amys

I am confused right now. I was shocked when the Albany, NY DMV office mention that my husband can drive based on his international license. Originally, I thought he needed a learner's permit to drive legally and then go for a road test to obtain his license. I wish we knew this long time ago. He could have been practicing driving on the "right side of the road"

Now the big question is, since he can drive without a NY state license, will my insurance cover him. I was just wondering. The insurance company can say yes he can drive in NYS but he will not be insured. I have no idea if they have rules if he needs a valid NYS license. I have not called my insurance company yet since its the weekend. Not sure if they can answer me properly at this time.

Has any one come across this recently and if you did, does your insurance company cover the spouse with an international license?

amy

fat

Yes my wifes insurance company insured me with an international drivers license without too much hassle...we live in NJ which is'nt the easiest state for insurance...also NJ DMV would not issue me with a license until I had adjusted and confirmed that the international licence was quite acceptable particularly as I had a picture licence from the UK.

abba48uk

The insurance shouldnt be a problem. I drove on my fiancee/wife's insurance before i bought a car myself. We were them able to insure both cars with no difficulty.

As to the validity of the Intl DL.......I think it varies from State to State. Illinois told us that my non USA DL would be valid for 90 days after which I would need an Illinois DL, which, fortunately, we were able to obtain.

ukemigrant

This sort of question has been asked quite recently (say 6 weeks ) - just search for licence or insurance on the forum. I remember Rete posted a long message on the how a licence worked in NJ. I posted links for PA. You will find insurance cover ok depending on where your partner is from of course. If they're from France/Germany, even better, because of the reciprocal driving agreement.

If they're from the UK, try Liberty Mutual - they take into account previous driving history in the UK.

Sam.

Sarahstokes3107

Hey "fat",

I was really interested to see your posting..I too will be living in NJ and
would like to be able to drive there ASAP. I have looked into getting an
International Drivers Permit and I noticed it says that to get one you must be
permanently resident in the UK. Did you overlook this little blip (as I am
tempted to) or are we officially still UK residents until the adjustment of
status, at which time we could get an NJ license? Please explain as I would
really like to go down this route if I can.

Thanks :-)

abba48uk

Once you leave the UK on a K1, you are no longer a Uk resident (or you would still be subject to UK tax. Your UK DL will be valid in the USA for a period of time, and it is, I think, that period which varies from State to State.

ukemigrant

You should look into the really small print of the State you are going to be living in. I got an International permit while in the UK, and on reading up on the PennDOT website for PA, I came across a throw-away sentence saying effectively that you only needed an international permit *if your own licence was not in English*.

It's worth looking into this before getting an international permit.

Sam.

amys

Thanks everyone for your input. I will be calling my insurance company tomorrow to add him on my insurance.

amy