Forbes1 Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 Hi, We're coming back to the UK for a month for a holiday after living in Oz for 10 years & our U.K. driving licences have expired. Anyhow We're going to buy a campervan & then get a mate to sell it when we go (hopefully save some money) anyhow anyone had any luck getting temporary insurance & using their aussie licences & if so who & how much. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Billy & Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausvisitor Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 It will be much simpler to just re-apply for a UK driving licence using your mates (or a family members) address. They are currently churning them out in about 3 weeks from application (having almost caught up from their horrendous COVID backlog) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausvisitor Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 1 hour ago, Forbes1 said: Hi, We're coming back to the UK for a month for a holiday after living in Oz for 10 years & our U.K. driving licences have expired. Anyhow We're going to buy a campervan & then get a mate to sell it when we go (hopefully save some money) anyhow anyone had any luck getting temporary insurance & using their aussie licences & if so who & how much. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Billy & Jane On a note not related to driving licences, have you already found the camper van? If not be prepared for a difficult search, since COVID people have gone crazy for them in the UK and the usual "dump" of them into the resale market in the winter didn't happen this year (as people are planning on UK hols in 2022 again) so there are very few available For a month, by the time you've bought it and insured it and then lost money reselling it, it will almost certainly be cheaper to rent a decent one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welljock Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 5 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said: It will be much simpler to just re-apply for a UK driving licence using your mates (or a family members) address. They are currently churning them out in about 3 weeks from application (having almost caught up from their horrendous COVID backlog) And almost certainly not legal 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausvisitor Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, welljock said: And almost certainly not legal It's 100% legal. So long as they are still UK citizens and haven't surrendered their licence. The address on your licence is your UK contact address it does not have to be your residential address. Many licences are registered to service addresses. Equally it is perfectly legal to have a UK and an AUS licence at the same time. In fact similarly to rules in AUS if you have a UK licence (a driver number not the physical card which can expire) you are supposed to drive on that permission in the UK rather than your AUS licence (vice versa in AUS - I just got my new NSW licence and I had to sign an undertaking that I would only use my NSW licence in AUS and not my UK one) Edited February 24, 2022 by Ausvisitor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forbes1 Posted February 24, 2022 Author Share Posted February 24, 2022 6 hours ago, Ausvisitor said: On a note not related to driving licences, have you already found the camper van? If not be prepared for a difficult search, since COVID people have gone crazy for them in the UK and the usual "dump" of them into the resale market in the winter didn't happen this year (as people are planning on UK hols in 2022 again) so there are very few available For a month, by the time you've bought it and insured it and then lost money reselling it, it will almost certainly be cheaper to rent a decent one Oh yee of little faith, there's plenty of vans in our price range, may even just buy a small van, Berlingo, Caddy etc. . Lived in vans for years in Europe & U.K. & Aussie, so kind of know the deal. Really interested in Insurance recommendations, thanks for your input . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cup Final 1973 Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 5 hours ago, Ausvisitor said: It's 100% legal. So long as they are still UK citizens and haven't surrendered their licence. The address on your licence is your UK contact address it does not have to be your residential address. Many licences are registered to service addresses. Equally it is perfectly legal to have a UK and an AUS licence at the same time. In fact similarly to rules in AUS if you have a UK licence (a driver number not the physical card which can expire) you are supposed to drive on that permission in the UK rather than your AUS licence (vice versa in AUS - I just got my new NSW licence and I had to sign an undertaking that I would only use my NSW licence in AUS and not my UK one) I believe if you no longer live in the UK you should hand in your UK driving licence. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cup Final 1973 Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 If you do not reside permanently in the UK you cannot retain or renew your licence. A driving licence can only be issued by your country of residence. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 The speed of any services in the UK at the moment is slow so buying, registering, insuring then selling a van just for a month looks hard work to me. Have you looked at rentals or borrowing one from an enthusiast club perhaps? Would be different for three months but a month will fly by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 15 hours ago, Forbes1 said: anyone had any luck getting temporary insurance & using their aussie licences AFAIK, none of them will touch you unless you have proof of a permanent address in the UK. Could you get yourself added to the car insurance of a member of your family? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveshe Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 22 hours ago, Ausvisitor said: It's 100% legal. So long as they are still UK citizens and haven't surrendered their licence. The address on your licence is your UK contact address it does not have to be your residential address. Many licences are registered to service addresses. Equally it is perfectly legal to have a UK and an AUS licence at the same time. In fact similarly to rules in AUS if you have a UK licence (a driver number not the physical card which can expire) you are supposed to drive on that permission in the UK rather than your AUS licence (vice versa in AUS - I just got my new NSW licence and I had to sign an undertaking that I would only use my NSW licence in AUS and not my UK one) We was told by DVLA you need to be a resident and living in the UK to hold a UK licence , not live in Australia as a resident and hold one as its illegal . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausvisitor Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 6 minutes ago, steveshe said: We was told by DVLA you need to be a resident and living in the UK to hold a UK licence , not live in Australia as a resident and hold one as its illegal . However as soon as a British citizen sets foot on UK soil they are deemed resident in the UK. They may also have habitual residence somewhere else (like Australia) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 9 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said: However as soon as a British citizen sets foot on UK soil they are deemed resident in the UK. They may also have habitual residence somewhere else (like Australia) Can you provide a link to prove that? I'd be surprised if it is the case. For things like transacting on a bank account, registering with a GP, or getting treatment under the NHS, it's not enough to be a citizen - you must also show proof of a permanent address. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Try hiring a car in the UK with a UK license. They want proof of address, utility bills etc. if you use your Aus license they just need I.d. It clearly states on DVLA you must be resident in UK, now if you are returning to live you are but not if just on holiday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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