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-   -   Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence (https://britishexpats.com/forum/hungary-140/renewing-hungarian-driving-licence-916414/)

cathyg Aug 23rd 2018 3:41 pm

Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence
 
Hello. I need to renew my Hungarian driving licence soon. Besides the five year medical certificate do I need to take anything else?
thanks

Peter_in_Hungary Aug 23rd 2018 6:05 pm

Re: Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence
 

Originally Posted by cathyg (Post 12553327)
Hello. I need to renew my Hungarian driving licence soon. Besides the five year medical certificate do I need to take anything else?
thanks

5 year medical certificate - you must be one of the young ones!
Otherwise ID card, address card and expiring licence, all quite painless and quick, new photo done on site as was the payment - none of the going to the post office for stamps. And you get a text when the new one is ready.
Oh - I have a Hungarian ID card but I presume it is the same if you have a residents ticket, but if you have perhaps take your passport

Sachina Aug 24th 2018 11:02 am

Re: Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence
 

Originally Posted by Peter_in_Hungary (Post 12553408)
5 year medical certificate - you must be one of the young ones!
Otherwise ID card, address card and expiring licence, all quite painless and quick, new photo done on site as was the payment - none of the going to the post office for stamps. And you get a text when the new one is ready.
Oh - I have a Hungarian ID card but I presume it is the same if you have a residents ticket, but if you have perhaps take your passport

I have a Hungarian ID but even so I'm always asked for my passport as well. And in my region you can only pay by Credit/Debit card, not with cash, so take your card along as well!

cathyg Aug 24th 2018 5:40 pm

Re: Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence
 
Thanks everyone x

Pilis Nemzeti Park Fella Aug 24th 2018 5:42 pm

Re: Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence
 
Is there any need to get a Hungarian driving licence?

My Hungarian wife got a UK driving licence basically because she fancied having a UK licence and it was so easy, just pay the fee & change Hungarian licence to UK licence.

But pretty pointless, I thought - as EU citizens can drive indefinitely on their EU licence in the UK, vice versa also true.

So why bother to get a Hungarian licence?

Peter_in_Hungary Aug 24th 2018 5:56 pm

Re: Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence
 
When you move country of residence then your EU licence is good without the need to change until it expires at which point you have to get a licence from your country of residence.

This is unlike cars which must be re-registered to your new country of residence within 6 months of taking up residency, and you can only get an MOT in the country of the cars registration - so if you leave the car on English plates it's either an annual trip for the MOT or drive without an MOT (and invalid insurance) in the knowledge that the number recognition cameras don't cross check across the EU (yet)

Pilis Nemzeti Park Fella Aug 24th 2018 6:07 pm

Re: Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence
 

Originally Posted by Peter_in_Hungary (Post 12553929)
When you move country of residence then your EU licence is good without the need to change until it expires at which point you have to get a licence from your country of residence.

This is unlike cars which must be re-registered to your new country of residence within 6 months of taking up residency, and you can only get an MOT in the country of the cars registration - so if you leave the car on English plates it's either an annual trip for the MOT or drive without an MOT (and invalid insurance) in the knowledge that the number recognition cameras don't cross check across the EU (yet)

You're out of date with Italy & France, they'll use number plate recognition & chase you for fines back in the UK (and presumably throughout the EU). Germany soon to follow. Not too sure about other EU countries.

One to watch in France is emissions licences/ stickers, if you're driving (say) to Hungary through Lille on the motorway, this could catch you out, again it's ANPR technology https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ne...sible-100-fine

I think you're wrong in practice about driving licences - if your UK driving licence expires, you can simply renew it online & get a new one sent to your UK address. Everybody needs a sibling :)

As to whether this is wrong in law, I wouldn't know, but I doubt it. EU citizens just need a valid driving licence from their home country and can drive indefinitely in any EU country.

enter Aug 24th 2018 6:12 pm

Re: Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence
 
After all these years here I am still a little confused. I was led to believe by some that if you are a resident in Hungary you must obtain a Hungarian driving license as apposed to still using a bog standard UK license. Others say you can still retain your standard/normal UK license that many have had for decades as being a EU citizen. After the brexit mess there will be more differing/conflicting views on this subject.

Pilis Nemzeti Park Fella Aug 24th 2018 6:20 pm

Re: Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence
 

Originally Posted by enter (Post 12553936)
After all these years here I am still a little confused. I was led to believe by some that if you are a resident in Hungary you must obtain a Hungarian driving license as apposed to still using a bog standard UK license. Others say you can still retain your standard/normal UK license that many have had for decades as being a EU citizen. After the brexit mess there will be more differing/conflicting views on this subject.

That may have been the rule in the past - I don't think so - I drove from 1997 onwards on my UK licence, got stopped numerous times by the police & the licence was never an issue.

My speeding was! In the old days they were happy to take 2000 FT :)

But what is sure today is that a valid UK/ EU driving licence is all you need to drive legally, indefinitely, in Hungary.

Peter_in_Hungary Aug 24th 2018 7:25 pm

Re: Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence
 

Originally Posted by Pilis Nemzeti Park Fella (Post 12553932)
You're out of date with Italy & France, they'll use number plate recognition & chase you for fines back in the UK (and presumably throughout the EU). Germany soon to follow. Not too sure about other EU countries.

One to watch in France is emissions licences/ stickers, if you're driving (say) to Hungary through Lille on the motorway, this could catch you out, again it's ANPR technology https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ne...sible-100-fine

I think you're wrong in practice about driving licences - if your UK driving licence expires, you can simply renew it online & get a new one sent to your UK address. Everybody needs a sibling :)

As to whether this is wrong in law, I wouldn't know, but I doubt it. EU citizens just need a valid driving licence from their home country and can drive indefinitely in any EU country.

A quote from the Your Europe European Union web site about driving licences

Validity in different EU countries

When your driving licence expires, you must renew it in the country where you have your usual residence.

Your new licence may have a different validity period and will be subject to any restrictions or conditions that apply in your new country.

Your usual residence is where you reside for more than 185 days. And often the police who make the roadside checks don't tie up all the dates when they do a check, The problem arises when (if) you have an accident and the insurance co. start looking to see how they can avoid paying out. If you don't change your licence as detailed above then you have a battle on your hands because they will say your licence is invalid - no licence = no insurance.

The same applies to re-registering a vehicle, if you don't follow the rules the insurance could use this as an excuse to void the insurance policy - and they do look to see how they can avoid making payments!

cathyg Aug 25th 2018 10:38 am

Re: Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence
 
Yes Peter this is my understanding. My UK licence photo card was no longer valid and I am not classed as resident in th UK so am obliged to get a Hungarian driving licence. It was no problem at all to swop and I think now with Brexit that I am better off with a Hungarian licence anyway. Also I think there could be a potential problem with insurance if you do not have a valid licence. I did read somewhere that when you move countries the DVLA requires you to inform them otherwise a big fine! I will try and find it.
I think it boils down to where you are officially classed as resident, for me, that is in Hungary...

Peter_in_Hungary Aug 25th 2018 11:21 am

Re: Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence
 
There is a gotcha,
whilst the EU regs say that your licence is valid until it expires and then you need one from your new country, you are also obliged to tell DVLA if you change your address (1K fine if you don't) and the gotcha bit - you can't have a non-UK address registered with DVLA. I'm not sure how they square that with the EU regs that say it is valid until it expires - Still it will all be clear and straight forward next March !!

Pilis Nemzeti Park Fella Aug 25th 2018 4:20 pm

Re: Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence
 

Originally Posted by Peter_in_Hungary (Post 12554232)
There is a gotcha,
whilst the EU regs say that your licence is valid until it expires and then you need one from your new country, you are also obliged to tell DVLA if you change your address (1K fine if you don't) and the gotcha bit - you can't have a non-UK address registered with DVLA. I'm not sure how they square that with the EU regs that say it is valid until it expires - Still it will all be clear and straight forward next March !!

You must have been around in the old days, Peter. It was nice not having to worry about massive fines/ points if you occasionally speeded. OK, all the time on the motorway, not much risk of an accident if you drove at German Autobahn speeds as the motorways were empty.

The worst that could happen was a 2000 Ft fine, we;re talking late 90s. It was all very legit, you would be flagged down for speeding, you would be issued with an on-the-spot fine for 2000 Ft and shake the policeman's hand, say sorry and drive off. I don't think they got paid too much in those days so you can think about it as making voluntary contributions to the police welfare fund, must be a good thing. The local WHSmith's did a roaring trade in official-looking fine/ receipt books. I used to keep a bottle of whisky in the car boot as that worked equally well.

Wouldn't do it these days, my bro-in-law says the fines are massive.

When the new M1 stretch got opened up right to the Austrian border (1998?), it was completely empty as it was a toll motorway with a free alternative road running alongside it, so Hungarians used the free one. I thought I'd test the max speed of my BMW, I got it up to nearly 225 kmph before deciding I didn't actually want to die right then, never done that again, it was pretty hairy, not even gone much more than 150 kmph ever since on the German Autobahns, probably not good for the car in any case.

Peter_in_Hungary Aug 25th 2018 5:11 pm

Re: Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence
 

Originally Posted by Pilis Nemzeti Park Fella (Post 12554318)
You must have been around in the old days, Peter.

Watch-it ! ..........Although I did have a red book driving licence for several years

Pilis Nemzeti Park Fella Aug 25th 2018 7:03 pm

Re: Renewing Hungarian Driving Licence
 

Originally Posted by Peter_in_Hungary (Post 12554330)
Watch-it ! ..........Although I did have a red book driving licence for several years

Haha, I aimed to go Bp to Vienna in 2.5 hrs :)


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