joanne40

That's good news for you as the system it seems here is totally ludicrous that they expect you to function for 3+ weeks in a country this size without being able to drive. I am so nervous about taking my test and really dont know how I am going to get to work and 3 kids to school with no car. Let alone function on a daily basis with everything else I need it for! The most frustrating thing is that you can hardly ever speak to a real person and when you do they are for the post part so unhelpful:curse:

Esme

When I moved to Canada I had to take my test (it was about 8 months before they started exchanging licenses). It really wasn't that big a deal - I had a couple of lessons to make sure I knew what I was doing. I also like that I still have my UK license.

Member123

Sorry to hear you feel this way Joanne, pity I wasn't a bit closer(well, a whole lot closer) and I would loved to have helped you out.

joanne40

Thank you. Are you in Canada yet or still waiting to come???? I have to say we love it here despite all the silly rules that we have come up against

Member123

Still waiting on TWP

joanne40

You shouldn't be to long now we waited 4 weeks for the TWP from London. Are you ready to leave or going to wait? When we landed in Calgary they only issued the permit from the date of issue from London. What length permit have you got?

Lorna_D

I just walked into Cherry's Ins and got my Sask license but they didn't keep my British license - that was only a few weeks ago.

joanne40

Sask seems to have more lenient rules that calgary maybe we should have moved there instead!

andyxjules

Hiya guys,
I would just like to say we have been pr in Calgary since 2002,(we did not know you had to take it within 3 months of landing)and we had been so busy we did not get our Alberta licence's till May 2005 by that time the GDL had come into force,we were then told that this would apply to us.
Actually this is not the case,as long as you can show a full licence showing the class of vehicle's that you can drive you will be able to change your licence over,it about proving your not a new driver!
You will still have to take the simple driving test aswell as the written test,eye test.
We passed first time after taking a 2hr refresher course, saying that when we got our licence's the GDL was on them, so we took into the registry and asked them to take the GDL off. They took photo copie's of our two part UK drivers licence,we did not have to surrender them. After a month we got our new one's.
All of the local goverment registry's know of this but very few body's in Canada will commit clear and concise information, they leave it for you to find.
Hope this helps,

Lorna_D

Come on over, it's nice here and there's loads of room

MarkG

They didn't keep mine either, just told me I shouldn't use it anymore.

Esme

An afterthought.... when I first came to Canada I had to drive for work and so got an International licence from the UK. I think it's good for a year and I only used it for a week before I got my Ontario licence but it's another option if you need to drive straight away. The only thing was, had I taken my test and failed it would instantly have become invalid!

jasslily

If we have a uk driving license can we exchange it for an alberta one and then when we go to B.C a few months later exchange it for a B.C without sitting any tests ?.
I'v ehad my U.K license for over 5 years ?

joanne40

as far as I can gather you can exchange a UK one for an Alberta one so long as you have passport, proof of residency, plus a copy of your work permit or permenant residence etc. Not sure what would happen when you get to BC. A friend of mine had to do a test after coming from Nova Scotia to Calgary