U.K. licence after 31st December
 

Has the 31st December deadline for residents driving on a U.K. licence been extended as my friend in Spain says it has but I can’t find reference to the extension

Re: U.K. licence after 31st December
 

In the latest podcast from the embassy, the ambassador says the negotiation is continuing to extend the validity, and he is hopeful it will be done before 31st.

Re: U.K. licence after 31st December
 

That would be a 'no' then.

Re: U.K. licence after 31st December
 

In a story in today's La Vanguardia it says the grace period won't be extended again.

Re: U.K. licence after 31st December
 

According to that piece....

"As of January 1, 2022, Spaniards will have six months to drive through the United Kingdom and once that period of time has expired, they will not be able to circulate anymore since there is currently no agreement."

....which is completely wrong.

There is nothing on the DVLA website about this and using the tool provided results in the same information as it's always done i.e.

"You can drive in Great Britain until you’re 70. If you’re 67 or over when you become resident, you can drive for 3 years.

After this time you must exchange your licence. You do not have to retake your test."

Re: U.K. licence after 31st December
 

It looks as though another extension has been granted until the end of February



https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...7fa551b79.jpeg

Re: U.K. licence after 31st December
 

Not quite right it actually says.

EU licence-holders living in the UK can continue to use their licence if it is valid, subject to UK licence renewal requirements. This means an EU licence must be changed to a UK licence at the age of 70, or three years after the driver becomes resident, whichever is later.

The 'if it is valid' bit bites EU licence holders because Spain like most other countries only have licences for 10, 5 or however due to health issues.
So they would have to renew. And EU citizens can then swap to a UK licence and not need to do a test.

In case anyone wants to check
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk...-after-brexit/

Now why can't Spain and others just allow Uk drivers to swap, after all the Uk allowed (agreed) to let EU citizens to continue and to swap after Brexit?

​​​​​​​This doesn't look like a UK issue, its Spain that needs to make the decision. Cant see why its taking so long to be honest...

Re: U.K. licence after 31st December
 

At a guess Spain probably want a complete replacement for EUCARIS which the UK is no longer a part of.

I'll also try not to link to La Vanguardia as if it were a serious newspaper in future. :unsure:

Re: U.K. licence after 31st December
 

Now announced that it is extended until the end of February

Rosemary

Re: U.K. licence after 31st December
 

Looking at this

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/driving-...ving-in-the-eu

It would appear that Spain is the ONLY EU country that requires a test. All the others will allow a straight swap...Oh alright maybe some money and a medical, but you get my drift...

Strange when you think more Uk citizens live in Spain than most of the rest of the EU put together (or not strange depending)

Re: U.K. licence after 31st December
 

The same was true in France this year, until there was a bilateral agreement between France and the UK.

Re: U.K. licence after 31st December
 

'if it is valid' does not contradict what I said nor does it 'bite' as Spanish in UK are able to exchange their licences on demand not just when they expire etc. in the same way we used to able to in Spain.

As to why Spain and others can't just allow UK drivers to swap, you're right it is a Spanish issue but it goes way back to both the 1949 and subsequent 1968 Conventions on Road Traffic which both UK and Spain were signatories to but had never ratified.

EU membership and the ensuing rules and directives rendered both conventions virtually moot meaning that there was no imperative to ratify.

Brexit was going exclude UK from those rules and directives however making the Conventions the default fall back so for maximum continuity on March 28th UK ratified the convention which is why Spanish licences remain exchangeable whilst UK ones are not.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/...0190563_en.pdf

Were Spain to similarly ratify the Convention then the problem would disappear virtually overnight however ratification has implications beyond mutual licence recognition though and I believe it's those which are probably at the root of the delays.

I don't believe EUCARIS is the issue, or at least needn't be.

Pre Brexit EUCARIS did permit Spain to electronically interrogate the DVLA and obtain confirmation that a licence offered for exchange was legally held. Post Brexit the DVLA Letter of Entitlement, which mirrors that information, is still available and could easily be substituted even if requiring Notarising or a Hague Apostille.

I've checked BTW and although currently UK do not list the DVLA letter among the wide range of documents they do Apostille they will Apostille a copy of a UK driving licence and one would think that would be about as good as confirmation gets!

EDIT: Although the .pdf linked to talks principally about IDP's the fact that the IDP effectively validates the accompanying driving licence will likely be the reason that Spain is not demanding an IDP for visitors and non residents, it would be perverse to use it to validate the licences of one group of UK licence drivers and not the other!