kmcmull1985

So here's the story so far... hubby, myself and 1year old have safely arrived in Alberta for over a month now. I'm a Canadian citizen (as my mum was born here) and I sponsored both my husband and baby who are now permanent residents.

Things are going relatively smoothly for us- in terms of getting health cards, vehicle sorted, rental property set up, SIN cards, work,hubby has even got his hunting licence, and so the list continues!!! We have been busy and we are truly grateful for wonderful friends/ contacts and family here to help us with this new adventure.

So we are now looking at the issue of getting a driving licence sorted in Alberta- as we have about 40ish days left to do the test. The thought of the test is stressing us both out- and is looking pretty costly. Secretly I still get so annoyed when I keep reading that England, Scotland and Wales are all recipricol countries and Northern Ireland isn't (even though it clearly states on my NI licence UK!!...grr)

Anyways...to cut a long story short- we were informed BC is a recipricol province with northern ireland- how possible would it be to drive to BC (just over an hours drive from where we are) to get our licence- which would let us drive in Alberta for another 90 days, to then switch the BC licence to an Alberta licence???(if needs be we have friends that live in BC if a postal address is needed) Sounds really sneaky- but it's crazy to think if we only lived an hours away we wouldn't be faced with this whole stress filled ordeal. Your thoughts/advice would be much appreciated

el_richo

From memory (which is fading), i had to provide 2 pieces of ID. I gave my PR card and my Passport. I had a quick eye test, answered 3 questions incorrectly, paid a few $'s, and gave them an address to put on the licence.

By that experience, i don't see you having an issue getting a BC licence. Not sure about swapping that for an AB one though.

Unless of course you're caught fraudulently trying to bypass the process and being done for fraud. I imagine that's more stressful, and possibly more expensive, than taking driving tests.

If you do decide to take your test, try not to worry too much. If those on the road today can pass, anybody can.

Good luck

MarylandNed

The UK is defined differently to GB. If you look at a UK passport you'll see it mention "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". NI is therefore part of the UK - but technically speaking not part of GB. Yes, I know the terms are bandied about as if they are the same but technically speaking they are not the same.

Alberta's reciprocal agreement is really with GB's DVLA who administer drivers in England, Scotland and Wales - but not NI. NI drivers are administered by a separate body - the DVA.

You need more than a BC postal address. You have to be a resident of BC in order to be eligible for a BC licence. Just take the test in Alberta. You'll likely pass easily.

BTJ

Totally off topic, but I believe your baby is immediately eligible to become a Canadian Citizen as minors do not have a waiting period, they just require one parent to be (or applying to be) a Canadian Citizen. So for $100 you could apply for his/her citizenship.

This assumes she is your natural or adoptive child.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/informa...ons/minors.asp

Edit: With regard to the driving licence, I'd just sit the test in Alberta - not a good idea to pretend you live in another province.

el_richo

In my experience, you don't have to provide evidence of being a BC resident as such so i wouldn't imagine they'd have any issue getting a BC licence. That said, they might and the shit could hit the fan. Not worth it in my opinion.

I would also imagine exchanging to an Albertan licence might raise flags since they'd have had the BC licence such a short period of time, and looking at the AB requirements, they do have to provide evidence of living there. They'd have to time the evidence so as to not show residency prior to the BC licence being obtained.

All sounds like such a ball ache for the sake of passing the test.

MarylandNed

+1

delsol79

Not technically speaking - factually speaking This is exactly what the problem is, they have an agreement with DVLA which of course does not cover Northern Ireland.

Luckily I had lived in England for years before and already swapped to a DVLA Swindon issued one or I would have had same problems.

I do think it would be best just to take the test - from what all my colleagues say it really is very easy. For proof of this just look at the state of the drivers on the road!

BTJ

I think you mean Swansea, the DVLA is their only claim to fame.

delsol79

lol I do indeed mean Swansea and ridiculous that I got it mixed up as I have worked their a few times.

jericho

Seems like its easily done:
http://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing...most-countries

If you meet the criteria, can provide the ID... you're not doing nowt wrong.

MarylandNed

Right - the official name of the country is the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" which suggests that NI is in the UK but not part of GB.

The problem is that terms like "Great Britain" and "Britain" are often used to refer to the UK as a whole. The UK itself contributes to the confusion. For example, the UK team will actually be competing in the upcoming Olympics as "Great Britain" and there will be competitors from NI wearing "GB" on their vests!

One day my boss in the US called me into the office and asked me to explain all these terms to him because he was completely confused by them. After explaining each term technically, I then had to elaborate on the fact that the "UK", "GB" and "Britain" can be used interchangeably to mean the same thing! Or all 3 can mean different things! I think he was actually MORE confused after talking to me!

Sally Redux

MarylandNed

Right and usage of the term "Britain" can refer to any of the following (and maybe more):

Britain = UK (GB + NI)
Britain = Great Britain (a subset of the UK, although GB can also be used to mean the UK as in the Olympics!)
Britain = The British Isles
Britain = Everything in the diagram above

delsol79

Hold up - I was not the one confused lol. I was saying its not a case of "technically" - it is fact. I'm 100% Northern Irish!

delsol79

Well it can be used to refer to those things but it shouldn't be as not technically correct