datstheone Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 I am waiting to be granted my partner visa and hope to be living in Australia, Sydney, by April next year. I know that one of the first things to do is to get a NSW driving licence both to allow me to carry on driving after 6 months and for id purposes. My question is what to do about my UK licence, in particular reporting change of address. I would like to keep it valid in case it comes in useful in the future. What have other people done? Have you left it with last UK address (I will be renting my flat out so I will still own that address), change it to Australian address or to a friendly UK address, such as, in my case, sister. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickyplum Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 i'd be interested in the answer to this as well! I'm assuming I'll use my parents' address for a lot of things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLoadedDog Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Is this actually possible? I know that if you move interstate and get a licence in the new state, the issuing authority has to destroy the old one and notify the authority in that state that it has been cancelled. Is this the same for foreign ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLoadedDog Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 OK, just had a look. Looks like you can keep the UK licence (if I'm reading it correctly), but it won't be recognised after you have a NSW one. Importantly though, the time limit on your UK licence is THREE months, not six. This might need to be more widely known here, because I've seen the six month figure quoted in multiple threads. http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/roads/licence/moving-to-nsw.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noworriesmate Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 I think the OP is asking about keeping his UK license for use when he is in the UK (or should he move back at some point) and not for using when in Australia. At first I thought about this issue and contemplated having my in-laws address being on the uK licence however I didn't end up bothering. I have kept the old licence however and should the need arise I will re-activate it - apparently the license number is permanent so I should be fine. NWM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 I think the OP is asking about keeping his UK license for use when he is in the UK (or should he move back at some point) and not for using when in Australia. At first I thought about this issue and contemplated having my in-laws address being on the uK licence however I didn't end up bothering. I have kept the old licence however and should the need arise I will re-activate it - apparently the license number is permanent so I should be fine. NWM This is what you're supposed to do ^^ the advice from gov.uk is: If you’re moving abroad, you can’t register your new address on your British driving licence. Contact the driving licence authority in your new country of residence. https://www.gov.uk/change-address-driving-licence You are only allowed a British licence if you normally reside there (defined as more than six months of the year). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cez Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Are you expecting to get a permanent partner visa? If not you can only get an NSW licence for 12 months at a time. You can drive in aus on your uk licence up to three months after you're granted a permanent visa. I registered my uk licence to my parents address and have been driving on that since 2010 (I lived away from aus for a year or so) I've just applied for my nsw licence and am waiting for it to come through in the post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 My UK license has my sisters address on it as we were living there for a while before we came out. interestingly though we are hiring a car in the UK for our trip back and will have to use our Australian licenses. The small print said for hiring in the UK on a UK license that we needed to supply proof of address in the UK, recent bills etc, which we obviously do not have. So one of the reasons for keeping it was to use it in the UK, but this is not an option for hiring a car. will be keeping the UK one though in case we move back in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindor Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 I was told my UK licence would be cancelled when I got my WA licence, they inform the DVLA apparently, and when I go back I drive on my WA licence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 No mention of this in SA. Doubt if they are that well organised tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 UK licences are valid until you are 70, it is the photocard (which expires every ten years) which you can't renew with a foreign address. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datstheone Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 Thanks for all the useful information. Looks as though I go for getting NSW licence as soon as I arrive and use this if I come back to visit UK since I would be able to use that for a year. The link about changing address on UK licence when moving abroad doesn't say that you have to inform DLVC so I will just keep the old licence in case it is useful for getting a new UK licence if I do move back. If the information on my medical letter is correct I am being assessed for class 100 permanent resident partner visa so I should be able to go for full licence. Given I have a clean UK licence, and have had for 40 years, and Australia drives on the sensible side of the road, will I need to take a knowledge test as part of getting a NSW licence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nic1171 Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 I changed my UK license to my brothers address Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cez Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 No there's no knowledge test, on Friday they just tested my eyesight by making my read letters off a screen on the opposite wall. You should be fine to get a full licence by the sounds of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Legally you have to surrender it but should you move back to the UK you get it back and it doesn't even cost so it is really no issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Thanks for all the useful information. Looks as though I go for getting NSW licence as soon as I arrive and use this if I come back to visit UK since I would be able to use that for a year. The link about changing address on UK licence when moving abroad doesn't say that you have to inform DLVC so I will just keep the old licence in case it is useful for getting a new UK licence if I do move back. If the information on my medical letter is correct I am being assessed for class 100 permanent resident partner visa so I should be able to go for full licence. Given I have a clean UK licence, and have had for 40 years, and Australia drives on the sensible side of the road, will I need to take a knowledge test as part of getting a NSW licence? I haven't read the link so you could be right but if you move address and don't tell DVLC within 14 days you are subject to a £1000 fine so I'd be surprised if this doesn't apply when moving overseas. I can't recall the exact process as it was 6 years ago for us now but we definitely had to send them back - we kept a photocopy and having the driver number was useful when it came to getting it back when we returned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datstheone Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 I haven't read the link so you could be right but if you move address and don't tell DVLC within 14 days you are subject to a £1000 fine so I'd be surprised if this doesn't apply when moving overseas. I can't recall the exact process as it was 6 years ago for us now but we definitely had to send them back - we kept a photocopy and having the driver number was useful when it came to getting it back when we returned. The UK DLVC link says "If you’re moving abroad, you can’t register your new address on your British driving licence. Contact the driving licence authority in your new country of residence." Nothing about having to surrender licence, or how to do that. Perhaps they don't care since if not driving in UK on that licence they would not need to contact you so address doesn't matter. I assume that you sent your UK licences back from Australia after having used them to get Australian licences. I will do some more searching on UK end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 The UK DLVC link says "If you’re moving abroad, you can’t register your new address on your British driving licence. Contact the driving licence authority in your new country of residence." Nothing about having to surrender licence, or how to do that. Perhaps they don't care since if not driving in UK on that licence they would not need to contact you so address doesn't matter. I assume that you sent your UK licences back from Australia after having used them to get Australian licences. I will do some more searching on UK end. Oh yes, we got our Australian ones first! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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