UK licence after Brexit

22-03-2019 12:12pm

Peregrinus wrote: »

Well, here's a thought:

Maybe IrlGov does intend to continue to recognise UK licences for Irish residents in the event of a no-deal Brexit, but are not saying so at this stage because of a policy of not saying anything that could look like facilitating a no-deal Brexit

I suspect you are right. Funnily enough I got an answer from Shane Ross (or someone in his office at least) yesterday afternoon.

After the usual waffle that we all know (UK leaving means not in EU, means not recognised as an EU license etc etc) he says this:

"Legislation exists in the Road Traffic Acts to allow for the recognition of foreign driving licences for exchange purposes. If there is a no deal Brexit, the UK becomes a 3rd country and the potential then exists for arrangements to be made under this legislation. Ireland will be pursuing this option, however this may take a little time to complete."

Bolded emphasis mine, but all it appears to say is that the ability to exchange will not go away, not that you will still be able to use a UK license.

I wonder what will happen if there is a hard brexit and suddenly people aren't turning up for work because they can't drive? There must be quite a lot of UK licenses in Ireland.

Isambard · 22-03-2019 12:16pm

there was a quote of 500 UK licenses a week being presented for exchange. Quite a lot

moonstruck · 22-03-2019 12:26pm

Exchanged mine in Galway yesterday, 2 hour wait for walk in appointments. Apparently no online appointments available before May!! most of the people there were exchanging licences too, the girl at the counter said every second person is there for that reason , they dont even have enough staff to cover breaks and are open longer atm.
you need all your documents with you too to make the wait worthwhile !:)

Dante · 22-03-2019 12:32pm

I have an Irish license driving in the UK, I'm guessing I will need to exchange to a UK one?

Isambard · 22-03-2019 12:46pm

DaaaaaaaaaaN wrote: »

I have an Irish license driving in the UK, I'm guessing I will need to exchange to a UK one?

Apparently not. The UK have said all EU licenses will be valid in the Uk still

Del2005 · 22-03-2019 3:45pm

Isambard wrote: »

Apparently not. The UK have said all EU licenses will be valid in the Uk still

Not if the OP is resident. They will need to exchange as you only have a certain time to drive on a foreign licence and most people will have already exceeded the time. The EU allows you to keep your licence if you move country, if outside the EU you have to exchange for a local one.

medoc · 22-03-2019 5:00pm

Del2005 wrote: »

If there is no deal there will be a rush to exchange and since its been said that you can't drive will waiting for the exchange I'd do it ASAP.

She went ahead and did it in Tullamore this afternoon. We couldn’t take the risk by waiting.

22-03-2019 9:09pm

Isambard wrote: »

there was a quote of 500 UK licenses a week being presented for exchange. Quite a lot

I think that may be at each NDLS office judging by the numbers I'm hearing about.

Scaltan · 22-03-2019 10:57pm

See message on Department of Transport Website. This is significant-

The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is planning to put in place appropriate arrangements that will allow for the exchange of a UK driving licence for an Irish driving licence following Brexit.

SCOOP 64 · 22-03-2019 11:20pm

what if a deal is made ,then you don't have to change licence ?

22-03-2019 11:27pm

SCOOP 64 wrote: »

what if a deal is made ,then you don't have to change licence ?

Almost every EU country expects you to exchange your licence once you become a resident in that country.
Ireland appears to be the exception with respect to UK licences.

Until now.

SCOOP 64 · 22-03-2019 11:38pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Almost every EU country expects you to exchange your licence once you become a resident in that country.
Ireland appears to be the exception with respect to UK licences.

Ireland never did, you get car insurance, i can take my CPC truck courses with RSA in ireland with a UK licence, never been asked in the 15 yrs to change it, all i read is "if a no deal brexit....., what if there is a deal,will the UK licence still have to be changed to a Irish one?
also have we now got a new deadline of 12 April or 22nd may?

Credit Checker Moose · 22-03-2019 11:41pm

12th of April if no deal by next week.

SCOOP 64 · 22-03-2019 11:44pm

Credit Checker Moose wrote: »

12th of April if no deal by next week.

if a no deal by 12th April then extension to 22nd may?

22-03-2019 11:47pm

SCOOP 64 wrote: »

if a no deal by 12th April then extension to 22nd may?

If I understand it correctly, 22nd May if there is an agreement to allow time for the legistration to be passed through the House of commons.
No deal, 12 Apil they're out!

They have until next Friday to "deal, or no deal".

Damien360 · 22-03-2019 11:55pm

moonstruck wrote: »

Exchanged mine in Galway yesterday, 2 hour wait for walk in appointments. Apparently no online appointments available before May!! most of the people there were exchanging licences too, the girl at the counter said every second person is there for that reason , they dont even have enough staff to cover breaks and are open longer atm.
you need all your documents with you too to make the wait worthwhile !:)

I was in Naas yesterday to renew my 10 year licence. Of the 5 people in the room including me, the other 4 were exchanging their UK license.

Scaltan · 22-03-2019 11:55pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Almost every EU country expects you to exchange your licence once you become a resident in that country.
Ireland appears to be the exception with respect to UK licences.

Until now.

There is no obligation to exchange a licence from an EU country when you become resident in another EU country. If it expires and you are resident in another country then you must exchange.

Marcusm · 23-03-2019 12:01am

Scaltan wrote: »

See message on Department of Transport Website. This is significant-

The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is planning to put in place appropriate arrangements that will allow for the exchange of a UK driving licence for an Irish driving licence following Brexit.

Can you link this to a URL please.

Scaltan · 23-03-2019 12:25am

Hi.
It's below but the licence bit is part of broader info which is why I specifically referenced the licence exchange piece.

http://www.dttas.ie/corporate/publications/english/brexit#UK%20Driving%20Licences

donkey balls · 23-03-2019 12:51am

Scaltan wrote: »

There is no obligation to exchange a licence from an EU country when you become resident in another EU country. If it expires and you are resident in another country then you must exchange.

Anyone holding an EU license and resident in Ireland for more than 12 months must exchange their EU license to an Irish one, This has been the case well before the NDLS crowd came along.

Credit Checker Moose · 23-03-2019 12:56am

Something that was typically ignored in the usual Irish fashion.

SCOOP 64 · 23-03-2019 12:57am

donkey balls wrote: »

Anyone holding an EU license and resident in Ireland for more than 12 months must exchange their EU license to an Irish one, This has been the case well before the NDLS crowd came along.

I must have been very lucky then ,never pointed out to me by insurance company's, Guarder, or RSA when doing CPC courses in 15 years of living here.

return guide · 23-03-2019 1:07am

Been driving on a UK licence in Ireland for 20 years, had to produce to Gardai on too many occasions, shown in court unfortunately and scanned to insurance companies with absolutely no questions asked. At the moment it's valid in the EU till I am 70.

wonski · 23-03-2019 1:20am

donkey balls wrote: »

Anyone holding an EU license and resident in Ireland for more than 12 months must exchange their EU license to an Irish one, This has been the case well before the NDLS crowd came along.

Simply not true.

EU licence can be kept as long as it was valid. Then exchanged

donkey balls · 23-03-2019 1:26am

SCOOP 64 wrote: »

I must have been very lucky then ,never pointed out to me by insurance company's, Guarder, or RSA when doing CPC courses in 15 years of living here.

Well it is there in the legislation I know that insurance companies accept Irish &UK license, As for the CPC sure what would the RSA know about licensing considering what a clusterf**k the CPC are including the driver theory sections.

donkey balls · 23-03-2019 1:37am

wonski wrote: »

Simply not true.

EU licence can be kept as long as it was valid. Then exchanged

Nope there is legislation there, when working as a transport manager I had the drivers that were on EU license exchange them to Irish ones as per the regs.
And two licenses came back as bogies.

wonski · 23-03-2019 2:07am

donkey balls wrote: »

Nope there is legislation there, when working as a transport manager I had the drivers that were on EU license exchange them to Irish ones as per the regs.
And two licenses came back as bogies.

Maybe because your company insurer insisted on it or your company decided, but there is a mutual recognition of EU licences here and there is no need to misinform people bringing up your transport manager position into the topic.

You can drive on not only EU, but few more as long as it is valid.

donkey balls · 23-03-2019 2:22am

wonski wrote: »

Maybe because your company insurer insisted on it or your company decided, but there is a mutual recognition of EU licences here and there is no need to misinform people bringing up your transport manager position into the topic.

You can drive on not only EU, but few more as long as it is valid.

I said that people can drive on their license for 12 months max if residing in the country, I tried to dig up the info but with the Motor tax office having handed over the licensing to NDLS I cannot find it.

So just say someone from the EU or the recognized countries are living and working here they can more or less receive no penalty points, How does an employer know the license is legit ? Well the only way is by having them exchange it to an Irish one as the authority here would contact the licensing authority in the persons home country to verify the details.

BuboBubo · 23-03-2019 2:27am

Wondering about this myself. Wonder will we need a UK licence to drive in NI? That would be a pain in the arse!

wonski · 23-03-2019 2:29am

donkey balls wrote: »

I said that people can drive on their license for 12 months max if residing in the country, I tried to dig up the info but with the Motor tax office having handed over the licensing to NDLS I cannot find it.

So just say someone from the EU or the recognized countries are living and working here they can more or less receive no penalty points, How does an employer know the license is legit ? Well the only way is by having them exchange it to an Irish one as the authority here would contact the licensing authority in the persons home country to verify the details.

Same way you know Irish license is legit lol...
How would you check if the Irish one is legit? Exchange it to IRISH?

What your company does is one thing. Nothing to do with the regulations of any sort.

EU license is valid regardless of what your company thinks. Bored and tired of explaining it tbh.

wonski · 23-03-2019 2:32am

BuboBubo wrote: »

Wondering about this myself. Wonder will we need a UK licence to drive in NI? That would be a pain in the arse!

No, you don't need Californian license to drive there when visiting.

So you won't need UK license at all anywhere.

donkey balls · 23-03-2019 2:42am

If you read my post I mentioned it was on the old motor tax/licensing website about EU drivers having to exchange their license. As for.
the company I worked for yes it is there policy and you will find a lot of companies do.the same.
Maybe the legislation changed over the years regarding EU drivers living here for more than 12 months,.

wonski · 23-03-2019 2:55am

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Almost every EU country expects you to exchange your licence once you become a resident in that country.
Ireland appears to be the exception with respect to UK licences.

Until now.

No. All EU licences are valid in all EU countries as long as they are valid. Just to clear this up.

Ireland was not exceptional, it is a mutual recognition of EU driving license between all EU countries. The fact the UK decided to leave did not change anything at all, unless you have UK licence of course.

This is all basics really with EU citizens moving around countries where they only need to exchange when their license is about to expire really. And they exchange in the country of residence at the time.

And in some circumstances they can actually exchange after the expiry date on the license, but that's make the license invalid until then.

sunnysoutheast · 23-03-2019 11:56am

I believe it's valid in EU as long as it hasn't expired, been cancelled etc. The issue is that with a no-deal Brexit (increasingly likely imo) there may or may not be a simple exchange mechanism.

BUT I did find the following on:

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/vehicles/driving-licence/driving-licence-renewal-exchange/index_en.htm

which I didn't know!!

Obligatory exchange
When living abroad, you will have to exchange your driving licence for a local one:
* if you commit a traffic offence in the country where you live

unplayable · 23-03-2019 12:04pm

I live in london and drive over there and have a UK license that I got by surrendering my Irish license.

When I come back to Ireland which is regularly I drive here. Can I have 2 licenses on the go?

Or will my UK one be ok here in Ireland as I live in the UK. This is all a right mess. Obviously if I moved back to Ireland I just give in my UK one and then get my Irish one back.

Credit Checker Moose · 23-03-2019 1:48pm

When I come back to Ireland which is regularly I drive here. Can I have 2 licenses on the go?

Nope. Your Irish licence is dead. You gave it up to get the GB one.

Isambard · 23-03-2019 2:17pm

unplayable wrote: »

I live in london and drive over there and have a UK license that I got by surrendering my Irish license.

When I come back to Ireland which is regularly I drive here. Can I have 2 licenses on the go?

Or will my UK one be ok here in Ireland as I live in the UK. This is all a right mess. Obviously if I moved back to Ireland I just give in my UK one and then get my Irish one back.

Why is it a mess? As a UK resident and license holder on holiday here, you can drive on your Uk license. Might have to get a green card but we don't know yet.

Credit Checker Moose · 23-03-2019 2:45pm

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

I believe it's valid in EU as long as it hasn't expired, been cancelled etc. The issue is that with a no-deal Brexit (increasingly likely imo) there may or may not be a simple exchange mechanism.

BUT I did find the following on:

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/vehicles/driving-licence/driving-licence-renewal-exchange/index_en.htm

which I didn't know!!

Obligatory exchange
When living abroad, you will have to exchange your driving licence for a local one:
* if you commit a traffic offence in the country where you live

The EU has always had a clause that licences valid for longer than 10 years must be exchanged within 2 years of becoming resident.
Licences valid for up to 10 years could be used until expiry.

The RSA/Gardaí/government could have solved this years ago. As soon as a UK licence holder became liable for points a mandatory exchange had to happen. Other EU states do this.

mikeecho · 23-03-2019 4:13pm

Don't worry, Brexit will never happen

https://www.joe.ie/news/uri-geller-says-hell-telepathically-stop-brexit-theresa-may-doesnt-662928

monkeynuz · 25-03-2019 11:17pm

monkeynuz wrote: »

Right, an update now I’ve exchanged my licence this morning.

The person on the NDLS helpline gave me sort of the wrong information.

To transfer c1 then I could have got a medical and then I’d get it, although I have been pre registered for it pending a medical and I have up to ten years to go in with a medical cert.

C1e and d1/e will still require a test.

Got mine in the post today, all in all a pretty painless experience.

Lantus · 26-03-2019 7:37am

monkeynuz wrote: »

Got mine in the post today, all in all a pretty painless experience.

Waiting on mine. How long did it take and at what point did you contact your insurer?

MotoTourist · 26-03-2019 8:47am

Charles Babbage wrote: »

This is all wishful thinking.... You may get some time, but if the UK leaves the writing is on the wall.

Wishful thinking maybe. I made a balanced risk assessment. My original post was made with the caveat that assumptions and predictions are my domain. NDLS and RSA can't make these assumptions, they can only state the facts as they stand. On balance, I feel that the likelihood of my license being lost to bureaucracy is slim to zero.

Granted, if the worst happens (a no-deal Brexit and no Irish legislation for license validity/conversion) then I'd have to take the Irish test along with thousands of others. But would that happen, really?

hi5 · 26-03-2019 10:17am

I applied for mine on the 6th and got it in the post yesterday (25th).

monkeynuz · 26-03-2019 12:43pm

Lantus wrote: »

Waiting on mine. How long did it take and at what point did you contact your insurer?

19 days

Jewelers · 26-03-2019 11:13pm

getting mine mailed to me by broker , she said I had to print it on green paper , I thought she was taking the piss .

The_Chap · 29-03-2019 11:34pm

So I exchanged mine today in Carlow, held off as long as I thought it was worth it, looking more likely of a no deal than ever

Interestingly I discovered that my C1 category stays on my driving record and I can have it added to my Irish licence at any time in the next ten years by taking a medical report into the office.

SCOOP 64 · 30-03-2019 12:48am

The_Chap wrote: »

So I exchanged mine today in Carlow, held off as long as I thought it was worth it, looking more likely of a no deal than ever

Interestingly I discovered that my C1 category stays on my driving record and I can have it added to my Irish licence at any time in the next ten years by taking a medical report into the office.

Good to know, but i will go in with medical anyway, but still haven't decided to jump or not.

section4 · 31-03-2019 5:16pm

when they say you need a medical report for certain categories
what is this medical report and how do you get it
is it just a matter of going to a doctor or is there something else involved

Credit Checker Moose · 31-03-2019 5:18pm

https://www.ndls.ie/medical-reports.html

Download form D501 and follow the instructions.

section4 · 02-04-2019 6:14pm

Credit Checker Moose wrote: »

https://www.ndls.ie/medical-reports.html

Download form D501 and follow the instructions.

thanks

UK licence after Brexit

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