Converting U.K. driving licence to NSW

[Marisawright 10,724]

32 minutes ago, FirstWorldProblems said:

  It doesn't mention foreign licence holders, but worth a call.

I found a few companies and just happened to pick that one without noticing it didn't mention foreign licence holders. That's the trouble with Google!   

Looking into it more carefully, I couldn't find anything that offered that type of insurance for foreign licence holders.  There's a few options for expats who still hold their UK licence but that's it.

I notice there are lots of websites saying it's still possible to add an overseas driver as a named driver on your existing policy, so perhaps it depends on the company?   Maybe the answer would be to contact a UK insurance broker.

https://www.moneymaxim.co.uk/short-term-car-insurance-uk-overseas-residents

 

[FirstWorldProblems 2,058]

6 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

I found a few companies and just happened to pick that one without noticing it didn't mention foreign licence holders. That's the trouble with Google!   

Looking into it more carefully, I couldn't find anything that offered that type of insurance for foreign licence holders.  There's a few options for expats who still hold their UK licence but that's it.

I notice there are lots of websites saying it's still possible to add an overseas driver as a named driver on your existing policy, so perhaps it depends on the company?   Maybe the answer would be to contact a UK insurance broker.

https://www.moneymaxim.co.uk/short-term-car-insurance-uk-overseas-residents

 

Thank you for doing that.   It does look like some insurers are still offering it doesn't it.   Our two companies are not and nor were the two we had last year.  Might be we need to stop buying based on cheapest premium and look a bit deeper......

 

[Ken 1,702]

On 12/08/2023 at 20:44, Tulip1 said:

I wonder if it’s the same the other way around then.  Last time I was in Australia, my son said I could drive his car.  When I asked about insurance he said his rego covers anyone third party (or something like that) does that mean as I’d be using my UK license I wouldn’t be covered? 

On our insurance policy any driver (over a certain age - I forget how old that is but it makes the policy a lot cheaper) can drive, but there's an additional excess for not being a named driver and a further excess if they have a foreign driver's license or an Australian licence for less than a set number of years. All the policies I've seen over here have been similar. Because the compulsory third party portion is covered by rego it's probably easier for insurers to provide any driver cover here than in the UK.

Note that they need to be a named driver if they live at the same address, but obviously if they are visiting from overseas then they don't live at your address. Might catch out someone who is putting up a friend or relative who is a new migrant though!

[Tulip1 4,853]

3 hours ago, Ken said:

On our insurance policy any driver (over a certain age - I forget how old that is but it makes the policy a lot cheaper) can drive, but there's an additional excess for not being a named driver and a further excess if they have a foreign driver's license or an Australian licence for less than a set number of years. All the policies I've seen over here have been similar. Because the compulsory third party portion is covered by rego it's probably easier for insurers to provide any driver cover here than in the UK.

Note that they need to be a named driver if they live at the same address, but obviously if they are visiting from overseas then they don't live at your address. Might catch out someone who is putting up a friend or relative who is a new migrant though!

Thanks for that.  Sounds like I was ok then as just a visitor and I’m confident I’d be over the minimum age! 

[Raplin45 20]

On 11/08/2023 at 23:43, InnerVoice said:

If you move back to the UK and renew an expired licence they just send it to you and ask you to destroy your old licence. They don't ask the reason why you didn't renew it for so long, or if you've been overseas, or have another licence - so I don't think 'null and void' would be an accurate description.

Perhaps null and void was bad wording, I meant if the address on your UK license isn't up to date and you need to show it when driving on UK roads for whatever reason (albeit of course you can drive in the UK on your Australian license) it's illegal and therefore has an associated fine, what happens after that of course I'm unsure...

[Ausvisitor 807]

On 13/08/2023 at 17:58, FirstWorldProblems said:

I had not come across this - that's very helpful, thank you.  I did not think a car could be covered by 2 policies at once, so perhaps I assumed wrong.  It doesn't mention foreign licence holders, but worth a call.

These policies operate in a grey area of the law around dual policies.

Firstly there always needs to be a "proper policy" in place on the vehicle so when it is parked etc. It is covered.

Now when a person not on the policy drives a vehicle with the owners permission (except when expressly allowed by the insurer) the policy becomes void for that journey, so whilst that uninsured driver is driving there is no policy in place, so they can therefore be covered by one of these "overlay policies"

Marmalade is the biggest temporary insurer in the market and is commonly used so parents don't lose their no claims when teaching kids to drive

[Philip 3]

I got an NSW licence about 10 years ago despite not living in Australia. I contacted the (then) RTA who said that as an Australian citizen, I could get one as long as I had some sort of address proof - this was achieved as I was on my parents' health insurance, which covered a child living overseas up to age 25.

They copied my GB licence and gave it back (if I hadn't had it for 3 years, they would have given me a P1 or P2). In those days the RTA printed them on the spot, so I rented a car right after getting it and later that day the police stopped me for a random breath test!

I asked for the policemen's opinions and they said as long as when I'm in Australia I'm living at, or have access to the address on the NSW licence they didn't see a problem, but if I showed the GB licence they would ask for my passport, and if I showed an Australian passport they would want to see flight tickets or similar showing that I was only in the country for a short period.

 

I also spoke to a DVLA employee at a social event off the record and they said while the UK doesn't want you to have multiple licences from different countries, it's only because people would use them to spread out points and avoid bans, particularly if they use different names. If you've never had any offences then they don't really care. And apparently you only get fined for a wrong address on a UK licence if you fail to respond to something sent in the post because you don't have access to that address - but the police/CPS/magistrates may have a different view to the DVLA.

[FirstWorldProblems 2,058]

2 hours ago, Philip said:

I got an NSW licence about 10 years ago despite not living in Australia. I contacted the (then) RTA who said that as an Australian citizen, I could get one as long as I had some sort of address proof - this was achieved as I was on my parents' health insurance, which covered a child living overseas up to age 25.

They copied my GB licence and gave it back (if I hadn't had it for 3 years, they would have given me a P1 or P2). In those days the RTA printed them on the spot, so I rented a car right after getting it and later that day the police stopped me for a random breath test!

I asked for the policemen's opinions and they said as long as when I'm in Australia I'm living at, or have access to the address on the NSW licence they didn't see a problem, but if I showed the GB licence they would ask for my passport, and if I showed an Australian passport they would want to see flight tickets or similar showing that I was only in the country for a short period.

 

I also spoke to a DVLA employee at a social event off the record and they said while the UK doesn't want you to have multiple licences from different countries, it's only because people would use them to spread out points and avoid bans, particularly if they use different names. If you've never had any offences then they don't really care. And apparently you only get fined for a wrong address on a UK licence if you fail to respond to something sent in the post because you don't have access to that address - but the police/CPS/magistrates may have a different view to the DVLA.

Thanks for sharing your experience. That’s very helpful. 

[rammygirl 2,167]

And I bet insurance companies do too.  You might find yourself uninsured, which apart from not getting cover is also an offence in the UK.