UK licence

[Mattd]

On 13/09/2017 at 7:13 PM, jayboy said:

 

If you are a non resident it's not possible to amend license details or get a new one.I spoke to the DVLA which was very specific about this, including a warning about using a UK address of convenience.Thus once the DVLA know your residence status, the door closes until or if you reestablish UK Residence.As previously noted the advice was that In my case I could drive on my green UK license but I would have some explaining to do if nabbed.


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It is in fact illegal to drive on either type of UK license if you are either not actually resident in the UK or do not reside at the address that is given on the license.

A returning British non resident does indeed have to reestablish residency in the UK to obtain a replacement British license, technically it takes up to 3 years, as this is the time they state you need to provide an address for, which can include former addresses, in reality, then they should issue a new license after less to a Brit who is replacing an out of date license.

They state that they will check regarding the address(es) given to prove that you actually do live in that address.

The police are enforcing this more and more nowadays and could, worse case scenario, result in them seizing the vehicle.

 

I still find it amazing that a British citizen who has or still is residing outside of the EU and has legally passed a UK driving test and holds a valid British driving license is not allowed to use it, the change of address procedure should be simple.

 

For example, there is no way you can rent a vehicle from any of the major rental companies using a license that has an incorrect address on it, they check this at the time of rental via the public version of the electoral register and will refuse if something doesn't tally, only choice is to use the Thai license in this case.

A UK resident also has to allow the rental company to access the DVLA info on your license for points / disqualification checks prior to the rental.

[OJAS]

2 hours ago, Mattd said:

..they check this at the time of rental via the public version of the electoral register and will refuse if something doesn't tally..

But what if you're not on the electoral register (as you won't be in any case if you've been a UK non-resident for more than 15 years)?

[elliss]

On 9/9/2017 at 8:59 AM, rixalex said:

Be aware that when you apply for a new UK license, you are asked to declare that you are a permanent UK resident. If you aren't a UK resident (ie you don't spend more than 6 months of the year in the UK per year... and supposing you plan to be honest about your situation), it means you are no longer legally allowed a UK license.

    Your UK address is required, the  net  is now closing .   If you actually live there ?,  umh 

 Hold your breath on that one .

      I should know .

Edited September 21, 2017 by elliss

[OJAS]

5 hours ago, Mattd said:

..they check this at the time of rental via the public version of the electoral register and will refuse if something doesn't tally, only choice is to use the Thai license in this case..

 

3 hours ago, OJAS said:

But what if you're not on the electoral register (as you won't be in any case if you've been a UK non-resident for more than 15 years)?

In addition, what if you are on the electoral register but have opted out of the version for general sale like I have done? What info would the rental company then have to tally against my old-style UK licence (without a photocard) which is still registered to my previous address in the UK (which I still own, incidentally)? Since I do not have any burning desire to get behind the steering wheel of a moving vehicle on the highways and byeways of LOS, I have decided against going through all the bureaucratic hassle involved in "converting" my UK licence to a Thai one.

 

So I would be totally reliant on my UK licence were I minded to hire a car during a trip back home. And it would appear that I might well slip under the radar unless other "official" methods of verifying my current address were available to the rental company - such as somehow linking driving licence numbers to NI numbers perhaps? In my case this would almost certainly reveal my current Thai address to the rental company through both my State Pension payments and my annual tax returns to HMRC. But is this not fantasy talk in practice?

[Mattd]

10 hours ago, OJAS said:

In addition, what if you are on the electoral register but have opted out of the version for general sale like I have done? What info would the rental company then have to tally against my old-style UK licence (without a photocard) which is still registered to my previous address in the UK (which I still own, incidentally)

To be perfectly honest, then I am not sure how they would verify in this kind of instance, perhaps the old fashioned way of utility bills etc.?

 

My UK license is like yours, the old style one, last issued in 1987 and is at an address that I last lived at in the UK at, a couple of years back I did see if I could use it to rent a car with one of the big rental mobs at Manchester Airport, they would not allow it, as their checks said that xxxx lived at that house and not me, wasn't a problem because I did have my Thai license with me and used that instead, which is probably a better bet if you have one, as they cannot put points on it!!

Exactly what other checks and personal info the rental companies can do and see I do not know.

Another interesting fact for the big rental companies, if the credit card presented is not a chip and pin type, then they will refuse the rental, watched a bloke really argue with them on that one!

 

Everything seems to just be more difficult nowadays in the UK, ID and proof of residency being high on the list of things needed to do almost anything, a mate moved back at the end of July after a long time, says it is a real pain, but he did manage to renew his license and update the address fairly easily (new style to new style)!

 

[rockingrobin]

34 minutes ago, Mattd said:

To be perfectly honest, then I am not sure how they would verify in this kind of instance, perhaps the old fashioned way of utility bills etc.?

 

My UK license is like yours, the old style one, last issued in 1987 and is at an address that I last lived at in the UK at, a couple of years back I did see if I could use it to rent a car with one of the big rental mobs at Manchester Airport, they would not allow it, as their checks said that xxxx lived at that house and not me, wasn't a problem because I did have my Thai license with me and used that instead, which is probably a better bet if you have one, as they cannot put points on it!!

Exactly what other checks and personal info the rental companies can do and see I do not know.

Another interesting fact for the big rental companies, if the credit card presented is not a chip and pin type, then they will refuse the rental, watched a bloke really argue with them on that one!

 

Everything seems to just be more difficult nowadays in the UK, ID and proof of residency being high on the list of things needed to do almost anything, a mate moved back at the end of July after a long time, says it is a real pain, but he did manage to renew his license and update the address fairly easily (new style to new style)!

 

There will be a number of people who are lawfully resident in the UK and not on the electoral register. As an example persons who have indefinite leave to remain, but are not British Citizens. Last time I rented a vehicle , the rquirements was photo ID, and proof of residency , e.g correspondance within the last 3 months , utility bills, banks , gov.dept. etc

Edited September 22, 2017 by rockingrobin

[OJAS]

42 minutes ago, rockingrobin said:

There will be a number of people who are lawfully resident in the UK and not on the electoral register. As an example persons who have indefinite leave to remain, but are not British Citizens. Last time I rented a vehicle , the rquirements was photo ID, and proof of residency , e.g correspondance within the last 3 months , utility bills, banks , gov.dept. etc

Plus those who are old enough to drive (17) but too young to vote (18) - although I suspect that most rental companies would, in practice, view hiring vehicles to such youthful and inexperienced drivers with considerable trepidation!

[Mattd]

OK, I've just read the T&C's for my last UK car rental in August, obviously different companies do have different terms, however, they are pretty much in line, from the terms, then I think that the primary address check are the utility bill / credit card statement, if you do not have these, or they wish to double check, then the Experian check is available to them, note that the address on the license must be as per the evidence provided, if you rent a car in the UK using a UK license, then they deem you are resident by default.

 

T&C's regarding documentation to be presented.

 

Identification required if UK Resident - When collecting the vehicle, the Lead Driver must present a valid driving licence. If old (paper-only) style, official photo ID must also be presented. Official photo ID must be valid, we cannot accept expired official photo ID. If new photocard style, we cannot accept an expired photocard.  A valid passport or national identity card must be presented • 2 additional forms of ID to confirm home address. One must be the credit card statement or bank statement for the credit card or debit card being presented for deposit and additional charges. The other should be a formal document (eg. utilities bill) both must be dated within 8 weeks of date of hire • • a credit or debit card in their own name (see section on Rental Payment terms for further details) additional drivers must present a valid driving licence (we cannot accept an expired photocard) plus passport or national identity card.

Please contact the location prior to hiring if you have any questions regarding identification required. The Lead Driver may be subject to a search with Experian for the purposes of verifying his/her identity. To do so Experian may check the details supplied by the Lead Driver against any particulars on any database (public or otherwise) to which they have access. They may also use these details in the future to assist other companies for verification purposes. A record of the search will be retained. By agreeing to these terms & conditions, you are consenting to this search.

[Eff1n2ret]

2 hours ago, Mattd said:

I did have my Thai license with me and used that instead, which is probably a better bet if you have one, as they cannot put points on it!!

The downside of that is that if you are stopped by the police and can not be given a fixed penalty, they might take the alternative of arresting you and putting you before the magistrates, so you then acquire a criminal record. This emerged as a problem on an immigration forum I used to frequent a few years ago, as it messed up some peoples' applications for British citizenship. They had to wait until the offence no longer counted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

Of course, if it's a speed camera offence you may not even still be in the country, although you can expect a hefty surcharge on your credit card from the rental company on top of the actual fine - according to the small print in the contract the last time I hired a car in the UK.

[Mattd]

1 minute ago, Eff1n2ret said:

The downside of that is that if you are stopped by the police and can not be given a fixed penalty, they might take the alternative of arresting you and putting you before the magistrates, so you then acquire a criminal record. This emerged as a problem on an immigration forum I used to frequent a few years ago, as it messed up some peoples' applications for British citizenship. They had to wait until the offence no longer counted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

Of course, if it's a speed camera offence you may not even still be in the country, although you can expect a hefty surcharge on your credit card from the rental company on top of the actual fine - according to the small print in the contract the last time I hired a car in the UK.

That would not be good!

[Kwasaki]

On 9/21/2017 at 11:46 AM, johng said:

I got a Thai 5 year motorcycle licence

but never held a UK motorcycle licence, as a British citizen am I allowed to ride any size bike without L plates on UK roads for upto a year ?

As said police OK but get the OK from the Insurance company you use.

If a hire company accepts the Thai DL l guess it's OK.

[johng]

1 hour ago, Kwasaki said:

As said police OK but get the OK from the Insurance company you use.

If a hire company accepts the Thai DL l guess it's OK.

I was thinking of just buying a second hand 300-500cc

use for a year then either pass the test,sell or garage it depending on future events.....probably the insurance will be astronomical though !

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, johng said:

I was thinking of just buying a second hand 300-500cc

use for a year then either pass the test,sell or garage it depending on future events.....probably the insurance will be astronomical though !

A s/h bike in UK will OK.

For insurance you can ring around for quotes,  if you have no bike history third party only cheapest,  third party fire and thief if you think it's worth it, full comp will be very expensive and probably as much as the bike cost. 

Best to confirm they except your Thai DL as Insurance companies can be tricky IMO they may use it as a get out clause in an incident claim.

[jayboy]

On 9/21/2017 at 3:36 PM, Mattd said:

It is in fact illegal to drive on either type of UK license if you are either not actually resident in the UK or do not reside at the address that is given on the license.

A returning British non resident does indeed have to reestablish residency in the UK to obtain a replacement British license, technically it takes up to 3 years, as this is the time they state you need to provide an address for, which can include former addresses, in reality, then they should issue a new license after less to a Brit who is replacing an out of date license.

They state that they will check regarding the address(es) given to prove that you actually do live in that address.

The police are enforcing this more and more nowadays and could, worse case scenario, result in them seizing the vehicle.

 

I still find it amazing that a British citizen who has or still is residing outside of the EU and has legally passed a UK driving test and holds a valid British driving license is not allowed to use it, the change of address procedure should be simple.

 

For example, there is no way you can rent a vehicle from any of the major rental companies using a license that has an incorrect address on it, they check this at the time of rental via the public version of the electoral register and will refuse if something doesn't tally, only choice is to use the Thai license in this case.

A UK resident also has to allow the rental company to access the DVLA info on your license for points / disqualification checks prior to the rental.

Thanks.That clarifies the situation very well.

[Othello]

Are you non-resident?

I did the same as non resident


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