Joepottinger

Hi all,

So I moved to Canada on the basis of eventually getting PR and am currently in university In NS. I exchanged my UK licence for a NS driving licence and assumed because of that, my UK licence would be of no use to me at all. I just recently on a trip home to Scotland got a letter from DVLA asking for me to renew my UK licence. I assumed the Canadian authority would inform the DVLA of me exchanging licences and that my UK one would then be canceled.

My question is, if I was to send in for renewal of my UK licence would I then get my Canadian one revoked? Or would I then have two licences?

Thanks.

scrubbedexpat134

I have had a Canadian Licence for over 20 years, I still have the old style paper UK drivers licence which is still legal. I contacted DVLC and asked if I could update my uk licence to the new Photo Card style, they told me I could not do this as I don't have an address in the UK. So you should be able to renew your old licence as long as you have a uk address. But I believe that should you decide to go back to the UK on a permanent basis you would have to surrender your Canadian licence.

Joepottinger

So since I don't have any immediate plans of moving back to the uk should I contact the DVLA and just let them know so that they don't keep sending me to renew?

Vulcanoid

If you exchanged your licence, then you no longer have a UK licence. The Nova Scotia authorities should have informed DVLA that you had surrendered your UK licence, and returned it to them/destroyed it (I know ICBC do this, reports are hit and miss about the efficacy of others).

If you believe the NS licensing authorities have not properly informed DVLA, then you should do so. As a general rule you are only supposed to hold one licence from one jurisdiction at a time, and if you have only taken one test, then you are certainly not able to parlay that out to two licences (the argument is a little different for people who moved before exchange was a thing, and retook their test in Canada).

In any event, renewing your UK licence requires returning the old one. You can't do this, as you've handed it to NS, and now possess an NS licence, so you can't renew it without lying that you've lost the old one to get it reissued. That you'd need to lie to a government agency to fulfill that plan should tell you what a bad idea it is to go about it.

If you ever return to the UK, you fill in a D1 form with your name, address, and driver licence number (literally, 3 fields), and send it off with the NS licence, at no charge, to get your old UK one reissued.

scrubbedexpat134

Yes, I don't think exchange was even available when I came here. I came with my UK licence and an international drivers permit which I think used to be issued by the AA, I then took the Canadian drivers test and got my Canadian drivers licence.

withabix

Apparently not all Provinces send the information to DVLA anyway. Alberta seems to be one and it looks like NS must be as well.

Check your Province's laws - it may still be illegal to hold more than one driving licence in your Province (note that 'out of Province' also means 'foreign'), so you should contact DVLA if that is the case.

Also, if you move Province and exchange your NS licence for a different one, you may be committing an offence if you still hold a UK Licence as well.

You might as well contact DVLA, as you can get your UK one back if you return to UK anyway.

Joepottinger

Thanks all for your advice. I will contact the dvla while I am in the U.K.