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Returning to UK after 34 years

Returning to UK after 34 years

Old Jan 30th 2003, 10:00 pm
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Default Returning to UK after 34 years

I am returning to the UK after 34 years. I am a British/Canadian citizen. A lot of people think that it's great to live in Canada, and it used to be, but it has certainly changed over the past thirty years and not for the better!. Toronto has become very crowded and there are far too many cars on the road. Everyone is in such a hurry these days, and the road rage!!
It gets real cold here in the winter and if you don't enjoy winter sports it can be really uncomfortable. We have just suffered through 6 days of -30c temperatures and let me tell you it's not fun to freeze your face off every time you go outside. On the other hand, It can also be real hot and humid in summer.
For those and more personal reasons I am returning to UK to live and work, initially for a period of 6 month to a year, but I may stay if I like it enough. I acknowledge that England has changed a lot too, but having visited many, many times over the years I have been able to see the changes. I spent a month in UK last September when my Mother died and I found myself getting very comfortable, I didn't really want to come back to Toronto. Having all of my family there probably helps too. It has been very helpful reading all the posts about the pro's and con's of returning but when all is said and done, the only way to find out is to go there and experience it for oneself. I do know that I enjoy driving in England very much, (even with all the traffic problems). You should try driving in Toronto at rush hour....we don't have roundabouts, just one traffic light after another ( every 100 yards, it seems). Talk about urban planning gone wrong!
I have done a lot of research on the internet, and found out most of what I need to know and do in order to return. However, the one thing I have been unable to discover is whether it is possible for a person to buy a car, while holding a foreign(Canadian) driver's licence. I know I am able to drive on my licence, but am concerned that I won't be able to get insurance. Can anyone help?

Liz
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Old Jan 30th 2003, 11:35 pm
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Hello Liz,

Well to the best of my knowledge (I left the UK 8 years ago) you don't even have to produce a driving licence when you buy a car in the UK. It's much more important to have insurance as soon as you buy the car and drive off in it - and of course a current tax disc displayed in the car window!

Where are you hoping to relocate in the UK? Somewhere rural?

Did you ever take a driving test in the UK before leaving for Canada? UK Full driving licences expire when you reach 70 years of age.

If you don't have one, not to worry. Drivers on non-UK licences can drive on British roads for up to one year before needing to take (and pass) a test for the UK licence.

You will find lots more info on this site for North Americans ie. Americans *and* Canadians who have relocated to the UK - go to the Forums. There is a special forum for driving in the UK and how to get a British driving licence:

http://www.americanexpats.co.uk

(I know you're not an expat, you will be a 're-pat'! But the info should be useful to you!)

Hope this helps!
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Old Jan 30th 2003, 11:49 pm
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You are on to something with your concern about getting insurance.

I do not know the answer, only that when we purchased a campervan in London recently, the dealer would only conclude the transfer when we presented him with the insurance.

We tried the Automobile Association and they would not insure anyone who did not hold a valid British drivers licence! We tried a lot of other places and were given the same answer.

In the end we found a place that specialised in insuring holders of non-British drivers licences (called Downunder Insurance). So there insurance companies that will insure you, they are just harder to find.
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Old Jan 31st 2003, 8:07 am
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Default Re: Returning to UK after 34 years

Originally posted by Liz646
However, the one thing I have been unable to discover is whether it is possible for a person to buy a car, while holding a foreign(Canadian) driver's licence. I know I am able to drive on my licence, but am concerned that I won't be able to get insurance. Can anyone help?

Liz
Hi Liz
It is possible to buy a car in the UK while holding a foreign licence. However, as others have said, you need to have your insurance sorted out before you can complete the purchase (insurance is a legal requirement - you cannot purchase a car without proof of it).
A few years ago it was very difficult for holders of foreign drivers licences to get insurance in the UK, but there has been a slight shift. A lot of insurance companies now recognise that there is a market out there they should not be excluding. However, you will probably pay a higher premium if insured on a foreign licence. Discounts are usually given when you get a UK licence, and the longer you hold the UK licence for the more the discount (or rather, the less you're penalised if you have it for longer).

Companies that do insure foreign drivers are places like the supermarket insurers (eg. Tescos) & a few of the larger companies as well (eg. Priviledge).
You will need to phone around & get a few quotations before you find a reasonable quote I'm sure, but it can be done

Just remember though that you will only be allowed to drive on your foreign licence for the first year you are in the UK. Thereafter you will have to obtain a British licence, or you will not be allowed to drive in the UK. It doesn't look like Canada is one of the countries allowed to exchange their licence, so you may have to retake your drivers licence in the UK.
Have a look here for more info :
http://www.dvla.gov.uk/drivers/drvin...er%20countries
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Old Jan 31st 2003, 3:29 pm
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Default Re: Returning to UK after 34 years

[QUOTE]Originally posted by baloo
Hi Liz
It is possible to buy a car in the UK while holding a foreign licence. However, as others have said, you need to have your insurance sorted out before you can complete the purchase (insurance is a legal requirement - you cannot purchase a car without proof of it).

Thanks for your replies, I have done some checking and have found out that my UK license no longer exists, so I would have to apply for a new license. Also I am covered here in Canada by a company called AXA Insurance and I know that they have a UK company too. I have a letter of introduction from them (Canada)and also a copy of my driver's abstract, so I am hoping they will accept me as a customer!
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Old Jan 31st 2003, 4:06 pm
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Default Re: Returning to UK after 34 years

Originally posted by Liz646
Thanks for your replies, I have done some checking and have found out that my UK license no longer exists, so I would have to apply for a new license. Also I am covered here in Canada by a company called AXA Insurance and I know that they have a UK company too. I have a letter of introduction from them (Canada)and also a copy of my driver's abstract, so I am hoping they will accept me as a customer!
Yes, AXA is quite a large insurer in the UK, so you shouldn't have any problems there then.
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Old Feb 2nd 2003, 2:45 am
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Hello Liz... My wife and I are also returning to the Uk after
29 years. Like you we have many reasons for doing so... but it is mainly for family reasons.... but we also hate the cold and the swealtering humid summers.. I know what you mean about the
T/O Traffic, we try to avoid going there. We live further south
in Windsor... but traffic here too is horendous. Fortunately for me
I still hold a Valid UK drivers licence so I am Ok. We too were home last year and despite all the problems facing Briain
(not to mention the Rain and the higher costs) we feel the time is right to move back .Nobody can tell you whether the decision is right or wrong! it is totaly dependent on the individual..we as Ex Pats know what we are looking forward to. Are you moving All your house contents or just personal items? Which shipping company are you going to use? When are you leaving?
We are only taking our personal items with us, and we are returning about May/June,also which part of the UK are you moving to....All the best ..Good Luck

Harold........
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Old Feb 2nd 2003, 9:40 pm
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Originally posted by Spindleman
Hello Liz... My wife and I are also returning to the Uk after
29 years.
Hello Harold,

I will be staying with my Dad in Watford, Herts for the first little while, I leave on March 12.
I am really nervous about going now. As soon as I booked my ticket, I felt really scared, it seems so final. It is just as big a step as when I left UK.
I will be on my own, (my husband is staying in Canada), and it is the first time I will have been totally on my own. Right now I am thinking of it as an extended working holiday, until I see which way the land lies. I can always come back, since I am a Canadian citizen too, but I think I should really give it a try. I am only planning to take personal effects with me. I am putting all my stuff in storage, (including my car) until I decide what the future offers.

Where will you be staying? are you retiring? or will you be working too. I am not anticipating any trouble finding work, I am an accountant and there seems to be lots of opportunities in Hertfordshire, plus I have some letters of introduction from a couple of companies here that have affiliates in UK.

I have done a great deal of research on the inter-net on the government websites, just trying to anticipate all the requirements for returning. I have renewed my UK passport which I had let lapse since 1978. How did you keep your UK driver's license valid for that length of time. When I called they told me my name had not been carried forward into the new system.

The one thing that bothers me is the rule between Canada and the UK that says Canadian drivers can only exchange their drivers license for a UK one restricted to automatic transmission!. I have driven manual transmission since I started driving, (I hate automatic), so I find that really discriminatory.

Of course I know that I can drive on my CDN license for up to a year, but I am hoping that the insurance company will accept that.
I fully intend to buy a car while I am there, I cannot imagine using public transport after all this time, even though it is a lot more efficient than here. I enjoy the autonomy of owning a vehicle.

Anyway, thank for responding to my post. Good luck with your move. I hope you enjoy your return to UK.

Liz
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Old Feb 8th 2003, 1:06 am
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Originally posted by Spindleman
Hello Liz... My wife and I are also returning to the Uk after
29 years. Like you we have many reasons for doing so... but it is mainly for family reasons.... but we also hate the cold and the swealtering humid summers.. I know what you mean about the
T/O Traffic, we try to avoid going there. We live further south
in Windsor... but traffic here too is horendous. Fortunately for me
I still hold a Valid UK drivers licence so I am Ok. We too were home last year and despite all the problems facing Briain
(not to mention the Rain and the higher costs) we feel the time is right to move back .Nobody can tell you whether the decision is right or wrong! it is totaly dependent on the individual..we as Ex Pats know what we are looking forward to. Are you moving All your house contents or just personal items? Which shipping company are you going to use? When are you leaving?
We are only taking our personal items with us, and we are returning about May/June,also which part of the UK are you moving to....All the best ..Good Luck

Harold........


Hello.
Have you thought about moving out West? our weather in great I live in the Okanagan valley and no traffice to speak of.....
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Old Feb 9th 2003, 4:53 pm
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Hello Liz no my wife and I are not retiring
we have decided the time is right to return to the UK...Family matters mainly dictate the move, but like I stated in my previous, post we have nothing in Canada to keep us here! We are heading for the lake district or the Cumbria area.
We are originaly from Lancashire! My wife is in the Social welfare field so she will have no problems securing a Job,as for myself I am skilled in a few fields, but I am now at that age (55) where I know it will be a little more difficult for me to secure a job,but I have a few optoions open to me,so I know things will work out. The reason My Drivers Licence is still current is because I use my Mother in Laws address as my residence so it is good until 2015. To Leanne if things do not work out in the UK after a few years,then we may decide to move back to Canada (we are Canadian Citizens) but we will not come back to Ontario,we may go to the West Coast,we will have to wait and see.
Thanks for your reply.
Good Luck to you Liz I hope things work out for you in the UK........

Harold
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