MOVING TO SPAIN IN 2008

[dido72]

Thanks for that it sound nice and easy

Diana

[Retro P]

Interesting info. I am new to this forum and haven't followed earlier threads, so sorry if I repeated previous discussions. I have a Spanish licence which is due for renewal this year, and had half wondered whether to see if I could get my UK one back instead. At the risk of sounding a bigot, I'm kind of proud to have obtained my original licence in a country with some kind of driving standards. Think I'll renew my Spanish one however after reading this.
Cheers.

Your original UK licence is no longer your property, you have surrendered it in favour of a Spanish one, the only way to get a UK licence back is to go to the UK and live there, I think

[peteroldracer]

Thanks for that it sound nice and easy

Nothing - and I mean nothing - is ever nice and easy in Spain, particularly when dealing with the bureaucracy!
Your UK license is valid anywhere in Europe (seems to be the current thinking) but you should register it with Trafico. If you go to one of the official medical test centres and get a certificate of fitness to drive, and renew this as per rules for Spaniards (depends on your age) you should be fine. Just remember that your UK license MUST have a valid address where you may be contacted by the DVLA - as I read it, you do not have to live there, just be able to be got hold of.......they will not put a non-UK address on a UK license.
BUT...things change all the time, and it does depend on the individual Guardia Civil officer who is dealing with you! Sheeesh!!

[dido72]

Thank you Peter,

that sounds like a good option, if I can possibly avoid complications I will, there is quite enough to deal with already

[Troglodyfae]

I read somewhere that there are moves to make all european driving licences the same so everyone in Europe is singing from the same hymn sheet. I am aware that there is a european driving licence so it this one and the same ?

Also read elsewhere that there were also moves to negate the re-plating of vehicles from other countries, not sure how this would work but would be interested to hear from anyone who has more information

[El Cid]

The concept of a truly EU licence is still years away it will happen but not for at least 5 years.

Similarly the concept of EU wide licensing of vehicles. The driving licence initiative is well documented but nothing yet has appeared about the question of vehicle licencing - and remember that UK vehicles are normally RHD which may well present a problem.

Don't hold your breath!

Sid

[Troglodyfae]

Cheers Sid I thought that might be the case Breath holding put on pause

[puertoduquesa]

Sallyanne,

You may already have found these, but here are a couple of good web sites, specific to the Duquesa/Estepona area:

www..
www.theresident.eu

You may also want to have a look at my blog (see signature) for information on Puerto Duquesa.

Good luck with the move.

Chris

[safeashouses]

www.****

Llnks to Manilva Life aren't allowed on here Chris not even in a PM.

You've probably doomed The Resident too now but don't worry Gary fortunately has broad shoulders. He even has a link to Andalucia.com on his site it's just not reciprocated.

[puertoduquesa]

Oh, crikey, no intention of ruffling any feathers at all, but think they are useful sites...

Why are links not allowed?

[peteroldracer]

Why are links not allowed?

Because it would be a little bit like the Sun publishing letters telling people to read the Daily Express? Although come to think about it, a Sun reader would struggle with words as long as "Express"
Seriously, I understand where the monitors are coming from. Apart from the forum, which is free for all of us to use, the rest of the site is a "pay-for-it" commercial operation.

[puertoduquesa]

Thanks for the clarification. Personally, I think the sites I linked to are complementary, rather than competitive, but I will bear that in mind in future (last thing I want is a black mark as a newbie!).

Chris

[Troglodyfae]

Lol unless you use Firefox and then they are most accessible