Exchanging UK licence for Irish

BlueLass

Hi folks,

Hoping someone has been in similar position or knows the correct info, I have checked the ndls website but can't find specific answer to my query.

I only realised my UK licence is due to expire end of April 2016,so have made appt to get it exchanged. It states on website that it may take 2/3 months to process as they may contact the issuing authority for validation. My question is, am I still legally allowed to drive after the expiry date in April if I still haven't received my new Irish licence?? There is no mention of what happens if expiry date is passed during the processing period.

Thanks in advance.

reubenreuben

Do you have to change it?

BlueLass

reubenreuben wrote: »

Do you have to change it to irish?

I do, I no longer have access to my old UK address so the dvla won't renew it without it so I now need to change over. Unless I'm missing something, there's no benefit for hanging on to it?? Far as I know points can now be transferred between Irish/UK authorities.

esforum

BlueLass wrote: »

legally allowed to drive after the expiry date in April if I still haven't received my new Irish licence??

I assume its the same as an Irish renewal, you drive on the reciept.

reubenreuben wrote: »

Do you have to change it to irish?

Legally you can drive on another EU license for the duration of the license but must cange to the host country at that stage.

Del2005

esforum wrote: »

I assume its the same as an Irish renewal, you drive on the reciept.

Not really, as there's an offence of not carrying your driver's licence and nothing which states that the receipt is a suitable substitute. Typically messed up system from a country that makes it an offence to not carry a licence, but never issues the licence on the spot even after tendering out the issuing of licences.

esforum

Del2005 wrote: »

Not really, as there's an offence of not carrying your driver's licence and nothing which states that the receipt is a suitable substitute. Typically messed up system from a country that makes it an offence to not carry a licence, but never issues the licence on the spot even after tendering out the issuing of licences.

Granted but they do say;

"At present, customers can expect to receive their licence or learner permit within five to eight working days. After your licence has been processed you will receive a NDLS receipt as proof of application for your licence /permit. You are advised to keep this in your vehicle. If a member of An Garda Síochána asks you to produce a licence and your licence application is being processed, you will have an opportunity to produce your licence at a Garda station within 10 days."
(https://www.ndls.ie/faqs.html#what-should-i-do-while-i’m-waiting-for-my-new-card-e-g-if-i’m-stopped-by-a-member-of-an-garda-síochána-and-asked-to-produce-my-licence)

I wouldnt take it as gospel now but its certainly my experience that the reciept is fine and of course as the Op stated, little info for people in his shoes, guess the message is get these things done well in advance

JackHeuston

you will have an opportunity to produce your licence at a Garda station within 10 days

But they state it might take three months to give you your Irish licence so you might miss that deadline if stopped.

Anyway yeah, Garda knows this and apparently they close an eye if you have the receipt with you. It's unreasonable that one is supposed not to drive for three months at worst.

By the way I know a couple of people who exchanged their driving licence from other EU countries (not UK), and it took only a week to get it.

edit: a few months ago I asked NDLS myself, but they never gave me a clear answer, I'm guessing they are not allowed to say "you're fine driving while waiting for your Irish licence". I also asked twice what the average waiting time is, and they say it's three months. Very hard to believe. Asking questions to the NDLS brings you nowhere basically.

EDit

Same situation a couple of years ago. Noticed my license (UK) ID card had expired. Went to NDLS and was informed that the paper part of my UK license was still valid in Ireland until expiration (usually until you are 70 yrs old, which for me was 2044) regardless of the fact that the ID card was out of date (note that this may have changed since so you should check).

I decided to switch over to Irish license anyway (mainly as I was due to go to US soon after and needed to hire a car and because I read that rules in UK were changing to make it illegal to have an expired ID card even if the paper part is in date and I often drive in UK)...anyway, the process took about 2 months and would have been shorter if I had been given the correct info re: what I needed from the DVLA* and if the first license they sent me didn't have the wrong address on it

*i strongly recommend that you make sure the people at the NDLS are 100% certain of what you need as I got a LOT of conflicting info from the various people I saw.

corks finest

reubenreuben wrote: »

Do you have to change it?

Yes u do,I did,was driving/living down here most of time,Gardai stopped me numerous times,n of Ireland reg ,told me last time(yrs ago)that they'd take the car, unless ID get a free state license, insurance, tax,dunno if the OP is in similar predicament, but just to save hassle I stopped my n of Ireland licence for one here

BlueLass

EDit wrote: »

Same situation a couple of years ago. Noticed my license (UK) ID card had expired. Went to NDLS and was informed that the paper part of my UK license was still valid in Ireland until expiration (usually until you are 70 yrs old, which for me was 2044) regardless of the fact that the ID card was out of date (note that this may have changed since so you should check).

I decided to switch over to Irish license anyway (mainly as I was due to go to US soon after and needed to hire a car and because I read that rules in UK were changing to make it illegal to have an expired ID card even if the paper part is in date and I often drive in UK)...anyway, the process took about 2 months and would have been shorter if I had been given the correct info re: what I needed from the DVLA* and if the first license they sent me didn't have the wrong address on it

*i strongly recommend that you make sure the people at the NDLS are 100% certain of what you need as I got a LOT of conflicting info from the various people I saw.

Thanks very much for the info, particularly as you have been through the same process! Can you let me know what it was you needed from dvla as I am assuming it was just The licence and the paper counterpart?
From the website it states I also need to provide the completed form, evidence of address, pps number & fee. It doesn't stipulate an eyesight report but got it done to be on safe side.

Did they ask you for any additional info??

Marcusm

corks finest wrote: »

Yes u do,I did,was driving/living down here most of time,Gardai stopped me numerous times,n of Ireland reg ,told me last time(yrs ago)that they'd take the car, unless ID get a free state license, insurance, tax,dunno if the OP is in similar predicament, but just to save hassle I stopped my n of Ireland licence for one here

I suppose there might be some holders of pre 1948 licences driving around but it's going to be a small cohort. They certainly won't be issuing them now.

EDit

BlueLass wrote: »

Thanks very much for the info, particularly as you have been through the same process! Can you let me know what it was you needed from dvla as I am assuming it was just The licence and the paper counterpart?
From the website it states I also need to provide the completed form, evidence of address, pps number & fee. It doesn't stipulate an eyesight report but got it done to be on safe side.

Did they ask you for any additional info??

As my UK ID card had expired, I was told I had to get a letter of entitlement from the DVLA. To this day I am not sure if I did. The first person I spoke to at NDLS said I did and said a faxed version would be fine, but when I eventually got the DVLA to fax a copy, the next person I spoke to at the NDLS said I couldn't use a fax version and I needed an original copy. Called DVLA again and asked for a copy to be sent in mail. When I went back to NDLS again with all the paperwork, the lady I saw (was different from other 2 and ironically also English) said "oh, you didn't actually need this" in reference to the letter from DVLA. That's why I said in my original post to make sure you get clear advice on what you need...the big difference for you is that your UK license is still in date, so you may just need to fill out the forms, give them your UK license and go from there.

orlaithd12

I was stopped at a Garda checkpoint yesterday, they asked to see my licence, I produced my UK licence which I got in the nineties while working over there. He told me that it's now an offence to hold a UK licence here, and that he could confiscate it, but he didn't, he told me that I have to exchange it for an Irish one, it's still in date for another 23 years!!!
Is this correct, any info much appreciated.

grogi

orlaithd12 wrote: »

I was stopped at a Garda checkpoint yesterday, they asked to see my licence, I produced my UK licence which I got in the nineties while working over there. He told me that it's now an offence to hold a UK licence here, and that he could confiscate it, but he didn't, he told me that I have to exchange it for an Irish one, it's still in date for another 23 years!!!
Is this correct, any info much appreciated.

No - there is no requirement to change it for local one as long as it is valid.

https://www.ndls.ie/holders-of-foreign-licences.html

orlaithd12

Even though my address is now in Ireland??

grogi

orlaithd12 wrote: »

Even though my address is now in Ireland??

Yes. I've however replaced mine - the insurance quotes went significantly down if I had Irish, not another EU-state issued licence...

Marcusm

grogi wrote: »

Yes. I've however replaced mine - the insurance quotes went significantly down if I had Irish, not another EU-state issued licence...

Was that a UK license? My recent experience of returning is that there are three categories on most insurers questionnaires; Ireland/UK, Other EEA or Other. UK is not generally differentiated from Ireland.

biko

The Gardai was wrong, you can keep driving on a valid UK/EU licence until it expires.

keithclancy

biko wrote: »

The Gardai was wrong, you can keep driving on a valid UK/EU licence until it expires.

In Ireland it's Valid for 10 years from date of Issue so you have 6 months to exchange it if for example it's 11 years old, if it's 6 years old you have 4 years left.

http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/vehicles/driving-licence/driving-licence-recognition-validity/index_en.htm

10 Years
Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom

15 Years
Austria, Cyprus, Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Poland, Slovakia

Could also be the case that it's an exchanged license, e.g. You exchanged a Venezuelan license for a Spanish one while in Spain, you move from Spain to Ireland, you have 6 months of driving as Ireland doesn't recognise driving licenses from Venezuela for the purposes of exchange.

BlueLass

orlaithd12 wrote: »

I was stopped at a Garda checkpoint yesterday, they asked to see my licence, I produced my UK licence which I got in the nineties while working over there. He told me that it's now an offence to hold a UK licence here, and that he could confiscate it, but he didn't, he told me that I have to exchange it for an Irish one, it's still in date for another 23 years!!!
Is this correct, any info much appreciated.

Are you sure its still valid?? Only reason I ask is because if its a photo card licence it needs to be renewed every 10 years. If its the old paper licence you have to get it renewed on either your 70th birthday or if you move address, whichever happens first. This was the info I got when I started the process of changing my UK to Irish licence.

orlaithd12

Yes, it's the paper version.
It looks like I don't have any choice so, I have to exchange it.
Is it a straightforward process, and I presume they date it from the first issue date of the UK licence??

monkeysnapper

My wife was telling me I should change my paper UK licence , but every time I'm stopped and I produce my paper licence and passport for photo id I'm waved on no problem .

I've also been asked to produce my licence at station once when I was stopped at a check point and didn't have it .

I came in , showed my licence and was quickly got rid of , I get impression they are more of a headache for local garda.

I might also ad that I'm always photocopying it for insurance companies and never had a problem.