Changing licence

PlayaFlow

Hi, im currently in Germany and was thinking about changing my Irish licence for a German one . Ill be moving back to Irl in 2 yrs anyway so i know it doesnt make a difference as they are both EU etc.
But was just thinking about it for because
(a) its credit card sized and fits nicley in your wallet
and
(b) i think its a more respected licence than the irish one etc. as you have to undergo a lot of mechanical , driving and first aid tests here to get the licence (which i havent done ofcourse )

anyway , just wanted to see what u think.

so YES or NO ??

Big Nelly

No.....ur Irish and be proud of it!!! dont see how you can make out a German license ir more respected?? any full license from a country is respected the same in another country.....which means they look down on you.....German licenses drivers in ireland will be looked down on and Irish driver in Germany will have the same treatment!! nothing to do with license and how good a driver...its just a natural reaction!!

Sleipnir

Yeah got a three year license because at the time, the Dept of the Environment were patting themselves on the back for the marvellous idea of having a license you can keep in your wallet instead of a Dunnes Store bag.

When it expires next year, I'm getting a 10 year one. There may be a chance that when I renew that one, they'll have something that isn't made of tissue.

Go for the German one. At least if your stopped, the gardai will know you have at least sat a test.

Imposter

Big Nelly wrote:

any full license from a country is respected the same in another country

On a related note I asked a Garda friend of the family what would happen with my Austrian licence if I returned to Ireland. He said it would need to be changed to an Irish one within 6 months. I've since found out that that's rubbish but if the guards don't know the laws they're in charge of enforcing how are we supposed to!

I don't know about german ones but Austrian licences are valid forever which is a definite advantage.

jm2k

one problem you'll have is when it comes to insurance in ireland. many insurers are giving discounts now if you've got no points on your licence. they won't give you the discount if you've got a foreign licence as you cannot get points added to it here.

i've also noticed on some insurance websites that its a precondition that you have an Irish/UK licence before they'll give you a quote.

just something to think about.

PlayaFlow

jm2k wrote:

if you've got a foreign licence as you cannot get points added to it here.

i've also noticed on some insurance websites that its a precondition that you have an Irish/UK licence before they'll give you a quote.

just something to think about.

IS that So?!?!...;) wink wink nudge nudge.

And you can get inurance with any EU licence - it doesnt have to be irish or uk. [ thats the whole point of the EU ]
You can even get insured on some non Eu licenses as far as i know.

mackerski

I say trade it in. I never got around to doing it while I was in Germany - it didn't seem that important, I figured that by the time I had to renew back in Ireland we'd have the credit-card sized ones too.

The point-immunity is certainly an interesting factor of any decision. Just remember that your German licence can earn you points in Flensburg as long as you remain in Germany.

Dermot

Stephen

No

While the insurance companies will accept any EU-issued licence, they might load your premium for it being a non-Irish one. They are bastards like that, as you probably already knew

'course, you can always swap it back to an Irish one if you need to, so why not, go for it.

Enii

No

Can you not have two licences?

Stephen

No

Dunno about in germany, but in ireland they require you to surrender your existing licence before they'll issue a new one. I suppose a way around that would be to just not tell them about your other EU licence and just do an Irish driving test. Then when you're about to get slapped with penalty points, produce the EU licence

ivorbiggen

i past my test in england a few years back now.i moved here 10 years ago and was done for speeding last year.When the garda asked for my licence on taking it to the station the garda who was dead sound said he could give me another 3 points and a fine for still using my british licence.I told him its all EU which he said ....Your licence has a uk address plus only covers you to drive in another EU country for the max of 3 months.Like driving around on a holiday But if you move to a different country you must exchange it for their licence.

murphaph

ivorbiggen wrote:

i past my test in england a few years back now.i moved here 10 years ago and was done for speeding last year.When the garda asked for my licence on taking it to the station the garda who was dead sound said he could give me another 3 points and a fine for still using my british licence.I told him its all EU which he said ....Your licence has a uk address plus only covers you to drive in another EU country for the max of 3 months.Like driving around on a holiday But if you move to a different country you must exchange it for their licence.

Is it a "European Communities Model" licence? (If it's not got 12 stars and that written on the front then the Guard was (almost) right. If it's a "European Communities Model" licence then he was wrong.

On the issue of licences from countries with no expiry date like Germany, this advantage is technically lost when you move to a country with limited validity licences (Ireland). It's not as simple as just keeping it forever as "indefinite validity" licences are not covered by the European Communities Model" and are subject to national law (like certain vehicle categories are not harmonised, for example, having M & W on an irish licence would not allow you (automatically) to drive such vehicles in other EU countries as only categories A, B, C and D (and subcategories thereof) are harmonised across the EU).

The German licence will require you to periodically update your first aid skills for the licence to remain valid of course! This could be a major PITA if you don't live in Germany where you'll have easy access to the ADAC/Rotkreuz courses (and hence competency certificate) that allow you to 'renew' your german licence.

mackerski

ivorbiggen wrote:

on taking it to the station the garda who was dead sound said he could give me another 3 points and a fine for still using my british licence.

Utter nonsense, every word of it (especially the bit about the penalty points).

Dermot

Seth Brundle

No

Not necessarily - the points can be held until either you get an Irish licence or when the Irish & UK systems become aligned.
Its not fair but thats the system we have in place currently.

mackerski

kbannon wrote:

Not necessarily - the points can be held until either you get an Irish licence or when the Irish & UK systems become aligned.
Its not fair but thats the system we have in place currently.

I know about the holding in reserve of points for when you get a "pointable" licence, but that's not what the guard was quoted as saying. He referred to a three point penalty for using a foreign licence instead of an Irish one. Which, as we know, is pants times two.

Dermot