[Ticklefish]

Hello,

My husband and I have valid SA driver's licences. We have been in the UK for 1 year and 21 days. We started driving in Oct 2016. We thought our drivers' licenses could be used for up to 18 months, but I've now learned it is 12 months.

Our options are to exchange our SA licences and get UK licences (losing the SA licence card) OR apply for a provisional licence, do the theory and practical tests and get the licence that way.

My questions are:

1. If we exchange our licence cards for UK licences, can we drive with these in SA?

2. Since we are now over the 12 month mark, I assume we may not drive using our SA licences, but have to wait for the UK licences to come through first?
(is there any grace period, or was the 12 months the grace period?)

3. Is the test route better than the exchange route or just a matter of convenience? Any advice? I would have preferred to keep my SA licence card for as long as its valid in case I need it in visits to SA.

Thanks!

 

[clever-octopus]

Excuse me if I'm incorrect but I thought that you could continue to drive in the UK up to 12 months on your SA licence, but AFTER 12 months, you would have to exchange it for a UK licence? So you can still exchange it as long as it's not expired...

 

[Ticklefish]

Excuse me if I'm incorrect but I thought that you could continue to drive in the UK up to 12 months on your SA licence, but AFTER 12 months, you would have to exchange it for a UK licence? So you can still exchange it as long as it's not expired...

Thanks for your reply. That is how I read it too, but the word 'after' is a little ambiguous. I know I have up to 5 years in which to exchange the SA licence (as long as it is valid) - however, I'm not sure whether I can still drive now (after the 12 month period), or have to wait for the UK licence to be sent to me.

 

[Joppa]

No, you can't drive on your SA licence any more. Should you have a serious accident or you are caught on motoring offence, and your licence situation becomes clear, you may be prosecuted for driving without licence, and your insurance may be voided.

 

[Ticklefish]

Thanks for your clarification.