magickitty

Hi everyone

New to the forum here (and a very useful forum it is too!) - just have a query about driver licensing which I haven't been able to find an answer to elsewhere on the internet!

I'm a UK citizen who has not lived in Britain since I was a child - and I'm moving to Ireland from New Zealand very soon (hooray for being an EU Citizen!!). I can't swap my NZ driver licence for an Irish one - if I want to get one, I have to do driving lessons, theory and practical tests. However, I CAN swap my NZ licence for a UK one. Given that I have lots of friends and family living in the UK, I was thinking of doing the following:

- Go and stay with one of my friends/family members for a weekend soon after I move to Ireland;
- Go to the Post Office, fill out the D1 form (specifying the family member's address as my one in the UK), and use the premium checking service at the Post Office to check my ID (I have an electronic UK passport), pay the fee;
- When the driver licence arrives in the mail at the UK address, my friend/family member will pop it in the post to Ireland (or it's another excuse to visit them!);
- A wee while after I get my UK licence, I swap it for an Irish one (in order to avoid paying more in car insurance).

I know this is possibly a bit naughty - but from my thorough review of the rules it seems like it would work and I wouldn't be doing anything wrong. The process of applying for an Irish passport is quite lengthy and expensive - plus there is a very good chance that we will move to the UK within a year or so anyway to be closer to family. Has anyone else done something like this with success??

Thanks

JAJ

The rights of British citizens to live in Ireland pre-date the EU.

Speaking of citizenship, are you a New Zealand citizen? If not, you should think hard before abandoning NZ without that security.

Londonuck

I still use my UK licence and drive here for a job.

Horus

3 years over here and I still have my old style paper licence!

Although I'm about to change it over but only because it makes hiring a car on holiday abroad easier.

mikewest

Get that UK licence and use it in Ireland which you are allowed to do under EU rules (whatever the local plod may try to tell you). It carries the benefit of not accumulating penalty points in Ireland if you have been careless or naughty. There is no penalty using a UK licence from the very expensive car insurance companies here, they regard ir the same as an Irish licence.

StephenDR

Hmmm, wouldn't you have to have residency (not just citizenship) in the UK in order to get that license swapped from the NZ one?

I found my US license worth nothing in Ireland and had to take the written test, wait 6 months and then take the road test. Passed first time though! Problem is that most car hire places won't let me rent for the first 2 years of Irish license, even though I've been driving 25 years and can prove it.