Should I let my drivers license from back home expire and just have the Thai DL?

[Lucky Bones]

Cover your as*.

Always cover your as*

Do not say "I meant to"...do it....simples.

[JimTripper]

Not a good idea at all to let your id’s expire. When homeless are interviewed they almost always mention id problems and lack of residential mailing address as a contributing factor. You can get caught in the system without valid Id. You also need to keep your birth certificate and social security card somewhere safe (and back it up on a cloud drive) so you can get a new id if you ever have to.

Edited December 3, 2022 by JimTripper

[kwilco]

I don't know where the OP comes form but UK citizens beware - Many people think their UK D/L lasts until they are 70 yrs old....on fact the plastic part expires after about 10 years so you need to renew - it can be done online or over the phone - you need a UK address e.g. family or someone.

 

Your IDP underVienna convention can last up to 3 years. However, I've seen an IDP issued by Thailand that was for 5 years.

UK IDP comes over the counter from a post office.

 

Driving on a foreign D/L with IDP over 3 months continuously in Thailand puts you in a grey area. You should have a Thai driving licence.

Furthermore many insurance companies won't cover you even if both your foreign licence and IDP are valid.

 

Your IDP is only valid as long as your home licence and only covers you for categories already on your home licence. So if you don't have a full M/C you aren't licensed to drive in Thailand either

Also if you licence has expired, so has your IDP automatically.

 

The problems arise with the RTP not being trained into identifying licences correctly and so they are not enforcing many aspects of this - however is your insurance company finds out after an incident your could find yourself in deep water.

 

 

codicil: - no matter how firm your intentions to stay in Thailand "forever" - there is always the possibility that unforeseen circumstances may force you to return home so it is useful to keep as much documentation and ID alive back home

Edited December 3, 2022 by kwilco

[Orinoco]

7 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

The real information is that if you use your U.K. license in Thailand after 90 days you will not have insurance (that is you probably still have the statutory insurance, it’s not enough for most people). It is a requirement of every insurance policy that I have got translated that after 90 days for your policy to be valid you must have a Thai license.

 

will the Police check that you haven’t been here longer than 90 days? Almost certainly not. Note the almost

Will the insurance company check? Usually no, for minor bumps. Probably yes if they are on the hook for millions. 

If the insurance company voids your policy then you are going to have a really really bad expensive time and if you can’t pay then you may find that your new accommodation is in the “Bangkok Hilton” with 20 to 40 companions in your room, while I’ve never visited there I have visited someone who was an involuntary guest in a different branch and it is a place to avoid at all costs if at all possible. 
 

You decide if it is worth the gamble. 

Maybe I worded my post wrong.

I was only talking about using a Thai license in the uk as a uk citizen and non resident, but it seams to, me that you can't use a Thai  license for a year in the uk,  as you would become a uk resident again after 183 days and that would require you to use a uk license.

Anyone know if this is correct or not.?

 

 

 

 

[Orinoco]

3 hours ago, kwilco said:

I don't know where the OP comes form but UK citizens beware - Many people think their UK D/L lasts until they are 70 yrs old....on fact the plastic part expires after about 10 years so you need to renew - it can be done online or over the phone - you need a UK address e.g. family or someone.

 

My old pink uk DL works just fine to 70 years old.

and is still valid in the uk as long as i go back to the address it's registered at.

Unless they have changed the law on this. ?

Maybe it become invalid after being non resident ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by Orinoco

[JBChiangRai]

10 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

You have faulty information. 
You are required to notify the DVLA of a change of address

You can not change your address to a non U.K. address 

So your U.K. driving licence is no longer valid as a U.K. address is an absolute requirement.

It doesn’t matter how long the expiration is on the licence is because it is only valid if you fulfil the requirements for the licence 

 

qed no U.K. address no valid license.

 

Are the police going to check? No unless you commit a serious offence.

Is anyone else going to check? No because it is a condition of the license that you inform the DVLA of any changes. You commit an offence if you don’t notify.

 

Who is telling you that you must use a U.K. license? Certainly not the rental companies, Sixt actually prefers my Thai license to my U.K. (non valid, I’m a naughty boy) license.

Let's say you sold up, moved to Thailand but kept your UK driving licence.

 

You have to use that, not your Thai DL if you visit the UK.  The police won't accept you can use your Thai DL because they want to give you those points, and what do points make? prizes! oh hang on, that's something else.

[sometimewoodworker]

30 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

Maybe I worded my post wrong.

I was only talking about using a Thai license in the uk as a uk citizen and non resident, but it seams to, me that you can't use a Thai  license for a year in the uk,  as you would become a uk resident again after 183 days and that would require you to use a uk license.

Anyone know if this is correct or not.?

You become a U.K. resident as soon as you move back to the U.K. with the intention to stay.

however there is also the

Quote

You’re normally a resident if you live in Great Britain for 185 days in each calendar year.

But since you cannot exchange a Thai licence

Quote

After 12 months you’ll need to take a theory test and practical test to get a Great Britain issued driving licence.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

35 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

My old pink uk DL works just fine to 70 years old.

It doesn’t expire through age until 70.

 

35 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

and is still valid in the uk as long as i go back to the address it's registered at

No it is not

35 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

Unless they have changed the law on this. ?

The law has not changed

35 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

Maybe it become invalid after being non resident ?

It did because You must

Quote

Change the address on either:

your full driving licence

your provisional driving licence

Quote

You cannot register your new address on your British driving licence. Contact the driving licence authority in your new country of residence.

No address no valid license 

Quote

You can be fined up to £1,000 if you do not tell DVLA when your address changes.

However the reporting of the address change is a requirement for you, nobody will check unless you have an interaction with the police and spill the beans.

 

never spill the beans, never have an accident, the fact that your license is no longer valid will not be discovered.

[sometimewoodworker]

33 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

Let's say you sold up, moved to Thailand but kept your UK driving licence.

 

You committed an offence as you are required to notify the DVLA of your address change and

Quote

You cannot register your new address on your British driving licence. Contact the driving licence authority in your new country of residence.

 

34 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

You have to use that, not your Thai DL if you visit the UK.  The police won't accept you can use your Thai DL because they want to give you those points,

You can’t use your U.K. license because it is invalid because you must have a U.K. address and you haven’t got one.

 

Can you ‘not change your address’? Of course.
is it legal? Of course not.

will you be found out? Don’t interact with the police and no. Interact with the police and be really careful and probably not

FWIW I have had an invalid license since 1990. I have had current licenses from other countries since then. So I was legally entitled to drive in the U.K. on the foreign licensees. I did not inform the DVLA so committed an offence.
 

If I had been stoped by the police I would have shown my foreign license and been legally correct but the police would have reported me to the DVLA for not changing my address 

[sometimewoodworker]

4 hours ago, kwilco said:

I don't know where the OP comes form but UK citizens beware - Many people think their UK D/L lasts until they are 70 yrs old....on fact the plastic part expires after about 10 years so you need to renew - it can be done online or over the phone - you need a UK address e.g. family or someone.

Mostly, but not completely correct.

 

My “valid if I have a U.K. residence address” green license is valid until 70 years old. There is no requirement to change to a photo “valid for 10 years” license. The ‘you need a U.K. address’ is incorrect you have “to be a resident of Great Britain” if you are no a resident you commit an offence.

 

Will your offence be discovered? Thousands of people have not been. Is it legal? No

[JBChiangRai]

12 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

You committed an offence as you are required to notify the DVLA of your address change and

 

You can’t use your U.K. license because it is invalid because you must have a U.K. address and you haven’t got one.

 

Can you ‘not change your address’? Of course.
is it legal? Of course not.

will you be found out? Don’t interact with the police and no. Interact with the police and be really careful and probably not

FWIW I have had an invalid license since 1990. I have had current licenses from other countries since then. So I was legally entitled to drive in the U.K. on the foreign licensees. I did not inform the DVLA so committed an offence.
 

If I had been stoped by the police I would have shown my foreign license and been legally correct but the police would have reported me to the DVLA for not changing my address 

You missed the point.  Existence of a UK DL that is not expired or surrendered "trumps" any other countries DL.

 

If you return to the UK (on a short visit) and get stopped by the police (say speeding), and they suspect you are British, they will check for a UK licence and give you points on it.  Regardless of whether you have broken the law by not telling DVLA you have moved abroad.  If they are feeling bloody minded, they may also prosecute you for the offences you have committed that you mentioned. 

 

A UK DL always "trumps" a foreign DL.

Edited December 4, 2022 by JBChiangRai

[sometimewoodworker]

1 minute ago, JBChiangRai said:

You missed the point.  Existence of a UK DL that is not expired or surrendered "trumps" any other countries DL.

 

If you return to the UK (on a short visit) and get stopped by the police (say speeding), and they suspect you are British, they will check for a UK licence and give you points on it.  Regardless of whether you have broken the law by not telling DVLA you have moved abroad.  If they are feeling bloody minded, they may also prosecute you for the offences you have committed. 

 

A UK DL always "trumps" a foreign DL.

You have missed the point.

You have no valid U.K. license 

I didn’t interact with the police, didn’t commit offences.

There is no requirement to surrender the invalid license 

 

[JBChiangRai]

9 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

You have missed the point.

You have no valid U.K. license 

I didn’t interact with the police, didn’t commit offences.

There is no requirement to surrender the invalid license 

 

You are wrong.

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

57 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

You are wrong.

Easy to say. Please quote the law that backs up your incorrect statement 

[thaibeachlovers]

On 12/3/2022 at 2:40 AM, Phulublub said:

epends on yoru home country, and the country(ies) you may visit.  For the UK, you can drive on a Thai Licence for up to a year. 

and in NZ. That's what I did.

However when I renewed NZ licence I lost all my specialist licences, like bus and heavy vehicles. I had everything except ambulance.

[VocalNeal]

Maintaining a driving licence from home country, if one doesn't reside there, could be a "tie" to the home country if one wishes to pay taxes.

[JBChiangRai]

23 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Easy to say. Please quote the law that backs up your incorrect statement 

How about the Gov.uk website? (I used to be a magistrate)

 

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by JBChiangRai

[bradiston]

43 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Maintaining a driving licence from home country, if one doesn't reside there, could be a "tie" to the home country if one wishes to pay taxes.

Yes, it's possible I guess. Cutting ones ties with the UK is harder than it seems. But I think the "ties" rules are used as a sort of (excuse the pun) tie-breaker. They are in the 3rd test of residency. I've reviewed my UK tax residency and liabilities and I now consider myself not to be UK tax resident. I've lived abroad for 7 years, have never worked abroad and have no ties. My family are not minors, I own no property there. Yes, I just, illegally apparently, renewed my driving licence there which I'm happy to surrender. So, goodbye to all that!

[JBChiangRai]

I didn’t bother renewing mine when it expired, I didn’t see the point.

 

Also I don’t like their approach to privacy.

[IvorBiggun2]

 

 

 

 

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Yes. It’s no longer enough to have a U.K. address to renew your licence; the DVLA will look for proof of residency. My UK licence came up for renewal after a few years of living in Ireland and I wasn’t allowed to renew even though I still had a flat in London at the time. The one way around that is to keep paying some U.K. utility bills (as “proof”) but that’s not often practical.

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by IvorBiggun2

[The Fugitive]

15 hours ago, bradiston said:

NB A little bit off topic...

One UK based bank, with whom I have an account, informed me there was no possibility of opening a second, interest bearing account with them if I lived permanently overseas, but made no comment about my existing account. 

Thanks for the information. Makes you scratch your head thinking about it! Should they really have closed your existing account down? Or, out of consideration to an existing good customer (who may or may not return to UK) do they have the discretion to permit your banking relationship with them to continue? That seems to be the case with my Santander and Halifax accounts. From recent reports Santander are conducting enquiries into some customer accounts possibly for this reason.   

[JimmyJ]

On 12/2/2022 at 9:37 PM, CANSIAM said:

I'm making a trip to home country just to renew my DL in August, not letting that slide away and create headaches sometime in the future........

Exactly.

 

Will do a home country return if necessary to renew although it shouldn't be necessary - when I inquired a few years ago was told they will accept an eye exam done abroad.

 

Other than this, no plan or desire to ever return to home country.

Edited December 4, 2022 by JimmyJ

[JimmyJ]

On 12/3/2022 at 8:37 AM, JBChiangRai said:

You shouldn't renew a UK Driving Licence using a friend or relative's address.  You are putting them at risk.

 

For example, if through some unexpected reason you are sued, they will do an address search with DVLA, you would probably get a Country Court Judgement against you at that address and any bailiff's would be allowed to take items from that address unless the resident there kept receipts in his name for all of them, and who ever does that?

Total nonsense.

 

Somebody moves, doesn't update addy on DL, innocent new resident at that address has bailiffs enter and take possession of items.

1 of hundreds of reasons why your statement is ridiculous.

[bradiston]

11 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

Thanks for the information. Makes you scratch your head thinking about it! Should they really have closed your existing account down? Or, out of consideration to an existing good customer (who may or may not return to UK) do they have the discretion to permit your banking relationship with them to continue? That seems to be the case with my Santander and Halifax accounts. From recent reports Santander are conducting enquiries into some customer accounts possibly for this reason.   

They haven't yet closed my existing account. I'm hoping to keep it open for pension payment purposes. I'm emptying another account with another bank which definitely will be closed next year by the bank, but not for reasons of residence.

[CANSIAM]

17 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

Exactly.

 

Will do a home country return if necessary to renew although it shouldn't be necessary - when I inquired a few years ago was told they will accept an eye exam done abroad.

 

Other than this, no plan or desire to ever return to home country.

Unfortunately for me, online DL renewal is not allowed, making it a visit trip as well........

[JBChiangRai]

8 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

Total nonsense.

 

Somebody moves, doesn't update addy on DL, innocent new resident at that address has bailiffs enter and take possession of items.

1 of hundreds of reasons why your statement is ridiculous.

Both Bailiff's & High Court Enforcement Officers can and will take control of goods at an address registered with DVLA if they believe it will put pressure on the defendant of the writ, it is then down to the resident of the property to persuade the HCEO's that the property isn't the defendants.  If it is because the defendant has moved and the new owner has no connection with the defendant, that would normally be enough reason. If the resident has the same surname, ie a parent or sibling they are then likely to demand proof of ownership of everything they want to take control of, normally in such circumstances they want to see receipts.

 

HCEO's normally know in their heart of hearts that the resident owns the goods, but their aim is to put pressure on for a financial settlement.  It happens all the time, I suggest you watch the UK TV series "Pay Up Or We Will Take It Away", or "The Sheriff's Are Coming", both excellent fly on the wall docuseries on how they operate.

 

If as you say there's no connection between defendant & resident, they are not total bathstuds and will apologise & leave.

 

It's all down to the Bailiff's or HCEO's decision, they will ultimately have to justify their decision.

 

I have sat on the other side of this as a magistrate and witnessed the aftermath when they get it wrong.

[blackshadow]

On 12/3/2022 at 12:16 PM, Expat68 said:

I think you can drive in the UK on your Thai driving Licence for a specific time

one year I THINK.......

[Orinoco]

37 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

Thanks for the information. Makes you scratch your head thinking about it! Should they really have closed your existing account down? Or, out of consideration to an existing good customer (who may or may not return to UK) do they have the discretion to permit your banking relationship with them to continue? That seems to be the case with my Santander and Halifax accounts. From recent reports Santander are conducting enquiries into some customer accounts possibly for this reason.   

Just open a Santander offshore account, using your Thai address.

 

[CANSIAM]

12 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

Just open a Santander offshore account, using your Thai address.

 

Citibank Singapore is good, need a fair chunk of USD to open and keep a hefty minimum balance......

[JimmyJ]

26 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

Both Bailiff's & High Court Enforcement Officers can and will take control of goods at an address registered with DVLA if they believe it will put pressure on the defendant of the writ, it is then down to the resident of the property to persuade the HCEO's that the property isn't the defendants.  If it is because the defendant has moved and the new owner has no connection with the defendant, that would normally be enough reason. If the resident has the same surname, ie a parent or sibling they are then likely to demand proof of ownership of everything they want to take control of, normally in such circumstances they want to see receipts.

 

HCEO's normally know in their heart of hearts that the resident owns the goods, but their aim is to put pressure on for a financial settlement.  It happens all the time, I suggest you watch the UK TV series "Pay Up Or We Will Take It Away", or "The Sheriff's Are Coming", both excellent fly on the wall docuseries on how they operate.

 

If as you say there's no connection between defendant & resident, they are not total bathstuds and will apologise & leave.

 

It's all down to the Bailiff's or HCEO's decision, they will ultimately have to justify their decision.

 

I have sat on the other side of this as a magistrate and witnessed the aftermath when they get it wrong.

Crazy problematic system but apologies from me for calling your post nonsense and ridiculous.

Edited December 4, 2022 by JimmyJ