Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

Hi,

Just wanted to know from someone who has converted their license recently from UK to NZ, what is the process? How straightforward is it? Does the NZTA (or the centre you hand your application in) contact the DVLA etc?

Any information would be hugely appreciated 😊

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

depends what categories you are changing over..
What categories do you have on your licence

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

I have B and B1 and also my motorcycle license however I dont want to convert my motorcycle license over as I dont want to ride anymore.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

It's pretty straight forward.
Take your british licence into the NZTA or AA which is the same as or DVLA and ask for NZ licence.
They just transfer a car licence straight over. think it cost 30 dollars.
Aw, you need todo a eye test in the AA or NZTA.
They have a template on there system which tells them the correct licences in NZ categories you are entitled too.

To be honest I wouldn't worry about doing the tests out here if you had todo them. if u have been driving in uk for long time.
All the lads at my work just do the test and pass. No lessons or anything. In a Auto.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

when I did mine it was a sratch card for each class and an eye test, which is a joke.
I think you were allowed 2 wrong answers before it became a fail.
These days I believe it's all done on the computer (but still at the AA or NZTA).

if you have a grandfather rights UK licence then hold on to it. I wish I kept mine going because now if I go back I have to resit my UK test, and have lost all the catagories that were on my 1977 licence - lol

I suggest a quick read of the road users manual over here, if only to realise how many kiwi drivers ought to read it!

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

I have been driving over here on my UK license as I have up until a year before I have to swap it over. I was just wondering if they ever contact the DVLA to check if a UK driver has points on their license or something like that?

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

Why?

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

Why? Because I'm not sure if I have and if I have will they carry over to here? 🤷🏼‍♂️

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

you have to show your UK licence so they can access it, so if you do have points on it I'm sure they will find them so best to be honest.
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/driver-lice...river-licence/

"Your application will then be sent to the NZ Transport Agency for your overseas driver licence to be assessed"

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

UK points would count for nowt down here. I think as long as you're entitled to drive and not banned, it shouldn't cause any hassle

NZ has some of the best roads in the world with next to no traffic. Perfect for any type of motorcycle, from scooters to hyper tourers. It cost nowt to get the bike added to a NZ license, you might as well keep it, you never no, you might just have a change of heart one day

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

Thanks so much for your help

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

:ohmy:

You have really gotta be kidding me Col. Big time. Why would you even say that. ?
NZ has really the most dangerous NZ drivers and roads mostly due to their unawareness and the poor maintenance of the road surfaces. Visitors and overseas drivers are often targeted as an excuse for the dreadful driving here and the dreadful roads. Yet it is home grown.

If this person has a poor driving record then I would hope that would be picked up, and so would you surely?

Mate. If you know you have points on your UK license then do the right thing. You did not stick to the rules then own it.
It is not a game on the roads. It is a life.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

What are you talking about mate, sorry I'm confused? My license is clean. I havent been in the UK for near 5 years. My question was to see if when swapping the license over does the equivalent of DVLA here contact the DVLA back in the UK as I know from some of my friends from other countries they don't do the that. I have nothing to hide, it was just mainly as my license is not in the best condition due to wear and tear so to say after having it for years.
thanks for all the help btw, much appreciated.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

I take it you don't ride motorcycles Bev's. Of course there are some idiots on the road, as a biker that's something you live with every time you pull on your helmet. NZ is no more dangerous than many other countries.
​​​​​​Bikers travel from all over the world to ride the roads in NZ. The surfaces are pretty good, they twist, turn and meander through stunning scenery and surroundings. They are a motorcyclists dream.

Sorry Stonesy93, I wasn't suggesting your license was dodgy, just generalising and pointing out that driving points on a UK license are not transferred to a NZ one. But if a person was banned in the UK they effectively have no license so it may cause issues here.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

I've ridden motorbikes Col. Not here though. In the UK and around the Continent.
To be fair I mistook your post a bit. I was talking about overall standards here - drivers/roads - which are not good at all. You were talking motorcyclist risks.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

I think the confusion was because you mentioned points on a license.

If the license is clean then nothing to worry about. You hand it in. They will do the checks. You do the theory test ( from memory) + eyesight. You get your NZ license.

There has been a general tightening up nationwide as NZ does have a downer on overseas drivers, many of whom are used to driving on the opposite side of the road to NZ and the UK. They are also not aware of the driving standards here and the need to be very aware and adopt defensive driving skills.

You'll be fine mate. My UK license was ancient - bit like me - I had no issues and neither did him indoors.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

Awesome, cheers mate. Thanks for the assistance!

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

I'm curious 🤔 in what way are they dangerous? I'm coming over in march for a holiday/recce and I'm wondering what I'm letting myself in for lol

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

Kiwis are pretty poor drivers in general. For years the driving test was two minutes round the block with a copper sat next to you. Only recently had the minimum driving age been raised from 15, and in some areas it wasn't uncommon to see a kid in school uniform leaving school in a badly maintained V8 or massive Ute. Add a huge influx of overseas driver's into the mix and it can get "interesting". Kiwis always blame foreigners for all the bad stuff, but it's mostly the homegrown drivers that cause the most issues. Driving to slow, then speeding up at the passing lanes is a kiwi favorite, or charging up behind you at silly speeds on the motorway, desperate to overtake, then when they do, swinging straight across all three lanes to just make it onto an off ramp.Another is the wandering Asian who can't seem to decide what lane to be in so will drive with a wheel in each at 20kmh under the limit. Kiwis love to tailgate. They will quite happily sit two feet off your back bumper, even on an empty road, regardless of the speed you are doing. Slow down to let them pass and they will then get irate that you are holding them up even though there might be two empty lanes for them to use to pass you. On the twisty country roads around me, Asians also have a habit of slowing to around 20 or 30 kmh (in a 100 zone) as they are not very confident drivers. The occasional one will forget we drive on the left, but I've only seen that a couple of times. In general things are usually incident free and I'd still prefer to drive here than in a big UK city

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

To be honest it doesn't sound much different than the UK after the influx of our European friends 😂😂

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

They aren't dangerous. They are just different. State Highways are mostly single carriageway with the odd passing lane and can be a mixture of awesome open roads through open countryside or native bush to 25kph hairpin winding roads where you struggle to get any speed up before brake brake brake although there'll always be some local passing you at double the speed in a shitbox Mitsi legacy, on the opposite side of the road crossing the yellow line with 4 kids in the car and none of them in any child restraint :blink:.
What makes driving dangerous here is the incompetent drivers on the roads. Absolutely no driving skills whatsoever. Don't seem to take a blind bit of notice of any speed limits or road markings. They cut corners, regularly use the wrong side of the road as they haven't learned the art of turning the steering wheel.
I'm ranting a bit now :p seems years of driving 220km return commute has that effect.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

Converting the UK license is easy.
I used the local AA office.
Turn up with UK license, complete the application form, get in the queue, hand over the application form, UK license and payment (around $60 per person I think) at the counter, take a simple eye test at the counter, they'll then give you a temporary slip with your driving classes on (make sure they've transferred them across correctly - they missed out my motorcycle entitlement and had to do it all again when I questioned it) and that's it. They'll give you your UK license back, the temporary license slip and a receipt. NZ license takes around 2 weeks to arrive in the post.
Your UK license will naturally expire and if you're still in NZ when that happens you cannot renew as you have to be resident in the UK to maintain it.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

UK is a better safer place to drive, with a modern up-to-date road network. But New Zealand has other benefits.

The problem with the roads here is the road infrastructure is the same as the UK was in the 1950s, but now with increasing traffic volumes... As mentioned above, the vast majority of NZ's motorways/'state highways' are single-carriageway with the odd passing lane every few kms - but without central barriers to separate oncoming traffic! Central barriers and proper tarmac are considered luxuries here by NZTA - very much a 'nice to have'. And when the NZTA do bother to pull their finger out with a central barrier they install wire barriers (which are banned in Europe) and can prove fatal in crashes with bikers - they call them cheese-graters. A poor fellow in Christchurch last Christmas got decapitated by the wire barrier on the Southern Motorway in his BMW Z3 convertible. If i was his family I would've taken NZTA to court.

Vast majority of road surfaces here are chip-seal, which was orginally designed for extremely low traffic volumes many years ago. The downsides are that it wears out quicker than proper asphalt/tarmac, breaks up in heavy rain with heavy vehicle use on it and offers less grip than tarmac too. The only upside is that it's cheaper, which is why NZTA persist with it... Long-term, tarmac would be a cheaper and better solution on the main roads and motorways. However, when it comes to updating the road infrastructure to modern levels, the government & NZTA do a cost-benefit analysis and conclude the costs too expensive compared to saving people's lives and reducing the road toll.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

​​​​​​New Zealand:
Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants per year: 7.8
Road fatalities per 100,000 motor vehicles: 10

United Kingdom:
Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants per year: 3.1
Road fatalities per 100,000 motor vehicles: 5.7

You could argue New Zealands roads are more varied but equally the UK typically has more inclement weather and more traffic due to its population density.

​​​​​​In my view it comes down to driver training and testing issue. It's insufficient to tell people to do their best, they need to know what to do and then to do their best. If New Zealand had a motto it'd be "She'll be right" but, unfortunately, driving standards is one of those areas where indifference to quality results in a very high error rate. Sometimes those errors cause deaths.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

The roads are OK. It is the people that are a liability. That extends to more subjects than just driving.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

Sounds just like the UK! 😂😂

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

They definitely need to improve driver education and make the driving test harder. But they also need to get the roads up to a modern OECD standard. The vast majority of the road death stats are head-on collisions on the 'state highway' network and poor road design at rural intersections. A proper motorway network and increased driving standards would significantly reduce the road toll.

I drove all over the UK last year for three weeks and it was delightful in comparison and much less stressful, even including some traffic.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

It really isn't. :unsure:

Just adopt defensive driving strategies. Remember that insurance is not compulsory here. That most are not taught how to drive. That the road signage means nothin' . Then you'll be right.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

Forgot to plug that if you do want to do a little road trip this summer we have a thread here with some recommended drives by stuff.co.nz and forum users. When you leave the settlements behind New Zealands natural scenery is abundance and absolutely spectacular.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

The problem is on State Highway 1 etc when a truck or large vehicle has a tyre-blow-out and veers into oncoming traffic with 190kmh closing distance because there's no infrastructure to separate vehicles travelling in opposite directions....
Having 190kmh-200kmh closing distances with only 12 inches of open air separating traffic is lunacy and very ignorant of NZTA to be fair

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

I would suggest that anybody with complaints about the construction of roads in this country today should take a drive along the 309 road that runs across the Coromandel or try the roads around Mangawhai Heads. See what all the roads here used to be like and then the current ones don't look so bad.

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

Insurance is not compulsory 😮 wow I did not know that

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

No. It isn't. So all on you.
Look. Just be sensible. Adopt defensive driving tactics and keep aware. .

Re: Converting UK driving license to NZ
 

Ha Ha! The 309. Best road in NZ. Mrs won't let me drive on that road ever again :rofl:
I remember being in Paraparaumu once on the motorbike and the rest of the family doing something in Upper Hutt so had this crazy idea of meeting up for lunch and me taking the short cut (44 KM's) through the Akatarawa's.........wow, now that was a crazy road. I suppose at least it was sealed!!!