Do I need to swap my UK license for an Irish one?

ewan whose army

Hey

Since I am now resident in Ireland, do I have to swap my UK license for an Irish one?

Thanks

R.O.R

ewan whose army wrote: »

Hey

Since I am now resident in Ireland, do I have to swap my UK license for an Irish one?

Thanks

No

boomshakalaka

No you can use this license until its expiry date. Then you will have to exchange it for an Irish one.

from citizensinformation.ie:

Holders of licences issued by an EU/EEA member state

If you have a driving licence issued by an EU/EEA member state you can drive in Ireland as long as your existing licence is valid. If you wish to exchange your driving licence for an equivalent Irish driving licence, you must do so within 10 years of your driving licence expiring.

boomshakalaka

If you wanted to keep a UK one once it expires you could apply to the embassy in Ireland but it would cost more than just exchanging it for an Irish one. And I wouldn't really see the point in that anyway.

NIMAN

When I moved to Ireland from NI (!) I was told by my insurers that I would get slightly better quotes if I had an Irish license, as they had no way of verifying that I had any penalty points on my UK license, and so I was missing out on a discount by not having one.

boomshakalaka

NIMAN wrote: »

When I moved to Ireland from NI (!) I was told by my insurers that I would get slightly better quotes if I had an Irish license, as they had no way of verifying that I had any penalty points on my UK license, and so I was missing out on a discount by not having one.

This I didn't know. I have a Dutch license but don't own a car yet in Ireland. Might apply for an Irish one so before I get a car and insurance.

biko

If you have a EU licence you can use it until it expires, then get it renewed. I don't think there is any obligation to switch over at all for EU citizens.

NIMAN

Correct, there is no obligation. I continued to use my UK license for quite a few years before I got the notion to actually change it to an Irish one.

ednwireland

1) You can drive in ireland on your UK license providing it is valid
2) Your UK license is not valid in the uk unless it has your current UK address on it
3) You cannot (legally) get or renew a UK license unless you are currently resident in the UK with a valid UK address.

crazy situation if you drive in the uk on it its upto a £1000 pound fine

i also found that renting cars threw up anomalies on their computers and had to get utility bills to prove it was me

so changed to a irish one

bobin fudge

yes what everyone is saying is right, however numerous times in the past if stopped at a check point, the guard has always said

"if you have been living longer than 6 months you need to have an irish licence"

ewan whose army

ednwireland wrote: »

1) You can drive in ireland on your UK license providing it is valid
2) Your UK license is not valid in the uk unless it has your current UK address on it
3) You cannot (legally) get or renew a UK license unless you are currently resident in the UK with a valid UK address.

crazy situation if you drive in the uk on it its upto a £1000 pound fine

i also found that renting cars threw up anomalies on their computers and had to get utility bills to prove it was me

so changed to a irish one

How do you swap it?

bobin fudge

fill in a form from the tax dept /police station and hand it to the tax dept with your uk licence and it will be exchanged for the irish one

boomshakalaka

ednwireland wrote: »

1) You can drive in ireland on your UK license providing it is valid
2) Your UK license is not valid in the uk unless it has your current UK address on it
3) You cannot (legally) get or renew a UK license unless you are currently resident in the UK with a valid UK address.

crazy situation if you drive in the uk on it its upto a £1000 pound fine

i also found that renting cars threw up anomalies on their computers and had to get utility bills to prove it was me

so changed to a irish one

That's strange, there's no address on my license whatsoever Would that make a difference to me driving back home in the Netherlands?

blindsider

@ Post #11

Google Is Your Friend!

http://www.rsa.ie/en/RSA/Licensed-Drivers/Driving-Licence-Changes/Driving-Licence-Changes-January-2013/How-to-apply/

Form D201

SCOOP 64

bobin fudge wrote: »

yes what everyone is saying is right, however numerous times in the past if stopped at a check point, the guard has always said

"if you have been living longer than 6 months you need to have an irish licence"

Been driving here now 10yrs on a uk licence, im a courier so been stopped a few over the years with stop and checks , but was never told i needed to replace it.

bobin fudge

nig1 wrote: »

Been driving here now 10yrs on a uk licence, im a courier so been stopped a few over the years with stop and checks , but was never told i needed to replace it.

I can only go by personal experience and in13 years of living here, I have been asked around 4x that it needs to be replaced after 6 months of being a resident

Ive just ignored it to be honest and made the right noises when it was told to me

Capt'n Midnight

When did they change the expiry date on UK licenses ?

otherwise it's good until you are 70

and doesn't attract Irish penalty points as yet

bobin fudge

you need to renew the uk every 10 years and once it expires I think you have upto another 10 years for you to do this before it becomes wiped of the system and you need to re do your test again

SCOOP 64

My uk licence is valid until 2034.

ednwireland

nig1 wrote: »

My uk licence is valid until 2034.

only valid in the uk with the correct address (which is my point)

doesnt matter in the rest of the eu it seems with or without correct address

SCOOP 64

ednwireland wrote: »

only valid in the uk with the correct address (which is my point)

doesnt matter in the rest of the eu it seems with or without correct address

So safe enough here then ,will try to hang on to it.

Capt'n Midnight

ednwireland wrote: »

only valid in the uk with the correct address (which is my point)

So someone going back to the UK would could hand it in for an Irish one, then get a UK address and change the Irish one for a UK one.

“I can see that it works in practice, but does it work in theory?”

Marcusm

boomshakalaka wrote: »

If you wanted to keep a UK one once it expires you could apply to the embassy in Ireland but it would cost more than just exchanging it for an Irish one. And I wouldn't really see the point in that anyway.

There's no process to apply for a UK licence or renew one from overseas and certainly not through an embassy.

Marcusm

NIMAN wrote: »

When I moved to Ireland from NI (!) I was told by my insurers that I would get slightly better quotes if I had an Irish license, as they had no way of verifying that I had any penalty points on my UK license, and so I was missing out on a discount by not having one.

They could just ask to see the paper counterpart to your driving licence but I guess that would be beyond their abilities....

Marcusm

nig1 wrote: »

My uk licence is valid until 2034.

You may have a pre photo card licence; only advice to you is to swap just before your 70th birthday.