arniedog

Thats ok for you to say but i still dont know the answer !. . . . . . Mind you i Cant remember what the question was now either

Novocastrian

I'll precis for you. The OP kept a UK license for many years after moving to Canada and then wanted to drive here. At first s/he wanted to just keep the UK license and take the normal sequence of lessons and tests to acquire the provincial license as if s/he'd never driven before.

No doubt if s/he'd never mentioned the UK license this would have been OK, but s/he asked if that was OK and was told "no".

Unfortunately the OP doesn't say which province, and as usual, that needs to be specified, but in ON, where you are moving to, the "no" applies.

HTH

aldo

Sorry to dredge this up again - but just to add more to Jerseygirl's posts. Not only is your licence invalid, so is the auto insurance if you hire a car. Also on the AMEX issue - those holding USD Cards (which offer CDW/LDW), you are NO longer covered if you have an address outside of the USA. Found out the hard way..(though only a minor scrape).

Moral? Don't rent a car on a licence belonging to a jurisdiction in which you are not resident.

JAJ

Invalid where? It is well established that a GB licence does not automatically become invalid when the holder moves outside Great Britain. At least not while it's within its expiry date.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring...ng/DG_10023103

Whether it is accepted as valid by the place the holder moves to is a matter for that jurisdiction.

aldo

I guess I wasn't very clear. I don't mean the UK licence is invalid in the UK if you move back later (though not sure what happens when returning long after the expirey of the photocard).

My main point is that your GB licence (like all licences) would not be recognized normally after one year of living/driving in another country. So if you live in Thailand like me, the GB licence is not recognised after a year, hence it becomes "invalid" here in Thailand.

Furthermore, if you hired a car anywhere in the world using a licence from GB, Canada or USA - when you haven't lived there in years - and then had an accident, take a guess at the first thing the rent-a-car insurance company will be checking? Was the licence 'valid' for the purposes of renting the car.