Chips55

Hi everyone,

I am sure you have touched on this before -maybe- but I can trace it.

I left England when the driving license was in paper form with no photo and there was no ID cards.

Now to get a photo Driving License I need a UK address which I don't have and I am totally confused about what would be acceptable to carry in Hungary instead of the passport as a proof of ID. Is the UKVALIDATE acceptable?

I have the registration and address cards of Hungary but neither have a photo as you know.

Has anyone encountered this before?

Chips.

Chips55

Ok everyone...I have found the thread regarding the driving license but any info about the ID card please.
I can't carry my passport all the time on the street anywhere in Europe...!!

Peter_in_Hungary

A quick search on the web (if its on the internet it must be true!!) came up with
"If you have a paper licence that was issues pre-1998, these generally don't expire until you're 70, so you don't need to do anything until then unless your address or personal details change. All licences must be in the photocard format by 2033."

The key here is - you don't need to do anything until then unless your address or personal details change.

If you don't have a UK address then your personal details must have changed so you need to get a new driving licence. Without a UK address you cant get a UK licence, but since you have a Hungarian address and registration you should be able to get a Hungarian licence based on your UK qualifications. The Hungarian licence is a photo type so this I believe does as your carry around ID. (in Hungary at least as it's a Hungarian driving licence).

I can sympathise with carrying around a passport, since my misspent youth mostly in Flanders and Holland (Zeeland) the state of my passport, having spent summer months in the back pocket of my jeans had to be seen to be believed!

Chips55

Thanks Peter.

At least the Hungarian driving license will have a photo and if you say it does work as an ID there then all is well.
I tried to get the UKVALIDATE card but i have to get a reference from someone who lives and works in the UK..!!
And while I know a lot where I am now none are working in the UK so it is a non starter.

Do I have to be a resident in Hungary for a year to get the Hungarian driving license as was suggested on some posts?

Thanks again.

Peter_in_Hungary

The Hungarian driving licence works as a photo ID - depending upon who you talk to and for what reason the ID is needed. (I have yet to see a definitive statement of where it is valid or not) But in any event you need your registration and your address card as well. Hungarians also need their address cards along with the ID, that is one without the other is no good.

As far as I know you do not need a Hungarian driving licence until your UK one runs out, but since you have changed your address effectively your UK licence has run out so you should be able to get one on the basis of your UK one expiring. Of course there is no guarantee that the bureaucrat in your local office reads the same book!!

Chips55

I get you...so far to tell you the truth I have not encountered any bureaucracy...but you never know....will try and see.

Thanks.

cathyg

Don't forget you need a medical certificate from a hungarian doctor as well. When I got my hungarian driving licence it was a very easy process providing you have all the documentation. Mine is only valid for the period of the medical certificate which is 5 years.

Chips55

Thanks Cathy. Your comments on an earlier thread is what assured me.
I hope it will be as easy for me too.

jetsam1

I was told by the local Police that I don't need to carry my UK passport at all times as the photocard Driving Licence is enough. This was after I thought I'd lost my passport and the police were really helpful and professional. (Turned ot my 2 year old daughter had found it and put in a drawer where it was not supposed to be.......)

COnverting my licence will probably be the next major task.

Chips55

Thanks for that...the problem with me is my driving license is the old paper type...so my passport is the only thing I have with a photo.
Anyway...UKVALIDATE agreed to do a card for me too meanwhile with a picture...something at least to be able to leave the passport safe.

fidobsa

I must try offering the driving licence instead of passport some time at the Hungary / Croatia border. I hate having to carry my passport around in case it ever gets wet. I guess it is another 200 Euros for a new one if I damage my passport?

Chips55

I guess you can try once to offer the driving license instead of the passport but have the passport with you just in case they don't take the driving license instead.

Peter_in_Hungary

I'm pretty sure that a driving licence is no good at the boarder, you need an ID card or a passport.
I have a Hungarian ID card as a settler. It's green as opposed to the normal blue. This was unacceptable at the Croatian boarder last year. The Hungarian officer was ready to accept it but the Croatian officer informed him that a UK passport was needed. This was coming back into Hungary

As from this year Hungarian ID cards are free and have biometric data on them as well as a totally optional finger print record facility. Almost worth getting Hungarian citizenship (a box ticking exercise at my age) just to avoid the exorbitant cost of a UK passport.

jetsam1

Can you expand on the green ID card? I was under the impression that unless you were a citizen you couldn't have a Hungarian ID card? I haven't heard of one like this before.

Yes I think I will probably go for dual nationality in 4 years or so, just need to get back going with the language. Would simplify my life somewhat I think! Married to a Hungairan so it's 5 years of residence rather than 8 or 10. Futureproofing myself somewhat......

Peter_in_Hungary

I came into Hungary in 1994 as a settler, which is a status that I don't think is available (or relevant) to EU citizens. (1994 was of course prior to Hungary joining the EU) The status is somewhere between foreign resident and Hungarian citizen. The status accepted that I was coming into Hungary to live permanently and allowed me to import all my belongings tax free, to get employment and to buy land. All of the advantages of the status are now within the EU rules anyway its just that I get a green ID card as part of the historical baggage of coming here in 1994.