As British expats take to social media to vent their fury that their UK driving licences are no longer valid in Spain diplomatic sources have suggested that the issue could be linked to a bigger deal, which is being negotiated betwen Britain and Spain and includes the post Brexit rights of British citizens living in Spain.
Although not officially confirmed it appears that the Spanish government is holding back on UK driving licences until the new bigger deal with Britain is approved. This deal also includes the post Brexit status of Gibraltar and its people.
The Spanish government have said that they want good relations with the new British government of Liz Truss and also they want to resolve a number of issues which have come about since Brexit.
The biggest concern for some British expats is that their UK driving licences are no longer valid in Spain and a deal, which the British Embassy hoped would be reached over the summer, has still not been ratified. A news report by Spanish state news agency EFE suggested that the hold up could be as a result of ongoing talks over Gibraltar. This would explain the present problem over driving licences which is not only a source of anger for expats it is also frustrating the Foreign Office and British Embassy in Madrid.
To put the issue in context Spain did approve a series of grace periods in which British expats, not tourists who can drive legally, could exchange their British licences for Spanish ones. It appears that a number of British expats, many hundreds judging by the social media outcry, still failed to do so and Spain has so far not granted a new grace period.
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Ulla JacksonI find this entire fury and outrage completely ridiculous. If you want a bloody driving licence, go get one. Nothing is stopping you. And quit blaming everybody else for not doing it.
Morgan WilliamsWhy so many red flags, are you all the ones who couldn't be bother to take action on time? I fully support Morgan Williams views, it's time British stop feeling special. You had your vote, now accept that decision and the implications.
British driving licences are perfectly valid in Spain. This is misguided. Unless of course, you're a permanent resident of Spain, in which case, you'll need to obtain a Spanish driving licence, like most places in the world. There was plenty of opportunity to do that by simply exchanging your British licence for a Spanish one, but that opportunity expired some time ago. Now you'll need to take the driving test, like anybody else. You could have had yours by now, but you didn't. Which is better? Being able to legally drive? Or moaning that you've chosen not to?