Good morning folks,

I was intending to go and change my Northern Ireland UK license to a Ontario License. I have both parts of my license and the certificate of entitlement.

However my UK license expires in June, so if I change my license over now can I renew it here or do I have to renew my UK license first?

What I am afraid of is letting my UK license expire and then if I go back home have to sit my driving test again. Or if I switch and renew here can I just switch back to a UK license when and if I go home even though it would have expired in June.

Any help is much appreciated, thanks.

You can only have one license (officially); the UK license needs to be exchanged for a Canadian one and you would then exchange that back for a UK license if you return to UK.

That said, if you have a UK address and you have a duplicate done before you go, who is going to know. Not sure of the advantage of doing this, i'm sure someone will be along soon with a clever dick answer.

Thanks, So I should swap it over to an Ontario License for now, then renew it here and if I go back home just swap it back again. Is that the correct procedure.

I don't know why, but, I will get copies of our licences. Probebly hand in the old copy to exchange and then i don't have to bother changing them back if we come back. I did that in Kuwait. Still don't know if it was worth the small effort it took to get another copy, but i didn't have to bother with changing again.

Thanks for the advice Fletcher and canmoreskier

I can't understand why anybody would want to have two. The English one will be there for your retrieval should you wish to return permanently in the future.

All seems a bit Walter Mitty to me

If you are coming to Canada on a permanent basis as a PR or TWP etc, I believe you only have 90 days from when you arrive to exchange your licence for a Canadian one (certainly the case in BC), otherwise you will stand a good chance of being ticketed if stopped by the RCMP for whatever reason. So, if your licence expires in June, you should exchange it before that expiry date. I'm fairly sure you can't exchange an expired licence; it has to be valid and in-date.

As already commented - why would you want two licences? You are perfectly entitled to drive on a Canadian licence in the UK if you are visiting or hiring a car. If returning permanently to the UK, just exchange it back. No re-test is necessary.

Thanks,

Yes, I will go exchange it now, renew it as a Canadian license and if I ever go back then just switch it back to a UK one

Don't forget you will have to take an eye test and be asked a number of road safety and signage questions. It might be worth swatting up a bit on the highway code equivalent as there are quite a few differences.

Saying that - I haven't heard of anyone failing through not knowing all the answers to the questions asked. They seem to ask the same questions each time too - at least they do in BC.

But, do you get your old licence with all the entitlements, bike, track, HGV, bus and so on, or,

You get a car licence in exchange for the car licence you got when you swopped it? That is the million dollar question.

Uk lic = HGV, BUS, Track vehs, Car and Bike.

Changed to BC licence(Ont) licence = car

No longer like canada, move to UK

Change licence to UK Car.

Just playing devils advocate...

Whatever provincial entitlement you get when you exchange your UK licence here is irrelevant to when (if) you return to the UK. The DVLA will re-issue you with whatever you originally had prior to emigrating.

UK car & bike = BC car and bike drivers licence
for me anyway
When hubby got a BC licence he lost his HGV, he will not get it back in the UK if we were to return. I believe this is because there are conditions attached to having/keeping an HGV licence, number of hours driven each year and regular medicals.....

no highway code type questions in ontario - just an eye test, hand over both your paper and card part of your license, hand over money and get a photo taken