Steve_

Also just thought I'd add - I have no intention of ever living in GB again so I couldn't give a toss about holding onto my old licence. Seems like a safety blanket issue to me.

cheeky_monkey

Only if the province tells the DVLA you have given up your licence. When i went back to the UK and was hiring a car..they wanted proof that i had previously held a UK licence..when i spoke to the DVLA they had not been informed by Alberta that i had given up my UK licence for a Canadian one some 2 years previously..they even offered to reissue my UK licence if i wanted to.

Jingle

Me too ..... it is a real obsession with some people.

Prior to finally settling in Canada I made three international moves followed by spells back in the UK. During all my times away (between 1977 - 1998) fretting about retaining my UK driving license was the furthest thing from my mind

Each time I moved back I just got DVLA (DVLC as it was then) to send me a replacement UK license. Not once did I have any trouble doing so. I also travelled back and forth to the UK on numerous occasions, hired cars with my US license with no problems/increased insurance or anything.

The only thing I did differently when we moved to Canada was to scan my UK paper license and photocard before swapping it for an AB license just in case hell happens to freeze over and I move back to England permanently

J

Hawk13

Keeping it - for me anyway - is not an obsession nor something I fret about it's just like keeping all your ticket stubs from concerts.

On another note, I've had any issue renting a car with a stick shift in the UK with my CA license and I've never been asked if I could drive one.

Londonuck

they send it back to the DVLA and they chuck it in the bin

Novocastrian

Probably. But it's a British bin. This, for whatever reason, seems crucial to some.

agr

I have never heard of a car rental company offering a deal based on where your licence is issued. How does this work? Online reservations don't even ask you about your licence - it's just assumed that you have one that legally entitles you to drive at destination. Does the price of insurance go down?

cheeky_monkey

nothing to do with deals just wanted to make sure i had held a driving licence for more than a year.

Steve_

When I got mine it was shortly after the agreement went into force, they told me it went to the office in Edmonton and they notified the DVLA. This caused me some problems because then I went to get car insurance and they wanted to see it, by which time the registry had already sent it to Edmonton. Anyway, fortunately my old insurer had a copy of it they sent me.

Former Lancastrian

I guess it could be classed as a British bin as its now been imported and is now on British soil but if I was a betting man and they looked at the bottom of the bin they would probably see stamped Made in China

Steve_

http://www.servicealberta.ca/1671.cfm

I haven't looked it up but I think it's one of those offences where it is subject to a fine of $115 if somehow the police find out about it.

We have lots of laws in Alberta on driving and they all seem to be a bit toothless to me. Go through a speed camera, you get a fine, not points. Get pulled over, you get on average three points (varies depending on how fast you were going) but you have to get 15 to have your licence suspended, plus if you contest it, the prosecutor usually offers to halve the number of points.

And if by some miracle you do actually get your licence suspended, you can apply for a "restricted" licence that only allows for essential travel, basically.

The4BellsLondon

My uk one s still currently valid ...... I use it on the odd occasion i am off out somewhere that needs idea but i dont want to worry bout loosing me BC dl!

Alan2005

I assume you mean ID as that's how I use mine - especially if I'm travelling.

I'm in the same position as JonboyE - they gave mine back to me when I passed my test. Although when I renewed my BC licence recently they never even mentioned my GB one - is this a new thing?

The4BellsLondon

Bloody ipad! Yes ID! Never questioned when I renewed BC either!

jaminsk1

looked into this when I moved to Toronto recently.

If you swap your license, you have to surrender your UK license. If you take a ON test, you can keep your UK license.

If you decide to go back to the UK you can only swap your Canadian license for an automatic UK one unless you have proof that you took your test in a manual car (my ON license doesn't state this on it).

I told the DVLA that I had lost my license before I moved over and got a duplicate. Then handed my old one into the Service Ontario people in exchange.

The main reason is that I still have a UK address (my parents) and it means that I can get insured on their cars / friends cars if I go back otherwise insurers won't touch you ( I know this as I tried to sort it with my wife) and you have to pay through the nose for hire cars.