Guest nastasia Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 Hi, I have my PR for more than 3 years but has not moved to Melbourne yet. I will be going for 2 weeks holidays in Melbourne soon. Can I use my overseas driving license to drive in Melbourne or should I have an Australian driving license? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 Quote Permanent Visa If you hold a permanent visa (issued under the Migration Act 1958) you may drive on your overseas driver licence if it's written in English or accompanied by an English translation or international driving permit for: 6 months from the date you first entered Australia (if the permanent visa was issued before you entered Australia), or 6 months from the date when the permanent visa was issued (if the permanent visa was issued to you while in Australia). If you want to continue driving in Victoria after this time you must get a Victorian driver licence. The above is from https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/licences/renew-replace-or-update/new-to-victoria/overseas-drivers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nastasia Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 Thanks for the update. The issue is that I have not spent even more than 2 weeks in Australia yet and did not have time to have the oz license. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 Perhaps check to see if they define between simply holding PR and being resident living in the country holding it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nastasia Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 47 minutes ago, snifter said: Perhaps check to see if they define between simply holding PR and being resident living in the country holding it? Yes , I was hoping someone would have been in a similar situation and could clarify on this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 Use their Contact Us page and send a message and ask? https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/contact-us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nastasia Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 2 hours ago, snifter said: Use their Contact Us page and send a message and ask? https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/contact-us Just did that! Thanks ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 Hi @nastasia reading the post that @Skani kindly shared I can't see any problems using your UK license If your visa was granted offshore and according to your initial post you haven't lived in Australia. Can I ask, are you moving over for good? Vicroads use to be terrible and didn't know the guidelines themselves and every time you called you would get a different answer. Back then it was wrote that you had to change within 6 months of getting your PR, so if you got your visa grant letter in January you had to have a Vic license in July even if you only arrive in July, thankfully they have made it clearer these days but it's still not set in stone. TBH if you are only here on holiday I don't see any issues with driving on a UK license. When we changed our UK license to a VicRoads license they put a hole punch through our UK license making it invalid so you definitely don't want this to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nastasia Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 On 8 September 2017 at 19:10, The Pom Queen said: Hi @nastasia reading the post that @Skani kindly shared I can't see any problems using your UK license If your visa was granted offshore and according to your initial post you haven't lived in Australia. Can I ask, are you moving over for good? Vicroads use to be terrible and didn't know the guidelines themselves and every time you called you would get a different answer. Back then it was wrote that you had to change within 6 months of getting your PR, so if you got your visa grant letter in January you had to have a Vic license in July even if you only arrive in July, thankfully they have made it clearer these days but it's still not set in stone. TBH if you are only here on holiday I don't see any issues with driving on a UK license. When we changed our UK license to a VicRoads license they put a hole punch through our UK license making it invalid so you definitely don't want this to happen. I will be moving next year. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spleenus Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 (edited) On 8/09/2017 at 23:10, The Pom Queen said: Hi @nastasia reading the post that @Skani kindly shared I can't see any problems using your UK license If your visa was granted offshore and according to your initial post you haven't lived in Australia. Can I ask, are you moving over for good? Vicroads use to be terrible and didn't know the guidelines themselves and every time you called you would get a different answer. Back then it was wrote that you had to change within 6 months of getting your PR, so if you got your visa grant letter in January you had to have a Vic license in July even if you only arrive in July, thankfully they have made it clearer these days but it's still not set in stone. TBH if you are only here on holiday I don't see any issues with driving on a UK license. When we changed our UK license to a VicRoads license they put a hole punch through our UK license making it invalid so you definitely don't want this to happen. That's quite concerning that they put a hole through your UK license. They don't have a remit to null documentation issued by a different country you're a citizen of or to remove it from you. What I think they've misunderstood is that if you change to a Vic license from a different state that is when they do that to your old license. In WA they remove it from you at the point of giving your new license - but only in the case of it being a license issued by a different state. Edited September 12, 2017 by Spleenus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 26 minutes ago, Spleenus said: That's quite concerning that they put a hole through your UK license. They don't have a remit to null documentation issued by a different country you're a citizen of or to remove it from you. What I think they've misunderstood is that if you change to a Vic license from a different state that is when they do that to your old license. In WA they remove it from you at the point of giving your new license - but only in the case of it being a license issued by a different state. They don't always re UK licence. It doesn't seem to be the norm where we are that this is done. UK licence was just handed back, intact. Same for others I've spoken to about it. You can always ask them not to deface it or ask them what they do with it *before* you hand it over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Ours was probably 14 years ago now so hopefully times have changed but it is worth checking when they ask for your UK license Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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