How quick/easy would it be to get a UK driving license if you already have your Australian ones. I'm living in Europe for the past few months and am getting around to getting a car but the country I'm in is a bit of a prick to get driving license. Someone said it would be easier to go to the UK and just get my Aus ones 'swapped' for a UK license to drive with no hassles as it would be treated as an EU license.

Anyone done this?

Hmm well I guess it shouldnt be too hard to pull off ... http://www.dvla.gov.uk/

Depends what country you're in.. You can drive legally on an aussie license for a year.. After that you're on your own.. You basically 'hand' in your license and they issue another one but its a procedure that takes time.. not quite as awesome as qld transport. bring the docs, fill out the form and wait 5mins.. more like 6 weeks or something i've been quoted so im gonna take the risk and stay on my Aussie license

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/DrivingInGbOnAForeignLicence/DG_4022562

thats the one you want if you're going to do it

Dont listen to boxhead, he practiced driving on the other side of the road before he went to the u.k....

If you are a visitor in GB, and hold full ordinary entitlement, you can drive any category of vehicle, up to 3.5 tonnes and with up to eight passenger seats, shown on your licence for up to 12 months from the date you last entered GB...

Doesn't that mean you could just pop across to France/Belgium/anywhere outside GB and back and you'd have another 12 months?

your supposed to do it in the first 12months, i havent bothered. just a form and swap. no biggy.

Doesn't that mean you could just pop across to France/Belgium/anywhere outside GB and back and you'd have another 12 months?

no, you wont be a resident of france/belgium...

last edited by mooby at 03:47:43 16/Mar/08

Dont listen to boxhead, he practiced driving on the other side of the road before he went to the u.k....

Well they do drive on the right hand side in europe.. its not my fault that family of 5 couldn't see i was preparing for a Euro-trip..

no, you wont be a resident of france/belgium...

Why would you need to be? All it says is "if you are a visitor in GB"...

Edit: to reaffirm what I was meaning, all it says is "up to 12 months from the date you last entered GB" so if you go out of GB and come back in, doesn't that set a new "last entered GB" date?

last edited by kos at 04:21:34 16/Mar/08

I'm in Poland at the moment and the "department of transport" seems to be from a communist era of the 60's ... I will be in the UK in a couple of weeks on a business trips so was hoping it would be possible to do it over there on the spot :(

Ah the good old People's Republic of Poland. Those were the days... I would assume. Maybe.

Le Infidel, where are you based out of mostly?

no idea at the moment but I guess Poland for a while because of the job

Are you on a EU/UK passport?

Yep, got my Aussie passport and a Polish one which I guess is an EU passport, the whole in point in trying to get a UK one is that it seems it would take about 6 months to get a Polish passport. Really bad beuracracy here.

Just use your Australian one and don't get caught doing naughty things, if you do just say you are a tourist, they'll let you off.

Hmm I wish it was that simple but this place reallly is from the Soviet times ... I tried to open a bank account but coulodnt because i didnt have some PESEL number because I didnt have an Identity card because I didnt have a registered place of residence because I didnt have a national service (conscription) registry

So yeah, still using my CBA savings account etc and getting taxed like hell.

Why would you need to be? All it says is "if you are a visitor in GB"...

Edit: to reaffirm what I was meaning, all it says is "up to 12 months from the date you last entered GB" so if you go out of GB and come back in, doesn't that set a new "last entered GB" date?

i am just speculating. like i said, i havent bothred after 6years. but i know public sector in the UK. they're all twats and you speak better english than them.

the thing is, its not the dvla that you have to worry about. the bobbies are cool and wouldnt give a rats ass. its when you crash into some merc and you have hot-shot laywers on your ass. thats when your gonna get f***ed over by EU laws.

le: where in poland are you? whats your email?

I'm in Lodz at the moment, i've PM'd you my email, cheers

haha poland is f***ed, they don't let you keep your tray while you're eating at maccas there...

They also dont let you Jaywalk ... I nearly got booked for jaywalking so I pretended I didnt speak any polish

the company who I work for just opened an office in Krakow - never going there to work, but might get there to visit, I hear its nice and cheap in Poland

czech republic is more fun money wise.. you can basically do anything.. Gambling in the casinos there is just silly.. when 1 pound buys you like 50 or something crowns...

not anymore boxhead ... it usualy gets you around 30 crowns these days :/ the british pound has fell quite a bit

omg what!! i was there like 6 months ago and spent up a storm!!! Still beer was only like 20 or 25 crowns so its still less then 1 pound for 1/2ltr beer

onto the german beer halls!!!

yeh prague for the motherf***ing win for beer prices

^^ try the ukraine. crazy prices. sell beers out of street vans like softdrink. its the way forward.

: )

polish are c***s full stop

also while ur in EU just get a swiss bank account - or a bank/trading sccount in Luxemberg - they are lax on the trading rules - ie you dont pay tax on share trades ftw

polish are c***s full stop

agreed.

polish are c***s full stop


agreed.

even though my father is polish I agree too ... things are so backwards here in some ways it really s***s me :/ Australia is the best in the world

come back to my booaat, we drink polish voska.

You can drive for a year on your aussie license cant ya? I would have swapped mine but i actually had negative points on my license at that point in time.. They still gave me a company van though, little did they know..... :D