[quote user="Benjamin"]A fairly predictable response to the chancers [Www] on the forum who all seem to live in La La Land.[/quote]

I think it's you who is in La La land this time Benjamin.

Even assuming your scenario came about you will always be entitled to a letter of entitlement from DVLA with which you can obtain a French licence so the spectre of a French/Spanish/German driving test is total and utter scare mongering !

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[quote user="AnOther"]

Even assuming your scenario came about you will always be entitled to a letter of entitlement from DVLA

[/quote]

I can just see DVLA falling over themselves to provide this multi-language letter of entitlement. Is there a sample anywhere?

There's a wider issue here. We would all like to opt in/out of the laws of whichever country we live in. Unfortunately the result of that is anarchy.

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