Changing provisional > Irish licence. Will it carry over.

sinbad72

Hi, I have a full Uk car licence with a provisional motorbike entitlement. I now live in Ireland and want to change my licence to an Irish one. Will my provisional motorbike licence carry over? Or will I have to start again with the theory test and IBT?

seanybiker

Hmmm not to sure about provisional to be honest

honeybadger

more than likely ya be screwed on this ,,kunts

sinbad72

Thanks lads but Im still none the wiser Does anyone have a definitive answer

eurofoxy

ring your local tax office they will give you the answer,
I would say it wont be, as prov licences are only recognised in the country of issue...but for a definitive answer ring your local licence issueing office i.e. tax office....

seamus

It definitely won't be. Provisional licences do not carry between countries, only full licences are recognised. You'll need to apply for a new Irish provisional.

Del2005

eurofoxy wrote: »

ring your local tax office they will give you the answer,
I would say it wont be, as prov licences are only recognised in the country of issue...but for a definitive answer ring your local licence issueing office i.e. tax office....

I'd call the RSA, anytime I've dealt with them they've been quick to reply and called back straight away when they didn't know. Local tax office left a lot to be desired.

Ride Safe

sinbad72 wrote: »

Hi, I have a full Uk car licence with a provisional motorbike entitlement. I now live in Ireland and want to change my licence to an Irish one. Will my provisional motorbike licence carry over? Or will I have to start again with the theory test and IBT?

U.K. provisional no good here.

You would have to do a theory test, get your learner permit and then do the IBT course.

slinky2000

I actually just done the same thing, converted my UK licence to an Irish one.

You'll have to do the IBT I'm afraid like me

Dorsanty

What the last poster said but also http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/motoring_1/driver_licensing/exchanging_foreign_driving_permit.html

The link only mentions converting full licenses, though doesn't mention that learner permits/provisionals are prohibited as such.

The http://www.citizensinformation.ie/ website can answer 95% of questions about living and working and driving in Ireland and would kill off most if not all the learner permit, licensing, test questions this forum gets so often. That said your case is unusual and not covered as such.

sinbad72

Thanks again everyone for your responses. I've only moved down from the North. It looks like I'll have to start again.... Or maybe not...... I've come up with a cunning plan . If I'm quick about it I can still do my bike test in the North. Get it onto my licence and then change to Irish one The big test has to be done either way but at least I can avoid the IBT and the expense. Thats gotta work. What do the rest of you think?

Dorsanty

sinbad72 wrote: »

I've come up with a cunning plan

Well so long as you aren't Baldrick it might work.

Sounds like a good plan to be honest. And with the full license too you'll avoid the 2 year embargo on a full power bike which we run down here afaik.

EvilMonkey

sinbad72 wrote: »

Thanks again everyone for your responses. I've only moved down from the North. It looks like I'll have to start again.... Or maybe not...... I've come up with a cunning plan . If I'm quick about it I can still do my bike test in the North. Get it onto my licence and then change to Irish one The big test has to be done either way but at least I can avoid the IBT and the expense. Thats gotta work. What do the rest of you think?

Do you not have to do CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) in the North similar to IBT? Even if you do it probably still work out cheaper.

Dorsanty wrote: »

Well so long as you aren't Baldrick it might work.

Sounds like a good plan to be honest. And with the full license too you'll avoid the 2 year embargo on a full power bike which we run down here afaik.

They have 2 year restriction in the north, the rest of the GB, and most of Europe. In GB over 21's can do a Direct Access course and get a unrestricted licence.

slinky2000

sinbad72 wrote: »

Thanks again everyone for your responses. I've only moved down from the North. It looks like I'll have to start again.... Or maybe not...... I've come up with a cunning plan . If I'm quick about it I can still do my bike test in the North. Get it onto my licence and then change to Irish one The big test has to be done either way but at least I can avoid the IBT and the expense. Thats gotta work. What do the rest of you think?

yea get it done int he north if it's less hassle. I've spent 8 years down here now after moving from the north and only sent in my licence last week :P

MrPudding

sinbad72 wrote: »

Thanks again everyone for your responses. I've only moved down from the North. It looks like I'll have to start again.... Or maybe not...... I've come up with a cunning plan . If I'm quick about it I can still do my bike test in the North. Get it onto my licence and then change to Irish one The big test has to be done either way but at least I can avoid the IBT and the expense. Thats gotta work. What do the rest of you think?

I think your cunning plan is number 2 on the list of your best options, number one being you do it in England, Scotland or Wales to avoid the two year restriction. Obviously this can be fairly complicated to organise, so in reality doing it in NI is probably your best option.

MrP

sinbad72

I think the restriction in the north is to 33bhp for 2 years after passing the test. I dont really mind that. After all the restriction only a piece of paper . Its the matter of having to do the IBT like a 17yr old that I didnt like the thought of. Ive been riding on and off for 22yrs. Never any bigger than a 250 though on my provisional in the north. Then years ago they lowered the limit to 125. Thats when I got into trikes instead cos I have my driving licence. Its mad that you can hop on to a full power Vmax trike with no biking experience at all and be legal, yet try riding it as a bike and you have to do the test. Ive a very nice z650 sitting in the garage. Going to have to bite the bullet and get on with the test. Ive put it off for long enough. Unless I can get my hands on a cheap chain drive diff and add stabilizers again Thanks everyone for your input.

Hotblack Desiato

Its mad that you can hop on to a full power Vmax trike with no biking experience at all and be legal, yet try riding it as a bike and you have to do the test.

That's because bikes fall over, trikes don't... pretty obvious really

Anyone getting onto bikes after a few years away would benefit from doing some training (even if they don't have to do IBT/CBT). You might learn something that could save your life some day.

Maxav

A provisional licence is only valid within the borders of the country of issue! The majority of people in this country don't realise that if you're driving on a provisional licence (bike or car) that it's validity stops at the border!:eek:

I think most people would bite your hand off to have a ways to do the "direct access" test. That way you change licences and you're 100% legal. Any other way and you're not licensed to ride that nice z650.
And if you're not licensed then you're not insured.......... Personally I'd try my best to see if I could do the test in England or Wales, you have the UK license would it be that hard to get a friends address to use??

Tintee

The crazy thing about this 2 year restriction is that the 2 years starts after you TRANSFER the info to your full licence.Not from the time you pass the test as you would think.
Example..If you pass your test they give you the paper with details.This itself lasts 2 years.If you do not go to the licence office and put it onto your full licence for say, one year. The total amount of time you would be restricted is 3 years!
f-ing ridiculous...I got caught out by waiting 5 months after i passed the test before i added it onto my licence.
The trouble with the whole 2 year restriction anyway is that they are assuming every single biker has had no experience at all and is gonna rush out and buy a gixxer thou, where as i have been riding my sv650 for 10 years before i even took the test and have a further 15 years experience at other times, both on and off road.I guess that`s what i get for being lazy about it but it`s not a well thought out system at all.

Hotblack Desiato

Tintee, if you had an Irish class A provisional licence before 1999 and didn't let it lapse for more than 5 years, the horsepower restriction doesn't apply to you. A lot of people in the local authorities (and some Gardai) don't understand the rules.

Tintee

Yeah i know this but i did let it lapse and just missed that by 1 year.I`ve had bikes over the years previously, then more important things (mortgage,kids etc) kicked in and the bikes were sold.This latest bike is the one i`ve kept longest, from 2001 until today and i never bothered with the test until last year, when i passed.
Like i say though, i was late putting the bike pass onto my full car licence and because of that it has put a further 5 months onto my 2 year restriction time.Thought i just better tell people that so they don`t get caught out the same way i did.
It will be late 2012 before i can drive an unrestricted bike.I will be 48 years old with nearly 30 years driving experience and i have NEVER had a claim on my insurance,either bike or car.Does that sound like someone who needs to be kept safe by restricting the vehicle?

AgileMyth

Tintee wrote: »

It will be late 2012 before i can drive an unrestricted bike.I will be 48 years old with nearly 30 years driving experience and i have NEVER had a claim on my insurance,either bike or car.Does that sound like someone who needs to be kept safe by restricting the vehicle?

Not at all but legislation is written for the majority, it cannot account for the exceptions.

Hotblack Desiato

AgileMyth wrote: »

Not at all but legislation is written for the majority, it cannot account for the exceptions.

It's not even that. It's written to make politicians look like they're doing something effective, when often the law makes things worse (or is just ignored.)

There has NEVER been any evidence that restricted licences in Europe (and Germany had power limits years before anyone else did) reduce accident rates.

martin250880

I may have found a loop hole in this law....

In the uk when you get a full B licence you automatically get a full entitlement to drive catagories F K L N P.

Now the P is the important bit as this is the UK code for Moped.

When you surrender your UK B licence for an Irish one they are obliged to give you all your full entitlements except for tose relating to public service vehicles.

This would mean you have catagory M on your new irish licence.

you would now only be upgrading to a Irish A class provisional meaning you should be exempt from passing the IBT as you already have full moped entitlement.

Full irish Moped entitlement requires you to sit the IBT as far as I understand.

Anyone agree with my thinking???

slinky2000

The M is true when you transfer from a UK to an irish licence, as I've got it, I've no idea about the IBT loophole though.

martin250880

right here it is.... tried and tested..

I surrendered my uk license today and made sure my full M entitlement was put on.

In a week when my new license comes through i can go to the tax office and simply request a provisional A license not a lerners permit as by having M on my new license it is assumed that I have done a theory and the IBT...

I will surrender my brand new B license with M entitlement and it will come back a week later with the A provisional, now i will still have to do a motor bike test and will be limited to 34hp or 25 kw for 30 months but its saved me 700 quid on an IBT and 40 quid on a theory test

seamus

martin250880 wrote: »

In a week when my new license comes through i can go to the tax office and simply request a provisional A license not a lerners permit as by having M on my new license it is assumed that I have done a theory and the IBT...

This is most likely not the case. Many people will have both M & A on their licence, despite having never done IBT and/or a theory test.

When you apply for a provisional A licence, your record will be checked to see if you have completed IBT and a theory test and your application will be rejected.

slinky2000

I'll be interested to see anyway!