keznjj

I have read somewhere in the forum about Canada not recgonising the NI Driving Licence and if you go to Canada with this then you have to do a test.
I have looked at my new licence and it stipulates UK on the plastic card bit however it does in small print say DVLA NI....
Just wondering if anyone has had any problems getting a Canadian Driving Licence with the new NI licences. Or would the suggestion still be to get a UK Licence without the NI bit on it...

I hope I havent confused anyone with this post....

All suggestions appreciated.

Oakvillian

Whereabouts in Canada are you headed? Driving licences are a Provincial issue. Start here

BaggyFX

Bout ye,

I was in Nova Scotia last year and it was fine. You will however however need to take a driving test in Canada after 3 months or i think a couple of weeks if you are working ( these time limits are off the top of my head, but are pretty close from what i remember)

Cheers

Baggy

keznjj

Bout Ye too Baggy

Thanks for the info Oak it seems that the NI licence cannot be exchanged without a test we are heading to Ontario...
Not doing that I will get our licences changed for UK ones.

Cheers

jonnieandmartina

they won't accept NI ones, silly as it seems they just don't - i used my friends house in surrey as an address and got a GB one.. very simple, I did try with the NI one on one of my recce's twice in GTA & Hamilton - the guy at the desk kept telling me they cannot accept as an exchange an "irish" lic, i pointed out that NI was still part of UK and even showed him my crest on the licence - he just looked at me in that funny twisted way !!....

enjoy

jon

JAJ

In other words, you appear to have obtained a GB licence by deception if you were not resident in GB.


Unclear why it's so hard for people to understand that in the United Kingdom, just like in Canada, driving licences are not issued at national level.

Northern Ireland has its own driving licences and if the DVLA-NI does not care about the recognition of the Northern Ireland licence, that is not the problem of anyone else.

keznjj

johnnieandmartina thanks for the heads up..think i will need to do that, we are based to and from NI and England although more so NI...

Jaj>>> I dont think that my post or anyone elses supportive replies were put on here to "Point Blame"..Noone is blaming anyone as to why the Canadian driving licence authorities does not accept the NI licences. I think this is the honest confused thoughts of others as to why the Candian driving authorities do not accept a NI licence with a UK crest on it...We are part of the UK.

However I fully accept that I will have to get change my licence as do others to comply with Canadian Regulattions. Why would you care how we maintain them. If someone lets us use an address then I cant see how we are doing any harm.
Also for your information johnnie is GB resident. NI belongs to GB...
Jeez all I did was ask for help on a matter and someone has to come in with an Plan of Attack

To the rest of you Guys that put replies Thanks Heaps..Thanks Heaps to Oak for putting me onto the Driving Licence site...

jonnieandmartina

no worries, enjoy !!

JAJ

So what? ... Ontario and BC are part of the same country but have their own driving licences.



Sigh ... It's the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Great Britain = England, Scotland and Wales and you need a GB address to get a GB licence. Similarly, you need an NI address to get an NI licence.

keznjj

From a simple question needing a simple answer alongs comes somebody simple like YOU!!!

jonnieandmartina

Don't rise to it mate.... lifes full of them

keznjj

Yea I know, your very right and I normally dont, however comments like that are really uncalled for. You reckon he might wanna live in Norn Iron... lol

Where abouts in Belfast are you? Thats my hometown. Im living in NZ at the moment but hopefully not for long...

jonnieandmartina

Not actually belfast anymore, it just simple to leave it that way - about 15 miles down the coast...or so..

Ben W Bell

GB DVLA has an agreement with various Driver Licensing agencies in Canada. NI DVLA doesn't have any such arrangements. You don't hold a GB DVLA issued license, therefore you cannot just trade it over. They're not stupid, they know the difference between the territories that they are issued in, and know the arrangements. While the NI license has the UK crest on it, it means the same as provincial license in Canada having the Canadian flag, and a state license in the US having the US flag. There is no such thing as a UK driving license, just like there is no such thing as a Canadian driving license, or a US driving license.

You can't get a GB driving license unless you move to England, Scotland or Wales. If you use someone else's address over there you are committing fraud as having an incorrect address on your license is actually a fairly serious offence in GB with nice large fines attached to it.

Simply put, NI DVLA has no arrangements with any Canadian provinces for licence exchange. Similarly someone coming from Canada to NI can't swap a licence over, whereas someone going to England, Scotland or Wales may be able to. You have a NI license, you can't swap it over.

Ben W Bell

Not Portavogie? No that's more than 15 miles. Millisle?