My friend's son, who lives in Thailand will soon be able to take lessons and get a Thai driving licence.

He's moving back to the UK in the next couple of years to start university.

Will he able to exchange his Thai licence for a UK licence while he's there?

Not an expert, but I would say not a snowball's.....I think he might be able to drive in the UK for 30 days on his Thailand (from memory). After that he must obtain a UK license the same way as all UK citizens.

He can drive on a full Thai license for 12 months.  However, his first Thai license will be  "temporary" so that might raise some issues.  See here also; https://www.gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence

No he won't. Thailand is not on the list of designated countries acceptable to the UK.

 

You need to carefully study the UK rules, as there are different conditions for foreign, non EU students studying in the UK.

 

https://www.gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence/y/a-foreign-student-studying-in-great-britain/non-european-union

 

The bit I read was: "... [if] your licence is from a ‘non-designated country or territory’, you’ll first need to apply for a provisional GB licence. You can then take a driving test and apply for a full licence once you’ve been in Great Britain for at least 6 months."

Thanks everyone for all the information.

You have been very helpful. I'll pass it on to him.

While yes he can drive for 1 year on the Thai license his biggest problem will be insurance. He’s both young,no uk licence nor resident and no no claims bonus,all of which counts heavily against him. Expect a premium in excess of £2000 ! His cheapest option is to become a named driver on another’s policy and pay them the difference. Generally it would be cheaper for him to use taxis when necessary 

Thanks. I hadn't thought of the insurance aspect.