Driving with an EU license in the UK post-Brexit

[Barchettaman]

Apologies for another Brexit thread.

I hold dual GB/German nationality and live full time in Germany.

I hold a German driver‘s license.

Assuming the UK leaves on Oct 31, will I need an international driver‘s license to legally drive when I visit?

Edited by Barchettaman on Monday 2nd September 18:17

[Lindun]

If there’s No Deal then yes.

If there’s a Deal, then it will depend on the terms of the deal.

I was abroad when we went past the 31st March earlier this year and for safety got an International Driving Permit just in case.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Wouldn't worry about it, it'll only be a matter of time before you're hounded out of the country by scumbags. I might join you, this country has gone to the xenophobic dogs.

Dunno how my UK licence will stack up in Europe.

[Jakarta]

Don't see why you should. I am permitted to drive on my Indonesian driving licence when visiting the UK. Even rented a car with it in lieu of using my UK one.

[SS2.]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Dunno how my UK licence will stack up in Europe.

Some info here.

[Lindun]

Jakarta said:

Don't see why you should. I am permitted to drive on my Indonesian driving licence when visiting the UK. Even rented a car with it in lieu of using my UK one.

That’s because we have an agreement in place. No Deal by definition means no agreement / deal etc on anything.

[300bhp/ton]

Lindun said:

Jakarta said:

Don't see why you should. I am permitted to drive on my Indonesian driving licence when visiting the UK. Even rented a car with it in lieu of using my UK one.

That’s because we have an agreement in place. No Deal by definition means no agreement / deal etc on anything.

You don't need an "agreement" to say what is the case will be in the UK. It is merely something that will need to be communicated out. So even with no deal, there will still be things decided.

[Jakarta]

Lindun said:

That’s because we have an agreement in place. No Deal by definition means no agreement / deal etc on anything.

There is no agreement in place. You can drive any small vehicle listed on your full and valid licence for 12 months from when you last entered Great Britain.

From any country... If an agreement was needed then there would be some countries with no agreement in place. It is blanket acceptance for any foreign licence provided it covers car / motorcycle.

[EU_Foreigner]

I am sure that existing agreements such as the exchange of driver info from the UK to Europe will funny enough continue even after a no deal scenario.

[Lindun]

Jakarta said:

There is no agreement in place. You can drive any small vehicle listed on your full and valid licence for 12 months from when you last entered Great Britain.

From any country... If an agreement was needed then there would be some countries with no agreement in place. It is blanket acceptance for any foreign licence provided it covers car / motorcycle.

My apologies, you’re right. I was confusing it with the rules in reverse ie a UK licence holder going into the EU, where an IDP would be required.

300bhp/ton said:

You don't need an "agreement" to say what is the case will be in the UK. It is merely something that will need to be communicated out. So even with no deal, there will still be things decided.

So your personal version of No Deal, is that we do a deal, but only on some things. Isn’t that a Deal?

They may or may not get an agreement in place, but as it stands, without an agreement or deal (pick your preferred word) then as it stands we will need an IDP if driving within the EU.

[jondude]

Just keep your eyes on the news. It is highly likely the EU and UK will agree a gentleman's agreement of leaving most (if not all) things as they are for quite a few months.

Last time no deal was close the EU for example said lorry drivers conditions would be unchanged for 9 months and yes, the planes would fly.

If worried you can always get the IDP but I doubt there will be many changes, certainly not immediately.

[300bhp/ton]

Lindun said:

So your personal version of No Deal, is that we do a deal, but only on some things. Isn’t that a Deal?

They may or may not get an agreement in place, but as it stands, without an agreement or deal (pick your preferred word) then as it stands we will need an IDP if driving within the EU.

I think you need to look up he definition of “deal” in a dictionary

[Cooperman]

Well before the UK was ever in the EU I was driving all over Europe using my UK driving licence. However, I believe for driving in Spain back then an International Driving Permit was needed.

[alanuk400]

Driving down to Dublin from Belfast on Saturday heard an advert in the south saying if you had UK or NI driving license and lived in the south (ROI) it would no longer be valid, one of our drivers had been stopped the guards ( Irish police) and was told that he may need an international driving permit if all this takes off, they said they will sit at border and pull in Northern registered vehicles and check ( then fine them) that's the problem .We would be up and down a couple of times a week, there is no hard border just distance and speed in KMH
You have it easy if the GB, the Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) is very strong and will not bow down if we leave

[spikep]

alanuk400 said:

Driving down to Dublin from Belfast on Saturday heard an advert in the south saying if you had UK or NI driving license and lived in the south (ROI) it would no longer be valid, one of our drivers had been stopped the guards ( Irish police) and was told that he may need an international driving permit if all this takes off, they said they will sit at border and pull in Northern registered vehicles and check ( then fine them) that's the problem .We would be up and down a couple of times a week, there is no hard border just distance and speed in KMH
You have it easy if the GB, the Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) is very strong and will not bow down if we leave

So let’s just get this correct. Southern Ireland don’t want any border but are going to stop all drivers at the border to check their licence? Is that not effectively enforcing a border?

[alanuk400]

It was on the news today that we will have to display GB or NI stickers from October as well

[alanuk400]

They have to have a border by EU law

[anonymous-user]

The law for converting to a local driving license is changing where I live, so I did some research, There is a 1968 Vienna Convention that i appears is signed by most places (except China and Malaysia, where I live) that states an international driving permit is not required if the drivers license is issued by a country that is a signatory to the convention and is substantially as per the form given in the convention.

This makes sense to me as my experience is that the old UK paper license is not accepted in Malaysia but the new photo card is. It also explains why my Malaysian license looks exactly like my UK license and my Norwegian license. Malaysia appears to abide by the convention but has a restriction
that foreign registered cars must meet Malaysian window tinting laws on entry, if you've seen the very dark tint when on holiday in Thailand you can understand this.

So why wont this convention be in force after brexit?

[Dr Jekyll]

alanuk400 said:

Driving down to Dublin from Belfast on Saturday heard an advert in the south saying if you had UK or NI driving license and lived in the south (ROI) it would no longer be valid, one of our drivers had been stopped the guards ( Irish police) and was told that he may need an international driving permit if all this takes off, they said they will sit at border and pull in Northern registered vehicles and check ( then fine them) that's the problem .We would be up and down a couple of times a week, there is no hard border just distance and speed in KMH
You have it easy if the GB, the Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) is very strong and will not bow down if we leave

An international driving permit is just a translation of your licence, so for an English speaking country to insist on it makes no sense. I can't see us insisting on them for Irish drivers.

[dan98]

Sorry to revive an old thread.

Thanks to Brexit my UK license will no longer allow car sharing or ownership in Germany.
I can swap it for an EU license before the end of June.

However I have a car which I need to keep in the UK for various reasons.
My insurance company (Swift) tells me they will accept an EU license and furthermore I shouldn't lose my NCB of 20+ years.

But I'm worried I'm missing something, and that without a UK driving license things could get tricky somehow in the UK, for example buying/selling/taxing a car etc.etc.
Has anyone experience or any thoughts on this?

Thanks.