Helen248

Hi,

Can anyone confirm what documents I need to take to IMT Coimbra to exchange my UK driving licence to a Portuguese driving licence?

We arrived and obtained our 5 year residency certificate before Brexit (Cert obtained beginning of January 2020). As well as Identification, proof of residence, fiscal number, driving licence, do I require a medical doctors note and declaration of authenticity of UK driving licence?

Do we still need to register our UK licences with IMT within 60 days of residency? Or because of Brexit do we just go straight to the exchanging of UK licence to Portuguese? I have read somewhere that we have until Dec 2020 to exchange our licence as we arrived prior to Brexit.

So many conflicting advice from different websites and the IMT Coimbra website in currently under construction. I have tried emailing them with no response. I found a Brexit frequently asked questions PDF from IMT which says future residents who arrive after Brexit will need to exchange their UK licence for Portuguese one within 90 days of residency. It also says that people who have already registered their UK licences with them will need to exchange to a Portuguese licence i think by Dec 2020.

The PDF document also says that UK licences are now classed as issued by a third country. Does this mean that we don't need to register them within 60 days? Our plan was to register them to avoid fine then exchange before Dec 2020 but I'm not sure if it needs to be within 90 days of residency. I don't want to have to sit a Portuguese driving test!

Any help greatly received.

mfesharne

You have the right to register or exchange & current UK Embassy advice is to exchange asap & best to have all your documents such as passport, Residencia & NIF etc plus your old licence (which you hand in), a letter rom a GP here who has access to the PT NHS data base (so you need to be registered on that) stating no medical reason to prevent you driving & listing your categories plus the DVLA letter listing yout categories. (not essential in some IMT offices but required in others).

You will lose any categories you haven't passed a test for & had through Grand Father rights & if you have HGV or PSV you need to do an additional psych test.

Check both GP & IMT include full motorcycle if you have it as that one often gets 'forgotten'

When I did mine at Coimbra it took 13 weeks for the new one to arrive.

Diddion

You do not need a declaration of authenticity of your UK driving license.

mfesharne

That's the letter from DVLA that I mentioned & it seems some IMT offices require that whilst others don't & when I did my exchange at IMT Coimbra they did require it.

It's a simple document that shows your name etc & listing the categories & (IIRC) called something like a D727 or 737 but I might be wrong on that number.

Red Eric

It's on the Brexit Driving Licence FAQ on the IMT website :


...



Brexit FAQ – Driving Licences

Diddion

Perhaps the rules have changed, on another case of AVBS maybe? Definitely not required at Coimbra when my wife and I exchanged our licences about 18 months ago.

Followed the link, and I see that there is no information as yet on how to obtain the certificate, which, as you noted above, will be available ‘in due course’. I would infer that this is a post Brexit new rule - though this would not accord with mfesharne’s experience.

mfesharne

I think you'll find you're both referring to the same document (so all 3 of us are correct) which comes from DVLA & which I also mentioned & said I think it's called something like a D727 or 737.

FWIW; I did my exchange at Coimbra last year & it was a required document & mine was several years old but accepted................. and I should add that some other IMT offices haven't required it & I also understand that IMT also do a secondary/independent category/validity check with DVLA as well.

Diddion

Yes, it seems that this may be a relatively new requirement. I wonder how many years it will take before it becomes a universal one, or would that be too much to expect?

Red Eric

Yes, I think we're having a raging agreement.

One other recent development which might be of interest - same law as the other recent alterations on timescales - is that there'll be more places you can do an exchange. Whereas up to now it's had to be at a main / district IMT office, the smaller counters in eg Lojas do Cidadão will also be able to handle them. Don't know when it'll be implemented in practice but its provided for in the law and might save some people a long traipse.

mfesharne

It is universal as far as I know & certainly a requirement for US, Oz & South African licences...............There are however some countries that licences are not exchangeable at all. Swaziland being one of several.

mfesharne

At least some LdCs can now do at least revalidations & I think age renewals but as far as I know not (yet) exchanges.

Don't forget that revalidations & renewals are 2 separate processes & there is no mention of revalidation dates on the licence.

Red Eric

Without wishing to skew off at too much of a tangent (poor OP ), looking at various sites on the internet, the two terms seem to be used interchangeably.

My licence has a date on the back which is exactly right as regards a revalidation / renewal age.

mfesharne

They are 2 different processes & no mention of revalidation on the licence & GNR recently warned people of that on their FB page.

If you exchanged your driving licence for a Portuguese one in your early 60s (for example) the expiry date shown on the new licence will be 10 years hence when you are 70 but if you read the PT Road Code you’ll see that you need to revalidate it at every renewal date as dictated by the Portuguese Road Code which is actually: 60 – 65 – 70 – 72 – 74 – 76 etc so don’t get caught out!

Also: My crystal ball tells me that IMT have finally updated their web page re the recent change to the law regarding exchange of non-EUMS licences (which a UK licence holder will have to comply with post 31/12/20.

Of note is that the licence must be exchanged within 2 years from becoming RESIDENT, not 2 years AFTER 31/12/20. So those who don't exchange before 31/12/20 under existing rules will have to be very mindful of the date they became resident.

This could apply to an awful lot of UK passport/licence holders who have steadfastly refused to exchange and means anyone who became resident in PT prior to 31/12/18 will immediately have an invalid licence

http://www.imtip.pt/sites/IMTT/Portu...rasSituacoes/P aginas/OutrasSituacoes.aspx?fbclid=IwAR2GA2ZSofvQt5RdPBBA 0cEi1nvIdvgvg3r_G1d79nXlpW8Hb8ucJ_5SRg

Diddion

As an aside, I wonder whether GNR might be slightly more favourably inclined towards drivers Portuguese licences rather than U.K. or other licences.

Mitzi2012

You can download a copy of your Certificate of Entitlement here. https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence