This will not be an issue (and not be of interest I guess) for those with permanent residence here in Aus. as I understand that you must obtain an Aussie driving licence.
My husband and I are happily residing in Melbourne on a 457 Visa and under the terms of our temporary residence are entitled to drive without a VIC driving licence so long as our UK licence is valid
For those of you with two part EU style driving licences, you may have seen the e-mails doing the rounds that warn about the expiry date - 4b on the plastic card part of the licence. If you have not, the issue in short; the paper part of the licence expires on the day before the holders 60th birthday whilst the plastic part of the licence, with the photo ID, expires every 10 years from issue. Both parts must be within date for the licence to be valid.
Sadly (unlike overseas passport renewals) the UK (DVLA) makes no provision to issue renewal's for expiring licences where the holder is resident outside the UK, even if only on a temporary visa. Having been redirected by the British Consulate in Melbourne, I exchanged some e-mails with the DVLA and obtained this statement in confirmation.
We can of course obtain a VIC licence (fairly easily I am told) to ensure that we can continue to drive here. This will probably suffice to drive with when we visit the UK - I'm awaiting confirmation from the DVLA - and whilst we wait for renewal upon our permanent return.
There must be many UK temporary expats who are in the same situation (?) some with easy solutions and some with none. I'm not sure that the DVLA's position makes sense to me so any suggestions that might help would be most gratefully received.
Thanks in advance.
My husband and I are happily residing in Melbourne on a 457 Visa and under the terms of our temporary residence are entitled to drive without a VIC driving licence so long as our UK licence is valid
For those of you with two part EU style driving licences, you may have seen the e-mails doing the rounds that warn about the expiry date - 4b on the plastic card part of the licence. If you have not, the issue in short; the paper part of the licence expires on the day before the holders 60th birthday whilst the plastic part of the licence, with the photo ID, expires every 10 years from issue. Both parts must be within date for the licence to be valid.
Sadly (unlike overseas passport renewals) the UK (DVLA) makes no provision to issue renewal's for expiring licences where the holder is resident outside the UK, even if only on a temporary visa. Having been redirected by the British Consulate in Melbourne, I exchanged some e-mails with the DVLA and obtained this statement in confirmation.
We can of course obtain a VIC licence (fairly easily I am told) to ensure that we can continue to drive here. This will probably suffice to drive with when we visit the UK - I'm awaiting confirmation from the DVLA - and whilst we wait for renewal upon our permanent return.
There must be many UK temporary expats who are in the same situation (?) some with easy solutions and some with none. I'm not sure that the DVLA's position makes sense to me so any suggestions that might help would be most gratefully received.
Thanks in advance.