Spacecake799

Hi, My daughters boyfriend is hopefully moving here. Assuming he gets the visa im curious about the driving licence.
He will be 25, have 5 years no claims and has a NZ driving licence.
Am i right in thinking he has to stay on that licence for 6 months before he meets the residency requirements to exchange it for a british licence?
Thank you

BritInParis

If he moves to the UK on his Tier 5 YMV then he can exchange his licence straightaway. There's no waiting period despite the language used on the DVLA website. He'll need to prove he passed his test in a manual otherwise he'll be restricted to driving automatics.

Spacecake799

Oh ok, yes thats what i had read on DVLA which is why I asked because Im assuming his insurance might be cheaper if he has a british licence.
He will be restricted to an automatic.
Many thanks

spouse of scouse

Is the restriction on manual/automatic due to age or the type of visa? I only had an Oz licence to drive automatics, but when I exchanged I noted the UK one allows me to drive manuals. Not that I'm about to, I don't 'do' gears.

Spacecake799

Its my understanding that if you only learned and passed your test in an automatic then thats all you can drive.

spouse of scouse

That's what I thought too, and it makes sense, but that wasn't the case with my licence. I asked about it on BE a while back, and the general consensus was that there was nothing unusual about me getting a manual and automatic licence back in exchange for an automatic one. I'm not bothered one way or the other as I only drive autos.

BritInParis

It will be and he would need to exchange his licence within 12 months in any case to be able to continue to drive.

In theory, yes, but DVLA doesn't ask that question of Australian licence holders, presumably because there's a higher ratio of people taking their tests in manuals in Australia compared to Canada or New Zealand for example.