Changing to Spanish driving licence

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Wicksey
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Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby Wicksey » Sun Oct 13, 2019 1:49 pm

I have just been sent this by the Spanish CAB.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.es/faq/u ... -licences/

I'm not sure if the method they are talking about is a fast track exchange. It seems you have to make an appointment by 31 October but the appointment itself can be up to 9 months after 11 November as far as I can understand.

Problem for me is that we applied to exchange my OH's licence in June and it's still not been done and we cannot both be without a valid licence as we will need to hire a car for 2 holidays booked in the next 6 months. It does sound as if I could at least apply for an appointment some time in the future but it seems to be different to what my gestoria is doing for us and doesn't need a medical if I'm reading it correctly. I'm unsure of what to do as I'm not entirely convinced that Brexit is going to happen on the 31st or not.

Just looked at the DGT site and it says: At the time of the procedure will be withdrawn the original permit and give you a provisional permit. Within approximately a month and a half you have your final permit. You do not have to worry about going to your Chief or Office Traffic , you send it by mail to home.
So a quicker method than before possibly?

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby elusive » Sun Oct 13, 2019 2:46 pm

That last paragraph is the norm or was when we did it. Go to traffico with your docs. They then check your right to drive with DVLA.(all the time keeping your U.K licence) then when its checked you go back and hand over your uk licence and you are given a 3 month temp licence until your spanish one comes in the post.

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby Wicksey » Sun Oct 13, 2019 2:57 pm

Our gestoria did that for my OH's. He has the stamped photocopy of his old licence that I believe is valid for 3 months (which is up by the end of this month!).It does sound like they are saying that the new permit will be issued within 1.5 months under this system.

It's just the urgency of making an appointment and it's different to the usual cita previa. Of course I am now having difficulty accessing it using my digital certificate, but I have written on another thread about that.

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby elusive » Sun Oct 13, 2019 4:19 pm

Been delays for along time due to brexit. Not sure what your option is unless your gestor can get earlier appointments. Might aswell see what happens with the 31st. Or just make an appointment now for a long way down the road and then the OH will have their new licence (hopefully)by then

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby Wicksey » Sun Oct 13, 2019 4:38 pm

Yes I am going to try to make an appointment at some point in the future when I can get my digital certificate to work. It sounds like as long as I've done that I'm covered. If Brexit does go ahead then I should think this will catch people out as I thought I could apply within the 9 months grace period, but that now doesn't seem to be the case.

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby Peztis » Tue Oct 15, 2019 10:18 am

Wicksey wrote:...
Just looked at the DGT site and it says: At the time of the procedure will be withdrawn the original permit and give you a provisional permit. Within approximately a month and a half you have your final permit. You do not have to worry about going to your Chief or Office Traffic , you send it by mail to home.
So a quicker method than before possibly?
When changing from another country's driving license to a Spanish one, please observe that you most likely will not receive the Spanish driving license any time soon. My husband went to the Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico in May, I was there in August. We have not received anything, they have not even started the process and contacted the Swedish DGT (we are from Sweden). Meanwhile, we still have our cards but my husband's license is no longer valid but he is allowed to drive with the expired one if he can also provide the Modelo 3 (the official form, copied and stamped). But he is only allowed to drive in Spain. My license expires in a month ...

It is when they have contacted your country and receive an e-mail to go to Jefatura that the take the old license and you get the provisional, valid for three months.

That is how I understand it, at least.

(If you already have the Spanish license and need to renew it, then you usually have it within a month or two.)

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby Wicksey » Tue Oct 15, 2019 10:24 am

Petzis my husband has already started the process to exchange his back in June and still no sign of the new licence, he still only has the provisional. I have to at least make an appointment by the end of this month presuming that the UK is leaving the EU then. It certainly does seem to take a long time for the process to take place.

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby gerrynag » Tue Oct 15, 2019 1:55 pm

My wife and I applied for our Spanish licences back in January and got appointments in August. When we went to Trafico with our paperwork, I was immediately given the temporary piece of paper to carry with me till my proper licence came throught. The actual licence arrived in mid September in the post, taking approx 4 weeks. My wife however, had to go back to Trafico a couple of weeks ago to get the temporary licence, so is still waiting for the actual licence, though they did quote 4 weeks for that to arrive, so should have it in another couple of weeks.

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby Wicksey » Tue Oct 15, 2019 2:12 pm

My OH's temporary licence (I mean the photocopied and trafico-stamped copy of his original UK licence) was dated end of July and we've not heard anything more since.

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby Wicksey » Sun Oct 20, 2019 2:48 pm

I just had a thought .... I'll try completing the registration form in Spanish rather than changing the language to English and it's worked. Not sure if it's a coincidence but I have a confirmation email now .... yay! I haven't read up what I need to do next but just getting this far is something!

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby alpineSi » Mon Oct 21, 2019 1:32 pm

I got mine within a month, but used a regional firm of gestors to do it. They supposedly had people chasing trafico every day, which is reasonable to imagine if they are popping in there all the time for other business.

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby gerrynag » Fri Nov 01, 2019 5:52 pm

From being giving the temporary piece of paper to receiving the actual licence took 4 weeks for my wife. For other people we know, it took a similar amount of time. No gesters used.

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby Wicksey » Sat Nov 09, 2019 2:55 pm

From the original application through our gestoria at the beginning of June, my OH only has a receipt from Trafico (a photo copy of his original UK licence stamped by them) which I understand is still not the 'temporary' licence. So it is now 5 months and still waiting for his to be done.

This has now been updated. It seems that the system is the same but the final date has been moved forward to take into account the altered Brexit date of 31 Jan 2020.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.es/faq/u ... -licences/

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby elusive » Sat Nov 09, 2019 5:35 pm

They should have given you your temp licence when you handed over your uk one.

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby alpineSi » Sun Nov 10, 2019 12:55 am

Not always the case; I had to wait two weeks for the temporary papers and gestor seemed to think this quite normal.

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby elusive » Sun Nov 10, 2019 9:20 am

Guess thats spain for you. At malaga when you handed over your licence they gave you your temp one there and then as how are you supposed to drive back home etc.

Wicksey mentions a stamped uk photocopy temp licence. Thats diff to what i was given so maybe its changed but i wouldnt like to produce a photocopy of a uk licence as proof to a guardia.

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby gerryh » Sun Nov 10, 2019 10:15 am

Possibly in both cases it was the involvement of a gestor?
I know when both I and my wife exchanged our licences they gave us temporary paper licence when we handed over out UK licences.
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Wicksey
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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby Wicksey » Sun Nov 10, 2019 11:49 am

elusive wrote:Guess thats spain for you. At malaga when you handed over your licence they gave you your temp one there and then as how are you supposed to drive back home etc.

Wicksey mentions a stamped uk photocopy temp licence. Thats diff to what i was given so maybe its changed but i wouldnt like to produce a photocopy of a uk licence as proof to a guardia.
When we took the application into the gestoria they gave us a copy of his application to exchange, and a copy of his driving licence stamped and noted by the gestoria that they were dealing with the application.

About a month later they rung to say they have something for us and it was the same papers but now stamped by Malaga Trafico on 4 July to say they're handling the application. I thought that was it, but I have been told there is still a 'temporoary' licence that is to be issued. I presume as we have the copy of the application stamped as received by Trafico that that will sufiice for the moment. Whether things have been put on hold awaiting the 31 October Brexit deadline I don't know, but this seems never ending. I shall be dealing with my own licence myself so hope it goes better than this, and will cost considerably less!

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby elusive » Sun Nov 10, 2019 12:45 pm

Ah ok. I did mine myself so abit different. Just filled in the application form. Took it to traffico. They put everything onto the system and contacted DVLA. Then contacted me when DVLA came back to them. Made another appointment where I handed over my U.K licence and they gave me a temp paper one.Then a few weeks later the licence came in the post. Imo seems you have just been given a receipt for everything you handed over to the gestor. Then another reciept to say traffico have it and its in the system. Until traffico come back and say they have checked with DVLA that your licence is legit they wont hand over the temp licence. You should keep your uk licence until then. If you handed it over showing the "reciept"to the police wont be legal.

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Re: Changing to Spanish driving licence

Postby Wicksey » Sun Nov 10, 2019 1:23 pm

The gestoria took the original licence off him and presumably took it to trafico in June so we no longer have it. I'm going to call in again tomorrow to see what's happening.


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