Driving Licence exchange

"Do I have to give up my UK licence? Why can’t I keep both?

"Once an exchange agreement is in force, you can drive in Spain on your UK licence for the first six months of living here, during which time you must exchange it for a Spanish licence. It is not possible to hold licences issued by the UK and Spain at the same time."

I'm not sure that's entirely true, the operative word being "exchange".

First and foremost there is no compulsion to exchange a UK licence for a Spanish one but if you do you will have to surrender the UK one, that's what "exchange" means.

If however you were to take a Spanish test then I see no legal impediment to holding both, perhaps someone knows differently?

US citizens are in a similar situation because with no exchange agreement they are perfectly entitled to take a Spanish test and hold onto their US licences. Now outside of the EU effectively UK is no different.

You're confusing a licence exchange with taking a Spanish driving test.  If you do the latter, you do not have to surrender your UK licence, but if you want to exchange a UK licence for Spanish, surrendering your UK licence is part of the exchange procedure.  

If you live permanently in Spain and want to be able to drive here, you are compelled to obtain a Spanish licence by either of the above methods.  Prior to Brexit, UK citizens had to do this within 2 years of obtaining residency, but now, as Third Country citizens, this has to be done within 6 months.

I would suggest that for anything to do with driving in Spain you have a look at the N332 website which is for English speaking people.   The site, and their Facebook page, is run in collaboration with officers of the Guardia Civil and has an English version of the Spanish equivalent of the Highway Code on it.

Sadly, the N332 Facebook page will not be able to help, specifically about UK driving license exchanges, until any agreement between Spain and the UK is passed into Spanish law.

I have just received an email stating that my application for Family Member of an EU citizen has been successful. I have an appointment next week to supply my fingerprints and the card will be available about 2weeks later. Am I correct that once I receive the card I can only drive on my U.K. licence for 6 months from the date the card is issued ?

Please don’t berate me and say I should have done something  about  it already as we only arrived in July and an exchange wasn’t possible.

I’m hoping that if I’m right the exchange issue will be settled within the 6 months

Thanks 

You'll get all the information you need by clicking on this link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/driving-in-the-eu-uk-licence-holders-living-in-the-eu#:~:text=Rules%20for%20driving%20in%20Europe,-You%20must%20check&text=UK%20licence%20holders%20resident%20in,licence%20until%2030%20April%202022.&text=UK%20driving%20licence%20holders%20resident,drive%20until%2031%20December%202022.

Hi Alan mac and congratulations on your residency!

While you've gained residence as the family member of an EU citizen, if you hold a UK passport, your UK-issued driving licence will no longer be valid for use in Spain after 6 months from the date your Spanish residency is granted.  However, given that the post-Brexit licence exchange process was supposed to have been completed and rolled out in July this year, and we are now a further 6 months on with resolution still not complete, it may not be wise to assume that this will be resolved in the next 6 months.  

A friend of mine undertook driving lessons at a driving school in La Zenia and passed his Spanish driving test within 4 months, so it may be prudent to get on and do that.  Having passed his Spanish test, he now holds both UK and Spanish driving licences, whereas those of us who exchanged licences, had to relinquish our UK licence.

Kind regards, 

Kim