Viewpoint: A driving licence break

Why can’t Spain and the UK reach a similar agreement

UK residents no longer have to exchange their driving licences in France. | MDB files

Humphrey CarterPalma01/07/2021 11:23

The United Kingdom and France are still working on making the lives of their citizens easier post Brexit. In Spain, the latest development is that British driving licences will be now valid until the end of October, but then British residents who failed to exchange their licence for a Spanish one before the deadline, will have to take a Spanish driving test.
However, the UK and France have gone the extra mile.

The French and British authorities have reached an agreement on the continued mutual recognition of driving licences.

The principle of full licence recognition applies to holders of UK driving licences issued before 1 January 2021. These licence holders do not need to exchange their licence for a French one, whatever their nationality. This principle also applies to French licence holders resident in the UK.

In practical terms, UK licence holders living in France and French licence holders living in the UK can continue to drive with their original valid licence.

They do not need to apply to exchange for a local licence, except when their original licence expires or in the case of loss or theft.

I know of a number of British residents who were caught in the exchange trap in Spain and I really don’t understand what the problem is, why can’t Spain and the UK reach a similar agreement.

It would be much easier than taking a Spanish driving test.

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Colin Allcars | over 3 years ago

So much for uniformity and solidarity across the EU. Brexit has clearly illustrated that EU unity is a pipe-dream, and that privately France will make unilateral decisions to suit it’s own agendas, while publicly pretending to have a hardline approach to Great Britain.

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