Moving and Driving up North

Thomas

Hi Guys,

I'll be changing jobs soon and it requires me to move up to Belfast for at least a year and I'll stay longer if I settle in. I plan to exchange my Irish licence for a UK one after the 185 days but my questions are:

(1) How long would my new licence be valid for?
(2) If / when it expires how would i renew it? i.e. would I have to do the NI test?
(3) If I moved back south after a couple of years can I get my Irish licence back easily or is it the whole waiting on the ROI driving test for a year again?

Thanks a mill if you can help.

Tom

Wishbone Ash

AFAIK your ROI licence is valid in any EU country.

Dub13

Wishbone Ash wrote:

AFAIK your ROI licence is valid in any EU country.

It is but if you are in another EU country for 6 month's you have to exchange it for a local license.

Wishbone Ash

Dub13 wrote:

It is but if you are in another EU country for 6 month's you have to exchange it for a local license.

Yes - sorry I forgot about that

Thomas

Yeah I checked I'll have to change to an NI licenceafter six months anyway. That's why I'm worried that if I do change I'll have hassle renewing it and then perhaps getting my ROI licence back in future??

Thomas wrote:

Hi Guys,

I'll be changing jobs soon and it requires me to move up to Belfast for at least a year and I'll stay longer if I settle in. I plan to exchange my Irish licence for a UK one after the 185 days but my questions are:

(1) How long would my new licence be valid for?
(2) If / when it expires how would i renew it? i.e. would I have to do the NI test?
(3) If I moved back south after a couple of years can I get my Irish licence back easily or is it the whole waiting on the ROI driving test for a year again?

Thanks a mill if you can help.

Tom

Alun

Dub13 wrote:

It is but if you are in another EU country for 6 month's you have to exchange it for a local license.

NO, NO, NO, NO and yet again NO !!!!!!!!!! (Did I say NO ? )

This hasn't been the case for ages now! You can just keep your Irish licence until it expires.

Dub13

So you are saying a polish person can hold onto there Polish license until it expires...?the Guards would not have a clue what they are reading.

green-blood

you twonk, are Polish numbers different to English numbers - eh no.

Poland is as much European as Ireland

its insurance thats the issue and the registration of the car, not the nationality of your licence.

Dub13

What are you talking about...?

Thomas

Cool thanks. what about the answers to my original questions tho just in case I decide to go with the NI licence?

Alun wrote:

NO, NO, NO, NO and yet again NO !!!!!!!!!! (Did I say NO ? )

This hasn't been the case for ages now! You can just keep your Irish licence until it expires.

Alun

Dub13 wrote:

So you are saying a polish person can hold onto there Polish license until it expires...?the Guards would not have a clue what they are reading.

Yes. As long as it's a standard EU pattern licence then the Gardai don't have to understand a word of Polish, French, German or indeed any other EU language. The relevant headings are all numbered and appear in exactly the same order on any EU standard pattern licence. Clever, eh? I can't believe how often this same old misunderstanding crops up on here.

Alun

Thomas wrote:

Cool thanks. what about the answers to my original questions tho just in case I decide to go with the NI licence?

Well, if you did ...

I don't know how long UK licences are valid for nowadays. They used to be indefinite, but I think a recent EU regulation has capped them all to a maximum of 10 years, I'm not sure though. When it expires, you just exchange it for one in whatever country you happen to be living in at the time, be that Ireland or anywhere else, although there are plans to introduce a real EU wide driving licence (rather than just harmonising the layout) so maybe that'll change. No need to retake your driving test anywhere, in any of the above scenarios.

Thomas

Brill thanks, all i needed to know..

Alun wrote:

Well, if you did ...

I don't know how long UK licences are valid for nowadays. They used to be indefinite, but I think a recent EU regulation has capped them all to a maximum of 10 years, I'm not sure though. When it expires, you just exchange it for one in whatever country you happen to be living in at the time, be that Ireland or anywhere else, although there are plans to introduce a real EU wide driving licence (rather than just harmonising the layout) so maybe that'll change. No need to retake your driving test anywhere, in any of the above scenarios.

unkel

Never mind your license, Thomas. You can drive a nice car for free during your stay and even make a bit of money on it when returning to live in the Republic. Here goes:

1. Buy a newish (2-3 year old) UK reg car as soon as you start working in the UK. Cars are cheap and depreciate more over there. Something executive would be ideal
2. Make sure that while living in the UK, you build up proof that you live there: bank accounts, utility bills, the more the better
3. When returning to the Republic, you can put the car on Irish plates for free (no VRT payable)
4. 12 months after your return you can sell your car here and won't have to pay VRT