UK driving licence issue
I may be about to find myself in an inconvenient situation and hope I can get good advice and sort it out.
Later this year I expect to be going to South America with my Land Rover. While I’m away, my British driving licence (period of validity printed on it:1976 to 2015) will expire – in fact, it could have expired already, according to what I’ve read.
I got my first licence in about 1966, so this present one must have been a replacement. In 1976, after living abroad, I visited my parents. For the replacement I used their address. It was the only one I had. I retrurned to the UK in ’78 and for three years lived at several temporary addresses: a month in one town, two months in another. Tell the driving licence people every time I moved? It never occurred to me. If it had, it would have seemed preposterous. Anyway, I didn’t. In 1981 I went overseas again and have been abroad ever since.
The UK licensing authority will not register an overseas address. It’s an offence, I understand, not to notify the UK licensing authority of address change but they won't register an overseas address. It’s also an offence to drive in the UK with the wrong address on the licence. Then I’m a criminal!
Not the only one, I guess. I can’t be the only UK citizen with a currently dated (I’m being careful not to say “valid”) licence who’s living abroad and has no UK address.
When I turn 70, in 2015, I want (naturally) to keep my UK licence up-to-date. But it seems that won’t be possible: I don’t have a UK address and they won’t accept an overseas one.
Any advice much appreciated.
|