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Hello all! Made it to the UK a few weeks ago on my ancestry visa and couldn't be happier 
So I started looking into exchanging my South African drivers for a GB licence and got the D1 forms today. I wanted to get clarification on a few things from folks with experience in the matter:
Do South Africans have to send their passports in with the application? Or does the South African drivers licence card count as ID? I know the Royal Mail is a damn sight better than the South African post office but wow would I be hesitant to post my passport!
Do we need to have stayed in the UK for 185 days? And do we need anything to prove that fact? I don't mind waiting 6 months to exchange it though, I just want to be sure. Earlier is always better!
There's a lot of conflicting information out there, some people say you have to exchange it in 3 months, some a year and gov.uk says 5 years as long as the licence is valid - which I presume is the most up to date and correct answer.
For anyone who's done the exchange does the GB licence reflect the South African licence's "First issue" date? For insurance purposes it would be nice to show you've been driving for 5+ years rather than a GB licence saying you got your first licence a month ago!
And one last question, with the DVLA local offices being shut down over the next few months is it worth still visiting them? I'd imagine some of the staff wouldn't be too motivated knowing they're about the lose their jobs and all :\
Thanks for any information!
So I started looking into exchanging my South African drivers for a GB licence and got the D1 forms today. I wanted to get clarification on a few things from folks with experience in the matter:
Do South Africans have to send their passports in with the application? Or does the South African drivers licence card count as ID? I know the Royal Mail is a damn sight better than the South African post office but wow would I be hesitant to post my passport!
Do we need to have stayed in the UK for 185 days? And do we need anything to prove that fact? I don't mind waiting 6 months to exchange it though, I just want to be sure. Earlier is always better!
There's a lot of conflicting information out there, some people say you have to exchange it in 3 months, some a year and gov.uk says 5 years as long as the licence is valid - which I presume is the most up to date and correct answer.
For anyone who's done the exchange does the GB licence reflect the South African licence's "First issue" date? For insurance purposes it would be nice to show you've been driving for 5+ years rather than a GB licence saying you got your first licence a month ago!
And one last question, with the DVLA local offices being shut down over the next few months is it worth still visiting them? I'd imagine some of the staff wouldn't be too motivated knowing they're about the lose their jobs and all :\
Thanks for any information!