Driving on a UK Licence...

Enilorac

have lived here for nearly 3 years now...

Have a full UK driving licence.

Is this OK?

What if i get stopped by plods? How do they put the points on if I'm naughty?

seamus

If you're stopped by the Gardai, they'll probably insist that since you're a permanent resident, that you trade in your English licence for an Irish one. Then you'll present it at a Garda station and have the points added, or they'll come knocking on your door.

Villain

bro has one and has been living her for last 4 years.

He asked a local Garda and he said he didn't have to get an Irish 1 but recomended it.

He said if he got points they would have to write to the UK police and ask to have the points added to his UK Licence.

They can't force you to change your licence

Our man in Havana

Are points interchangeable? I don't think so.

Villain

Originally posted by Bond-James Bond
Are points interchangeable? I don't think so.

Well if you apply for an Irish Licence I'm sure they will transfer the points, but then again in this country you never know.

seamus

Originally posted by Bond-James Bond
Are points interchangeable? I don't think so.

IIRC, they're "working" on a system to normalise points between NI and ROI. Knowing this country it'll probably be a while...

No, they won't force you to change your licence (just checked it out on oasis)

Enilorac

Glad to hear I don't have to surrender it. Seems pointless to give up a licence that's valid until i'm 70 yrs old, for a licence only valid for 10 yrs. Especially as I probably will be back in Uk in the next 10 years....

Mocking Burd

Enilorac,

I have a UK licence too and I would actually like to hold onto it. However - Irish insurance companies are starting to give discounts to drivers with no penalty points, and we won't be able to avail of this. I'm still thinking about it but like the idea of having my licence till I am seventy. (I've had mine embossed cos it was getting rough around the edges!).

Enilorac

Originally posted by Mocking Burd
Enilorac,

I have a UK licence too and I would actually like to hold onto it. However - Irish insurance companies are starting to give discounts to drivers with no penalty points, and we won't be able to avail of this.

Why? i have no points on my license, so why does it matter if it is UK or IE?

TommyK

You can drive here with a Full licence from *any* E.U. country for the duration of the licence unless . . .

1. Your insurance broker insists on an Irish licence.

or

2. The Gardai want you to change it for whatever reason.

Other than that, you'd only have to change it if it's gong to run out.

Dunno about the points though.

Tommy.

Mocking Burd

Originally posted by Enilorac
Why? i have no points on my license, so why does it matter if it is UK or IE?

I'm presuming - as with my own - that your licence is listed under your previous UK address? You may not have any points on the licence that you hold, but Irish insurance companies don't have any way of checking if you have incurred any points since the issue of that licence.
You cannot renew your UK licence with the DVLA if you are not a resident there - you would have to surrender it and obtain one for the country that you are currently resident in. I left England in 1998, but as far as the DVLA are concerned - I am still living there.:D

Our man in Havana

It doesn't expire till your 70, so why bother?

Imposter

I've got a sort of related question:
If you move to Ireland from an EU country (or any country for that matter) does your insurance record in the other country count and if so is there a defined way of proving your insurance history?

Enilorac

Originally posted by Mocking Burd
I'm presuming - as with my own - that your licence is listed under your previous UK address?

...but I'm still using it as an active address....it's my parents house after all.

All my UK bank stuff and credit card bills all still go there...my folks just pop it all in the post to me at the end of the week.

As I haven't decided if living in ireland is an 'ever after' scenario yet, I'm reluctant to relinquish my UK identity...

Enilorac

Originally posted by Imposter
I've got a sort of related question:
If you move to Ireland from an EU country (or any country for that matter) does your insurance record in the other country count and if so is there a defined way of proving your insurance history?

IIRC I had to send the Irish insurance company written proof of my UK no claims status from my UK insurance company...and the Irish company took it on, and offerd me a policy with the same 'no claims'

HTH

wishlist.ie

You are entitled to keep your UK license - infact I got stopped for speeding there recently (contentious issue - I still say its a 40 zone as not built up area but there you go) and the guardia actually told me to hang onto it, as they can't add points, and it is perfectly legal/valid in Ireland.

Which I thought was pretty good of him until i got a letter 6 weeks later stating that my 'points' have been added to some database or other, because I was honest and paid the fine!!! So, in future, im not going to pay the fine - its a uk license not registered to any address (in Ireland or even in the UK*) so how can they track irish-resident non-irish license holders down? They can't. Simple as.

* I have contacted the DVLA in Swansea and they stated that they "didn't care" what my new address in Ireland is, but that they cannot enter a non-uk address onto their system. Downside is that if a UK license holder who is resident in ireland loses their license, the DVLA cannot re-issue due to them not having a UK resident address, and they would have to apply for an Irish license.

So there you have it - swings and roundabouts really - hope this is useful to someone!