Biiiiink

Try it - like you say, what's the worst that could happen? (you do know you're not allowed to have an ON/GB license at the same time... whether BC/GB is permitted is up for debate).

It worked for me (MB now do GB swaps but they hadn't quite instituted the process when we came) - and not only did we get an instant merit for insurance by having a previous clean Canadian license, I also got my 9mth old graduated license upgraded to a full proper one in the MB swap. I'm really glad we did it and don't see anything "moronic" about it at all

Edit: Tam, if you swap, you need an ON address to receive the photocard 7-ish days later. They issue you a paper temporary (valid for up to 3mths) on the day. We didn't know this and had a bit of a panic as we'd given the Delta Chelsea as our address (!) but the hotel staff were wonderful and actually kept our licenses until we returned 3mths later.

Rich_007

She's not in BC.




Rich.

R I C H

Here's what my wife and I did:

Moved to BC from UK - drove on UK licences for 5mths (we were here on holiday visas initially).

Flew from Kelowna to Regina for a day - swapped UK licences for Saskatchewan licences (car and motorcycle for both of us). Used a PO box address of a neighbours brother who lived near Saskatoon as our address. He forwarded the licences to our BC address.

Once we received our Saskatchewan licences in the mail we swapped them for BC licences at the Kamloops licencing office. We'd held the Canadian licences for 2 weeks.

It cost us a day out ($400 in airfares) and approx an hour spent in licencing offices. Far more preferable to taking 4 tests between us in the middle of winter.

It CAN be done

Oh, and BTW, our UK licences were never asked for - photocopies were taken, but we've retained the originals.

Sarahad

I have called alberta goverment and also a registry office this morning and they seem to think it wont be a problem for me to change my gb licence for alberta one even though i only have a 12 month visitors visa. They said as we are married it should not be a problem. Anyone done this??? Its just I am supposed to be collecting a car on thurs and not much point if i wont be able to change my licence.

montreal mike

I just checked and found out that even Quebec allows the UK switch.

Quote:

Terms of exchange vary according to the country that issued your driver's licence.

Should your jurisdiction of origin be in the list below, you qualify for driver's licence exchange without testing, as these have standards similar to Québec's:

* Austria
* Belgium
* France
* Germany
* Japan
* Netherlands (The): Holland, Dutch Antilles (St. Martin, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sabat and St. Eustache)
* Republic of Korea (South Korea)
* Switzerland
* Great Britain: England, Scotland, Wales
* Turkey

So the question is this: Why not BC?

What on earth makes these people so different or special? In the poll I started responses confirm a lot more Brits end up in BC rather than Quebec. So I would have expected that BC, of all places, would have had this arrangement. Big problem of course is that, de facto, Canada is really ten countries rolled into one. Why on earth can something so fundamental as driving on the roads not fall under federal jurisdiction?

Ibraheem

EU has 25 different countries with 20 different languages, and they have less barriers than Canadian provinces have, in terms of differences in regulations.

Posidrive

The only thing that would add is that if you do need to take the test, do it as soon as possible before you pick up all the bad habits that the locals have.

When I started my new job I was put on a defensive driving course that had both practical elements and a written test at the end of it. During the practical part I had my driving ability torn apart by the ex policeman who was the instructor (he was of the view that if you exceed the speed limit by 1kph you should be publicly flogged). Basically when I first arrived and was fortunately able to just exchange my license, whenever I was unsure of the local traffic regulations I just did the same as the locals. Whoops, big mistake.

Fortunately I hadn't picked up any really really bad habits (Such as hitting pedestrians) and ended up passing the course which had the benefit of getting you a certificate that entitles the holder to insurance discounts, plus even better a voucher for removal of 3 demerits from an Alberta license

Biiiiink

No idea. And it's not just the retest that's a pain, it's the having to show PR card (and take test within 90 days) that's tricky for many newcomers. Look up Airseir's posts for more about trying to get a test with no PR card.

The DVLA are a bit vague on why they swap BC licenses when it's not reciprocal, I don't think they realise they've not done a deal with the whole of Canada.

Edit: who apart from BC doesn't swap GB licenses - is it only NS now? Have all the others signed up to swap?

The Escapea

Not a problem in BC - immigration status is not a factor for them (I'm here on a 1 year permit, and got a test no problem).

It may not be at DVLA's end, but down to ICBC - and when I spoke with them to query why they don't acknowledge UK licenses, but will happily swap a German license for example, I was told that they will soon stop that too -and that they are moving towards requiring all newcomers (from overseas) to take a test and not doing a swap of any (non-Canadian) licenses.

The 90 days is very ambiguous - we were told at least 3 different interpretations by different people in ICBC, with the 90 days meant to start from "when you settle in BC with intent to stay permanently" or something along those lines - so that is not necessarily the same as when you land. Also we were told that if you got stopped driving on a UK license after the 90 days the "chances are" that the RCMP wouldn't ticket you.

Even if you're willing to risk that, risking a debate over what 90 days really means with your insurance company (as sods law dictates that if you risk driving on your UK license after 90 days that you'll have an accident!) is a different, slightly more serious matter!

montreal mike

From the Nova Scotia govt site:

Other Foreign Countries: People who have a valid driver's licence from a foreign country other than the USA can sometimes (but not always) get a Nova Scotia Driver's Licence without taking a road test.

For more information on the rules covering driver's licences from foreign countries, please contact the Department (see Where can you get. . .., above).

I guess that means NO?

Biiiiink

I'm not saying you have to be a PR, but as a PR, Airseir had to show his PR card* for primary ID - see thread here (make yourself a coffee, it's lo-o-o-ng. Wonder how my old friend WorldWeary is these days ). Airseir's PR card hadn't turned up and he was rapidly running out of time, got a bit neat for him and MPs and CIC ministers got involved in the end iirc.

*I now see "PR card or record of landing" on ICBC's page - does that mean they now accept COPR/cancelled PR visa for those who are still PR-card-less after 90 days? Back in the old thread JAJ established they would only accept the old pre-2002 IMM1000, not the current COPR thingy. Is that still the case? The wording's ambiguous on the current site.

Agree that landing date for PRs is not necessarily the date they become resident - I've had that one out a few times here too - if you land and leave, you may be a PR but you're not a resident... but you're right, trying to have that conversation with any official is confusing. The CIC citizenship calculator doesn't even allow for different landing/becoming resident dates - blows their minds or something I think

In the other thread security about DLs was mentioned for US/Canadian air travel, this can't still be a factor as passports are now needed (from Jan '07). I don't get why BC is standing firm on this whilst provinces like MB and AB have signed up to swap GB licenses in the last few years?

Ah well. I'm alright Jack, pull the ladder up

MikeUK

Please don't take Aiseir as a 'normal' example... unfortunatly what ever he does tends to be a bit different and almost always more complicated than it needs to be..

he seems to get or need special treatment where ever he's goes...

I know I've lived with this for the last 42 years... and he still run's and complain's to Mum and dad when ever I upset him...
well its e-mails these days, but its still a pain in the arse



a sensible clear headed approach usally produces positive results..

Biiiiink

Awww...you love him dearly, I can tell

lousid

OK, here's what happened to me in BC.

Got here on Aug 7th. I was told I should expect my PR card within 30 days or so. 40 days went by and still no card. I telephoned to enquire its whereabouts. No idea from the officials in Sydney, NS. Told to wait a further 2-4 weeks. In the meantime, my 90 days' grace for driving with a UK licence were fast expiring. I called into a local driving test centre. They told me that technically, I could extend my 90 days by simply crossing the border to the US and voila! - another 90 day extension. Of course, trying to cross the border without a PR card in these days of heightened security - even with a full valid UK passport - I deemed to be a bit tricky. It took me nearly three bloody years to get here, so I wasn't going to risk going over the border just to extend the driving grace period - that's even with a bona-fide original landing document receipt thingy.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I got a letter after almsot two months telling me there was a problem with my PR card; something about the photo I provided havning the teeniest-tiniest bit of an ink spot (caused by the immigration official at the airport on landing who pulled at the carbon sheet too hastily smudging the pic ever-so slightly). I had to travel all the way into Vancouver to have a new pic done. It was ludicrous. By this stage I was past caring. Three weeks after that I got my PR card. I was told by an official that the original landing document would have sufficed in booking a test etc, which contradicted what I'd been told twice previously. The usual incompetence springs to mind. I had been in BC for over 120 days by this stage.

Anyway, I was asked if I had extended my grace period by going abroad - I hadn't - I told them of course I had! No further questions - took the knowledge test in Maple Ridge and passed, then took the road test in Abbotsford the next day and passed that, too. I'm now licenced in BC.

Got a partial refund on my car insurance after being granted 25% for 5 years provable history. Very difficult to trace records back further as i) I can't remember who I've been insured with in the past going back years and years and ii) records are kept only for 6 years. so either way, I've had to accept it. I've been in the habit of changing insurers in the UK every year to save on renewal costs and always got a better deal elsewhere but the bastards at ICBC won't accept a letter without very specific START and END dates for each and every insurer going back eight years.

In short, don't bother trying to bypass BC licencing - the sods'll catch up with you at some point.

I'm still happier here before I get a telling off! It's only ICBC that I (and all other locals here) have a real beef with.

Sid

kt0157

That's one way to beat bureaucracy. Lie. Do it all the time, but in small ways that are hard to disprove. Ruins the quality of their data in computers, too.

K.