Mitzyboy

well I give up then. As long as your licence has been validated by the local gardia its supposed to be acceptable.

Beachcomber

That's just the point, it wasn't. Actually the validation is done by DGT but my friend's licence was a UK one that hadn't been validated by anyone. If it had been he would have had no problem but he was relying on the letter to get him out of trouble but it didn't.

By the way, that letter reiterates my previous post about a UK driving licence only being valid until you reach the age of 50 although the way it reads could mean that if you are over 45 it is valid for five years from the date of your residence permit not from your 45th birthday but who knows for sure?

Mitzyboy

Oh OK I understand.
I'll have to check out the over 50 thing with my gestor when I get over there as I am over 50. I assume my Spanish licence, should I go that route, will be acceptable Europe wide as I intend to do some travelling and come back to the UK from time to time

kevray

Would an International license not cover all eventualities?
I am also in this age group and had no idea you had to have a medical :scared:

bfg69bug

i was advised to inform the dvla i had "lost" ( ) my uk licence in order to obtain a copy...have them both certified, get a spanish licence...if ever stopped give them my spanish licence, and if i go to the uk to use my english licence to hire a car only the imaginative can understand why...

Beachcomber

I' afraid that comes under the definition of fraud, lad. Difficult to prove though.

Sparkle2nite

So am I right in understanding if we apply for a UK photo card licence and then have the paper section endorsed here will this be acceptable, and we should also carry a copy of our paperwork from the Town Hall.......

Thanks

Unexpat

One, or other of the latter two, with the first being preferable, in my opinion.

One thing I do know about Guardia Civil - if you are not civil with them then life just gets harder for you. Waving pieces of paper under noses and shouting/gesticulating is akin to entering the bull ring dressed solely in red underpants

Whether you like it, or not, that is how I have found it to be and I have been stopped by Guardia Civil when I was 12, riding motorbikes without paperwork/license, at 14 driving cars and at various other times and have luckily walked away with just stern ticking offs. These days, I am (much) older and wiser and try to observe legality at all times - but you never know when you are going to be stopped and have a light fail during your trip, or forget to carry the full spare bulb/triangle kit, or breach any other regulation unintentionally.

Beachcomber

I have to agree. Dealing with the Guardia is just like handling any other level of Spanish bureaucracy, a little civility and the right degree of deference and even light-heartedness goes a long way especially if you produce a Spanish driving licence.

Remember, they are glorified squaddies NOT police officers and they WILL find something wrong with your vehicle if you upset them even if it means a light tap on your tail light with a truncheon.

bfg69bug

fraud yes, i know beach - it was advised to me in the pub by an expat "barman barrister..."

as for the .. trunchon on the headlight.. this is very true, and YES, they DO do this in spain if you annoy them. they WILL find a problem with it, even if they make it, you have no proof they did and the other officer on site will NEVER disagree with his work collegue.