[Paisley]

It is possible for South African Drivers License Holders to exchange their SA License for a British one. Same applies for Ireland. I had it doen before mine expires in Ireland. Irish one is valid for 10 years. They will take your SA License and send it back to South Africa as you cannot hold on to both. Apparently if you decide to return to SA you can change Irish for SA one.

UK License

Ireland License

"if you return to GB from a non-EC/EEA country and are not in possession of a GB licence, you may:
drive for up to 12 months on your foreign licence"

Same applies for Ireland.

I did some further reading and looks like if you have UK Drivers License, you can change it for Canadian one. There are a few EU countries that Canada accepts. I hope someone can shed some more light on this.

[natalie]

Paisley, on Mar 25 2008, 12:09 PM, said:

I did some further reading and looks like if you have UK Drivers License, you can change it for Canadian one. There are a few EU countries that Canada accepts. I hope someone can shed some more light on this.

Only certain provinces allow you to exchange UK license for Canadian so you will have to check this. I know Ontario does, British Columbia does not, unfortunately.

[Paisley]

Natalie - I read on a British Expat site that a lady mentioend there that she was able to change her UK License in BC. The post was dated 2006. So may have changed in the meantime. You are correct about Ontario.

[natalie]

Quote

I read on a British Expat site that a lady mentioend there that she was able to change her UK License in BC.

My husband has a UK license and he had to go through the whole rigmarole of getting a BC license.

[Irlsa]

You can exchange a UK licence (but excluding Northern Ireland) in Alberta. They will take it from you and return it to the DVLA in Swansea, Wales. When you return to the UK then you can collect it from there, after you hand in your Alberta licence (officially, you are not permitted to hold more than one driving licence at any one time - you have to sign a declaration attesting to this). Irish driving licences cannot be exchanged in Alberta and you will have to retake your driving exam (practical only). If you have had a licence for more than a year, then you do not have to do the parking test. You will have to present your Irish driving licence in order to prove that you have been driving for more than one year, and when you present that they will take it from you and give you a temporary Alberta driving permit, which entitles you to drive but with conditions.