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Questions related to driving and insurance in UK

This is an area for the discussion of matters related to issues about moving from one country to another. Examples could be about money transfer, moving and packing, validity of driving licence, etc..

It is not a general non-immigration, free-for-all area.

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encandator
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Questions related to driving and insurance in UK

Post by encandator » Mon Apr 27, 2015 11:48 am

Hello All,

I know that the questions have been asked many times but I am trying to get more information.

1. I have an Indian driving license (not International Driving Permit from India), can i still drive for 12 months?

2. I have visited UK on Tier 2 visa before in 2010 and its been almost 4-5 years and i have come back to UK on Tier 2 visa again, will my clock be reset? i.e will I be able to drive for next 12 months from the time I entered UK and became resident?

3. For applying to UK driving license, i see that as first step I need to apply for a Provisional Driving license and from few of the forums and links there may be a requirement that the person has to stay for around 170-180 days before they can apply for provisional license. Is that true?

4. I have been driving in India for 5-6 years but when i see the insurance providers here in UK, the quotation is pretty high. Can anyone provide few references to insurance providers who consider the previous driving experience in India for quotation?

5. If i were to hire a car, which insurance would be the best and what would be the approximate cost?

Thank you all for your inputs.

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CR001
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Re: Questions related to driving and insurance in UK

Post by CR001 » Mon Apr 27, 2015 11:57 am

1. Yes, you can drive for 12 months

2. No it has no effect. You can drive for 12 months from date of entry to the UK (current)

3. Yes, that is correct.

4. They won't considered it if you have to do a new UK license. You will be treated as a new driver and will have to pay the high fees. We cannot on this forum advise you of 'preferred' or 'cheap' insurance companies. India does not have an exchange agreement with the UK for drivers licenses.

5. If you hire a car, you have to use and pay the insurance that the hire car company uses and it will be fully comprehensive. What you pay depends on your age and various other factors. You don't have a choice. But hiring a car will cost more than the insurance on a new UK license per month.

https://www.gov.uk/exchange-foreign-dri ... ycle/other
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Wanderer
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Re: Questions related to driving and insurance in UK

Post by Wanderer » Tue Apr 28, 2015 7:21 am

Pretty sure you can only drive on a foreign licence for 12 months and that's it, no clock reset, goes from date first resident, i.e. this this case 2010.

I'm not super-sure though!
You can drive in Great Britain (GB) on your full, valid driving licence for up to 12 months from the time you first became resident. After this time, you will need to apply for a GB provisional driving licence and pass both a theory and a practical driving test to qualify for a GB driving licence.
An chéad stad eile Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile....

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Re: Questions related to driving and insurance in UK

Post by CR001 » Tue Apr 28, 2015 9:45 am

OP should be fine given that it is a substantial period. What about people who come work temporarily for 8 months and then leave? They don't then only have 4 months left to use foreign license.

Once OP arrives in UK and starts his residence, he can drive for 12 months. In this time, there is no need to notify DVLA so how would they know about previous trip, unless OP clocked up some fines etc.
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encandator
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Re: Questions related to driving and insurance in UK

Post by encandator » Tue Apr 28, 2015 11:05 am

Here is the response based on a questionaire on gov.co.uk

1 Are you: a resident of Great Britain
2 What kind of driving licence do you have? Full car and/or motorcycle
3 Where was your licence issued?
Any other country

You can drive in Great Britain on your full, valid driving licence for 12 months from when you became resident.

what does this mean?

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Re: Questions related to driving and insurance in UK

Post by CR001 » Tue Apr 28, 2015 11:15 am

Well that is exactly what was in the link I already provided after doing it for you.

It means you can drive in the UK on your Indian license for 12 months from date of entry to the UK (when you become resident). You cannot drive for longer than 12 months on your current license and will need to apply for a provisional license and then do the tests etc to gain a full UK license.

You cannot exchange your Indian license for a UK one like some countries can.
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Re: Questions related to driving and insurance in UK

Post by jbminger » Sun Apr 10, 2016 5:19 pm

I would highly recommend xxxxx. It's best to ring them and let them know your situation. They gave me a good rate. They acknowledged my driving experience from the US, I presume they would accept driving experience from elsewhere in the world. I have been resident in the UK about 2 years and got my full UK license 11months ago.

My current insurer, xxxxxx (stay far far away from them) wanted to charge me 530 GBP more for the remaining 6 months of our policy when I emailed them to say my US license was about to expire and provide them my full UK license, ie they were considering me as a new driver with 11 months experience - They would not accept any rational idea about the fact I've been driving for 20 years.

Give xxxxx a ring - they were very helpful...
Last edited by noajthan on Sun Apr 10, 2016 11:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Removed company details

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Re: Questions related to driving and insurance in UK

Post by Wanderer » Sun Apr 10, 2016 10:32 pm

jbminger wrote:I would highly recommend xxxxx. It's best to ring them and let them know your situation. They gave me a good rate. They acknowledged my driving experience from the US, I presume they would accept driving experience from elsewhere in the world. I have been resident in the UK about 2 years and got my full UK license 11months ago.

My current insurer, xxxxx (stay far far away from them) wanted to charge me 530 GBP more for the remaining 6 months of our policy when I emailed them to say my US license was about to expire and provide them my full UK license, ie they were considering me as a new driver with 11 months experience - They would not accept any rational idea about the fact I've been driving for 20 years.

Give xxxxx a ring - they were very helpful...
How's the job at xxxxxx going?

You will have been driving automatic transmission barges on massive roads with no corners in US lol!! Not the same as Europe.
Last edited by noajthan on Sun Apr 10, 2016 11:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Removed company details
An chéad stad eile Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile....

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