UK licence after Brexit

pawdee · 21-02-2019 2:00pm #1

I don't know if this is in the right place but here's my question anyway.......

I've been driving on a UK license here in the ROI for the last 21 years or so. When I moved back from the UK in 1998 I went to my local Motor Tax office with form filled and cheque written ready to exchange for an Irish license. The lady in the office told me I'd be mad to change as my UK license is valid until I'm 70. So off I went and motored away since.

I presume that once the UK leave the EU my license is no longer valid? Does anyone know anything about this? Thanks in advance!

seamus · 21-02-2019 2:08pm

I don't think there's any official guidance on this yet, but you'll probably have a year to exchange your licence.

Edit: Actually I'm completely wrong:
https://www.ndls.ie/news.html

You need to exchange your licence ASAP.

Alanstrainor · 21-02-2019 2:11pm

I would expect no change here after brexit. You can exchange your license from lots of countries that are not in the EU, so I would think that this will continue for the UK after Brexit happens. You can of course start the process of changing your UK license to an Irish one now if you wish.

Wow, well that was wrong. Holy moly what a disaster. Exchange now OP.

Alun · 21-02-2019 2:13pm

I'm surprised at the statement on the NDLS page linked to above. Whilst there's automatic recognition of EU licences in other EU states, there's nothing actually stopping Ireland from recognising UK licences if it wants to, I would have thought?

pawdee · 21-02-2019 2:17pm

Alun wrote: »

I'm surprised at the statement on the NDLS page linked to above. Whilst there's automatic recognition of EU licences in other EU states, there's nothing actually stopping Ireland from recognising UK licences if it wants to, I would have thought?

Not if they can make a few bob from application fees and renewals every 10 (or is it 5 ?) years! It's not something I had to think about up to now. Anyway it looks like I better get my skates on.

seamus · 21-02-2019 2:19pm

Alun wrote: »

I'm surprised at the statement on the NDLS page linked to above. Whilst there's automatic recognition of EU licences in other EU states, there's nothing actually stopping Ireland from recognising UK licences if it wants to, I would have thought?

It would required a change in the regulations. At best, the UK would become a recognised foreign licence, which would entitle any holder to drive in Ireland for up to 12 months.
Which means if you're here 21 years, then you're 20 years over.

They could also add in a special case providing permanent recognition for UK licences, but I wouldn't count on that happening before 29th March.

What a mess.

MascotDec85 · 22-02-2019 2:02am

I’m in the same boat. Here 18 years, still on my UK licence and also an ADI. In theory, on the 29th March my ability to work as a driving instructor would end.

My local MEP is Mairead McGuinness. She’s vice-president of the European Parliament. I contacted her regarding this recently and she said she’ll ask the Commission.

My understanding is this until I hear otherwise:
I’ve various categories including C1, D1 etc etc. these don’t expire until 2045. If I exchange it for an Irish licence i have to get a medical every 5 years to keep the categories active rather than the 10 years that currently exist.

monkeynuz · 22-02-2019 5:18am

MascotDec85 wrote: »

I’m in the same boat. Here 18 years, still on my UK licence and also an ADI. In theory, on the 29th March my ability to work as a driving instructor would end.

My local MEP is Mairead McGuinness. She’s vice-president of the European Parliament. I contacted her regarding this recently and she said she’ll ask the Commission.

My understanding is this until I hear otherwise:
I’ve various categories including C1, D1 etc etc. these don’t expire until 2045. If I exchange it for an Irish licence i have to get a medical every 5 years to keep the categories active rather than the 10 years that currently exist.

Me too, I also want to keep my c1/e and d1/e but on the website it says I need to show certificates....I never got any as my entitlements came with my licence?

Phileas Frog · 22-02-2019 5:19am

Alun wrote: »

I'm surprised at the statement on the NDLS page linked to above. Whilst there's automatic recognition of EU licences in other EU states, there's nothing actually stopping Ireland from recognising UK licences if it wants to, I would have thought?

Any such agreement would have to be mutual

Peregrinus · 22-02-2019 6:21am

Alun wrote: »

I'm surprised at the statement on the NDLS page linked to above. Whilst there's automatic recognition of EU licences in other EU states, there's nothing actually stopping Ireland from recognising UK licences if it wants to, I would have thought?

Phileas Frog wrote: »

Any such agreement would have to be mutual

Well, it wouldn't have to be mutual; there's nothing to stop Ireland doing it unilaterally, if it wants to.

But that raises the question, why would we want to do this unilaterally? Indeed, why would we want to do this at all, even mutually? We currently accept EU licences indefinitely because EU law requires it; EU law doesn't require us to accept non-EU licences indefinitely, and we don't. There's probably a reason for that.

Ask yourself what the purposes and policies behind having a licensing scheme in the first place might be. Then ask yourself how those purposes and policies will be advanced by creating a carve-out for people who obtained licences in the UK. If you can't think of answer to that question, well, ....

(And there is another side to this. Suppose Ireland does decide to accept UK licences indefinitely. If you go to any third country, whether in the EU or elsewhere, you won't be able to drive on your UK licence, even temporarily as a tourist, because you're not a resident of the UK. As a tourist, most countries will accept a licence from the country in which you reside (or any EU licence, if you're a tourist from an EU country), but they are less likely to accept licences from just any country at all. So if you want to keep open the option of borrowing or hiring a car while on your holliers, I think you'd still be wise to exchange your licence.)

Spook_ie · 22-02-2019 9:09am

Would not the CTA come into play, did you need an Irish license pre 1973?

giveth · 22-02-2019 9:24am

Article in the Irish Times on this today:

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/uk-licences-defunct-in-ireland-under-no-deal-brexit-rsa-warns-1.3802168

Holders of UK driving licences will be forced to trade them in for their Irish equivalent as they will become defunct in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has warned.

Peregrinus · 22-02-2019 9:54am

Spook_ie wrote: »

Would not the CTA come into play, did you need an Irish license pre 1973?

SFAIK, pre-1973 if you were resident in Ireland, yes, you needed an Irish licence.

The CTA has nothing to do with this; it's quite in scope to migration controls at the borders. It's relevant to whether you need a passport or other travel document to enter Ireland or the UK, but has nothing to say about the terms on which you can drive in either country.

seamus · 22-02-2019 10:04am

Spook_ie wrote: »

Would not the CTA come into play, did you need an Irish license pre 1973?

It's a residency limitation really. Anyone living in the UK would be entitled to drive in Ireland on their UK licence. It's only Irish residents on a UK licence who are affected.

I would also expect that the NDLS don't take your foreign licence away. So when you do an exchange you will be given a new Irish licence and your old foreign licence back.

So when they do eventually get to sorting this mess out, you may be able to go back to using your UK licence.

Isambard · 22-02-2019 10:34am

another thing to bear in mind whilst you rush off to swap your license, I guess your new Irish license will bear all the points you built up on your "ghost" Irish license over the years.

pawdee · 22-02-2019 10:38am

Isambard wrote: »

another thing to bear in mind whilst you rush off to swap your license, I guess your new Irish license will bear all the points you built up on your "ghost" Irish license over the years.

How is it a "ghost" Irish license? Mine is a UK license which is valid here. Valid in the UK until I'm 70. It says ceadunas tiomana on the front and all

hi5 · 22-02-2019 11:18am

MascotDec85 wrote: »

I’m in the same boat. Here 18 years, still on my UK licence and also an ADI. In theory, on the 29th March my ability to work as a driving instructor would end.

My local MEP is Mairead McGuinness. She’s vice-president of the European Parliament. I contacted her regarding this recently and she said she’ll ask the Commission.

My understanding is this until I hear otherwise:
I’ve various categories including C1, D1 etc etc. these don’t expire until 2045. If I exchange it for an Irish licence i have to get a medical every 5 years to keep the categories active rather than the 10 years that currently exist.

I also have these categories and am thinking of dropping them as the hassle of doing a medical and renewing every 5 years is not worth it, I can't remember the last time I drove a truck up to 7.5 tonne.
Also if I was to move back to the UK would I get all my UK categories reinstated?

zilog_jones · 22-02-2019 11:27am

seamus wrote: »

I would also expect that the NDLS don't take your foreign licence away. So when you do an exchange you will be given a new Irish licence and your old foreign licence back.

I know someone who exchanged their UK licence for Irish and was not given their UK licence back. This was probably long before the NDLS though...

Macy0161 · 22-02-2019 11:31am

I did this process last year. You don't get your UK Licence back. I think I lost one category, as there wasn't a metric/ irish equivalent. To keep all categories I needed to have the medical with the doctor. You get a reciept that does you until the new licence arrives.

jimgoose · 22-02-2019 11:40am

It actually gets a little more painful. From https://www.ndls.ie/holders-of-foreign-licences.html#to-apply-to-exchange-a-foreign-driving-licence-issued-by-a-member-state-of-the-european-union-european-economic-area:

"Please note: Applications to exchange a licence may take 2/3 months to process as we need to contact the original licensing authority."

seamus · 22-02-2019 11:46am

jimgoose wrote: »

It actually gets a little more painful. From https://www.ndls.ie/holders-of-foreign-licences.html#to-apply-to-exchange-a-foreign-driving-licence-issued-by-a-member-state-of-the-european-union-european-economic-area:

"Please note: Applications to exchange a licence may take 2/3 months to process as we need to contact the original licensing authority."

Realistically the Gardai are not going to take a hard line on this from day 1, and the courts are not going to prosecute anyone who's been unlucky enough to be caught up in it.

Your entitlement to swap your UK licence for an Irish one would be legally sufficient for your insurance to remain valid.

So provided that you have your receipt and at least a good quality photocopy of your UK licence, then this won't be a problem for you. It's the guy who's still driving on his UK licence in August that'll get into hot water.

jimgoose · 22-02-2019 11:49am

seamus wrote: »

Realistically the Gardai are not going to take a hard line on this from day 1, and the courts are not going to prosecute anyone who's been unlucky enough to be caught up in it.

Your entitlement to swap your UK licence for an Irish one would be legally sufficient for your insurance to remain valid.

So provided that you have your receipt and at least a good quality photocopy of your UK licence, then this won't be a problem for you. It's the guy who's still driving on his UK licence in August that'll get into hot water.

Oh I quite agree, it's just a big pain in the arse for anyone caught by it.

hi5 · 22-02-2019 11:53am

jimgoose wrote: »

It actually gets a little more painful. From https://www.ndls.ie/holders-of-foreign-licences.html#to-apply-to-exchange-a-foreign-driving-licence-issued-by-a-member-state-of-the-european-union-european-economic-area:

"Please note: Applications to exchange a licence may take 2/3 months to process as we need to contact the original licensing authority."

I'm going to France in May for a weekend where I have a rental car booked, will they accept a receipt from the NDLS?

Squidgy Black · 22-02-2019 12:01pm

hi5 wrote: »

I'm going to France in May for a weekend where I have a rental car booked, will they accept a receipt from the NDLS?

International Driving Permit alongside your UK licence should suffice just in case.

Blisterman · 22-02-2019 12:04pm

For UK Residents in Ireland, will a UK licence along with international driving permit issued by the UK, allow me to keep driving when I'm in Ireland?

jimgoose · 22-02-2019 12:06pm

Blisterman wrote: »

For UK Residents in Ireland, will a UK licence along with international driving permit issued by the UK, allow me to keep driving when I'm in Ireland?

Hmm. Will an IDP, issued by the Irish authortity to a holder of a UK license resident in Ireland, cover driving in Ireland. That now, is a question for the NDLS, being the relevant competent authority, if I ever heard one!

Squidgy Black · 22-02-2019 12:08pm

Blisterman wrote: »

For UK Residents in Ireland, will a UK licence along with international driving permit issued by the UK, allow me to keep driving when I'm in Ireland?

If you're an Irish resident, no. IDP is for visitors only I believe.

hi5 · 22-02-2019 12:10pm

Squidgy Black wrote: »

International Driving Permit alongside your UK licence should suffice just in case.

But the NDLS will have sent my UK licence back to DVLA.
And I have a feeling that it will be a lot longer than 2/3 months as DVLA will be flooded with UK licences for transfer from all over Europe.
What a mess.

Isambard · 22-02-2019 12:11pm

pawdee wrote: »

How is it a "ghost" Irish license? Mine is a UK license which is valid here. Valid in the UK until I'm 70. It says ceadunas tiomana on the front and all

as I understand it, if you get points but have a foreign license, they are allocated to a virtual license and are added to your Irish license should you ever get one.

lawred2 · 22-02-2019 12:11pm

pawdee wrote: »

I don't know if this is in the right place but here's my question anyway.......

I've been driving on a UK license here in the ROI for the last 21 years or so. When I moved back from the UK in 1998 I went to my local Motor Tax office with form filled and cheque written ready to exchange for an Irish license. The lady in the office told me I'd be mad to change as my UK license is valid until I'm 70. So off I went and motored away since.

I presume that once the UK leave the EU my license is no longer valid? Does anyone know anything about this? Thanks in advance!

My wife exchanged hers. It's a simple process and it was done in a few weeks. I'd do it now while it's still recognised for exchange.

Macy0161 · 22-02-2019 12:13pm

It only took a couple of weeks, if even, for my Irish licence to arrive. Definitely not 2/3 months. The biggest issue was getting into the NDLS tbh, and having to organise the time to get to the doctors (which may or may not relevant depending on classes you have or want to keep).

Once you have the list of documents required (a checklist is on the website), and are in front of the NDLS staff, it was a fairly pain free process in my experience and pretty efficient. Obviously there's going to be a rush on now (hence why I did it in the autumn!).

UK licence after Brexit

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