Driving with a UK Licence

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1bassleft
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Driving with a UK Licence

Postby 1bassleft » Wed Feb 20, 2019 6:23 am

Just a note (hopefully relevant) for people like me intending to drive between Andalucia and UK, hiring a car in Spain or continuing to drive their "Spanish Car" whilst out here, holding a UK driving licence, after March 28 2019. This was brought on by an email from my UK car insurers (Esure) that I will continue to be covered TP only (more cover if needed, but that'll do me) in the event of a "No Deal" and a green card issued on request. Might be worth checking your provider before you squash the tailgate down on your baggage. And also...

Unless something changes soon, if driving shortly after The Big B, it might be worth getting hold of International Driving Permit(s) aka IDP(s) in good time from participating Post Offices. Why the (s)? Because you might need more than one, if you intend to drive through France (headsup, Devil's Advocate). Most EU countries (incl France) want to see an IDP 1968 accompanying your UK licence but a few (Iceland, Malta, Cyprus and you guessed it, Spain) want to see an IDP 1949. That's as things stand, maybe Spain will get around to the 1968, maybe it'll become completely unnecessary as it all gets sorted (if I read/see anything, I'll update).

More on the interweb (https://www.postoffice.co.uk/internatio ... ing-permit is a good start, with a link to the .gov site) but, briefly, they each cost £5.50, you will need your photo driver's licence (or passport accompanying your old paper one) and a passport photo for each IDP. The 1968 (France et al) is valid for 3yrs but the 1949 (Spain) is only valid for 12 months.

I shall be driving my "Spanish car" immediately post-B and shall also be driving my UK-reg LHD through the Chunnel in May, so I shall be looking to get both soon -for the sake of eleven quid and a couple of mugshots. Worth bearing in mind, for those who have exchanged their UK licence for an ES one and intend to drive in the UK soon, that - in the absence of a reciprocal agreement - who knows what "tit for tat" swooping on foreign plates or buttock-covering hire company requirements might arise?
Last edited by 1bassleft on Wed Feb 27, 2019 12:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Roz
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Re: Driving with a UK Licence

Postby Roz » Thu Feb 21, 2019 4:04 pm

We have obtained our International Driving Permits as we will be hiring a car during the planned Brexit date. Some car hire firms say it is not required but we wouldn't want to be stopped by the Guardia Civil and find we did need them, in my opinion £5.50 is well worth the cost for a piece of mind.


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