ISD

Planning on moving back to Northern Ireland this year and wondering if I will need to start all over again and take a driving test to get a NI license? So to further explain, I lived in Northern Ireland in 2002 and my NI license expired in 2012 (I moved to Canada in 2006)

Thanks!

Helen1964

Nope. Just give them a ring in Coleraine. They're very nice. They'll reissue you with a new licence once you're back permanently in NI and have an address there to give them.

Please report back on life in NI because I'm thinking of joining you one day.

ISD

Thanks for the information. I sure hope I can just renew. Don't really want to have to go through all that again.

Certainly, will post an update when I get back home.

kfbell

It's a bit more than a phone call. You'll have to send them ID and proof of address and they have a backlog of applications to deal with but it was straightforward for me. I did it last year after having moved back from the US via England. You might have to drive on your international driving license for a while until you re-establish residency and can apply for a new license though.

Have a look at the stuff at the renew license page of nidirect.gov.uk

ISD

I phoned them and was advised that no problem to renew. I can do it online. Once I get back and get a place to live, then will renew.

kfbell

That's good. Maybe it was a bit more complicated for me as I had to swap my English driving license (classed as a foreign driving license) for my old NI one again.