scot47

Sicklyman I often make the mistake of assuming that people in Britain can read. Seriously - a huge percentage of the population cannot and that probably includes many in positions like that Avis lady.

FriendlyExpat

I guess you should just ignore what they tell you on the phone. When you actually collect the car, a Saudi licence will be absolutely fine.

Ratty57

I live in Aus, my UK photo license has recently expired. I renewed it 10 years ago using a relatives UK address, but I’ve decided that it’s just too hard to renew it this time, and it’s illegal anyway.

My question relates to a car I still own in the UK. I have owned it for the last 10 years, and used it annually. Never had any problems because I had the UK license and used the relatives address.

But now the UK license has expired.
Can I still get it MOT’d, taxed and insured without a valid UK license? (Yes I know the insurance is almost certainly a waste of money if I had a claim and they find out I’m not a UK resident).

If I drive said car, can I get fined for not having a valid UK license, or is my Aus license fine?

BritInParis

Taxing and MOTing it is not a problem with an Australian licence however it's not advisable to try and maintain a normal annual insurance policy if you are not a UK resident. You would either need to have a specialist policy or if you are only driving it for a short period on an annual period then you could consider short-term temporary insurance; specialist companies who offer 1 to 28 days cover, e.g. https://www.dayinsure.com/one-month-car-insurance/. Providing you have the correct insurance in place and the car is taxed and MOTed then you will have no problems driving it on your Australian licence for up to a year.

Ratty57

Thanks for the info.

I’m wondering if it would be better to transfer the car ownership to my brother-in-law, then get him to insure it and include me as a second driver - I believe that some insurers allow the second driver to be a non resident.
Sounds like it might be cheaper.

BritInParis

That's perfectly possible providing the insurer permits it.

UKMS

Problem doing daily insurance is what you do with it when it’s not insured .... you will have to do a SORN each time you don’t use/insure it .... if you don’t then you have got no insurance and technically commit an offense. It either has to be SORN or insured (AFAIK).

BritInParis

That’s not quite accurate. A vehicle can be SORNed and off the road and no insurance is required. Insurance is only required for when the vehicle is on the road and/or before driven on the the public road.

If the brother-in-law owns the car in question and taxes and MOTs it when required then the relevant poster only needs to hold valid insurance in order to drive it.

sicklyman

which, from my experience, they won't as they'll only insure people resident in the UK. I've tried this many times in attempts to be able to drive relative or friends cars. Every time, they've said they won't insure anyone who is not a UK resident. I've since given up so haven't tried this for a few years.

If anyone has done this successfully, I'd be glad to hear of it.

UKMS

That’s exactly what I said ........

BritInParis

Yes you did, my mistake, misread your post!

eskandarih

Hi
I am in Norway and my UK DL will be expired in one month. can I renew it or can I use it still in Norway? or I have to get Norwegian one?

BritInParis

You won’t be able to renew it but you can exchange it for a Norwegian licence. Make sure to make a copy so if and when you return to the UK you have your GB driving licence number so you can exchange your Norwegian licence for your full GB licence with all your correct entitlements.

https://www.vegvesen.no/en/driving-l...-in-the-eu-eea

everested

It is illegal to renew it from outside of the UK but loads do it using a residential address (parent etc) in the UK. I did it a few months ago as i had no licence here for yrs but is getting harder to blag the cops. Even though i had a new passport a month before sent here i still got my licence issued and no problems. That said it might be good to get a local licence also.

SpanishFlu

Eyesight Test? If you are over 70 and need to renew do you have to get a eyesight test? If so then you could not do it without being in Country.

For that matter at any age you could be illegal if you could not pass a eyesight test and did not get suitable glasses or you were borderline and did nothing - you could be in trouble due to accident and police investigation.