Traveler20

Hi,

I’ve recently relocated to the UK and plan to apply for a UK drivers license. I currently hold a full Canadian DL which I intend to keep given my dual residency status for tax purposes (I pay tax in both countries) and frequent travel to Canada. My plan is to apply for a full UK DL once I am eligible and go through the complete process (theory test + road test….etc) instead of exchanging my Canadian license. Does anyone know if there are any UK laws or legal considerations I should look into with regards to keeping both DL. I couldn’t find anything online including UK gov sites, most articles says you may/or have the option to exchange Canadian DL for UK given the reciprocal agreement but nothing that says you must by law or it’s illegal to have both DL. There are laws/restrictions for EU/UK but I couldn’t find anything regarding UK/Canada.

I plan to consult a UK legal advisor as well but wanted to check if anyone here has done the same or have any thoughts on this.

Many thanks in advance

christmasoompa

Looks as though your Canadian DL may be an Ontario one, is that right? If so, you can’t have both - https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Drive..._the_same_time

But I can’t see why you’d need to anyway, you can just drive on your UK one when you visit Canada.

You might have tax liabilities in both countries, but you are presumably tax resident in the UK?

Traveler20

Thanks! Yes it’s Ontario. Although the article says it’s illegal there is actually nothing in Canadian law that prohibits having two DL. Ontario regulation states that you could have 2 DL if required and if you’re in compliance with that other province/state regulation, seems like they try to keep it vague sometimes.

Do you by any chance have any idea about UK laws? I am not too concerned about the illegality in Canada and more concerned about UK laws.

Thanks Again!!

durham_lad

I don't think there is a law in the UK requiring you to surrender your overseas licence once you pass a UK driving test. You are allowed to drive on an overseas licence for up to a year after becoming resident, beyond that it is illegal to use it to drive on but not to keep it. My daughter's partner is considering hanging onto his Australian DL and taking a UK driving test rather than exchange it for a UK licence. This is because he owns 2 properties in Australia and likes to drive on his Australian licence when visiting. He is currently witnessing the stress our daughter is going through getting ready for her driving test on Tuesday and is having 2nd thoughts at the moment. (She passed her theory test some weeks back and has been a driver in the USA for over 20 years, but still is really stressed)

christmasoompa

Are you sure? The law mentioned in the Wiki article above says "No person shall apply for, secure or retain in his or her possession more than one driver's licence" which doesn't seem vague to me. The only exemption for having 2 specifically says another Canadian province or the US, no mention of other countries.

But again, why would you need the Canadian one? I'm struggling to understand the benefit of it and it would be a risk if it is illegal.

Traveler20

I regularly had to provide my Canadian DL or an ID with a Canadian address for multiple reason some are business related and other reasons. I would prefer to keep my Canadian DL to avoid any hassle with getting things done. The address on my Canadian DL is a home that I own, my wife and kids continue to live at that address - hence why I am considered a tax resident in Ontario.

I question that the Ontario regulation applies to all countries. My wife had a drivers license from another country (not UK) and Ontario service requested a letter of good standing from that country but told her to keep the DL when she applied for her G1. On the other hand my cousin moved from Texas and they took his US DL.

Traveler20

Thanks! I feel like I should do the same when I am eligible in a month time. I would have 6 month to pass the test - hopefully it wouldn’t be that bad. I might opt for few hours with an instructor for more comfort.

Good luck to your daughter on Tuesday!

durham_lad

Thanks, and I would definitely recommend some driving lessons to learn how to pass the test. My daughter said she was following a thread on this and a lady said that when she started to move off from the test centre the car bleeped a warning that the passenger seatbelt was not in place so she asked the instructor to put it on. At the end of the test she was told she had failed with 3 minors and a major, the major issue being not to check all passengers were belted in before starting to drive.

not2old

a few more things for you to consider, hope this helps.

if on arrival you are swap the Ontario licence for a UK one, you surrender the Ontario licence.

if during a period drive with the Ontario licence while obtaining the full UK licence, then your Ontario licence stays current, however leaving Canada & severing ties (see the CRA website link) https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...emigrants.html, you won't be able to retain the Ontario licence based on being non-resident, nor maintain OHIP.

If you maintain an address in Canada then there's the annual tax return based on global income.

it can get tricky/messy.

CBSA know when you leave Canada, all departments are tied together including OAS/CPP, OHIP.. meaning if you leave Canada for 183 days come for a visit & try to get medical treatment under OHIP you may likely get rejected & likely have to pay.

Traveler20

Thanks for the details! Yes, I am aware of the tax filing and have hired a tax consultant to do the work. As far as I know I don’t believe there is shared data between CBSA and provincial departments, I know this because I have many friends and family member that live abroad and had no issues renewing their License/OHIB online or using OHIB when visiting. So unless this was implemented very recently I really don’t think it exists.