20Likes
Neither did I nor have I but my Guernsey licence was expiring and it seemed sensible to get a HK licence which can then be traded back in for a licence elsewhere if i were to leave.
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22-03-2019, 10:51 AM #31
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22-03-2019, 11:08 AM #32
Hong Kong does not require you to relinquish your foreign drivers licence when you exchange, unlike many other jurisdictions. Of course, as CS points out, the foreign licence is still invalid for driving when you are no longer resident in that country, but there is no re-exchange process required if you return.
Regarding the issue of insurance companies tracking you down, I would have thought it more likely the police would be doing this, in a case where you were deemed to be at fault in a serious accident and possibility of criminal charges arises. Of course, once the police find out you are non-resident and are therefore driving without a valid licence (validity is different to when it legally expires), then the insurance would likely also be declared invalid. Depends what your risk appetite is I guess, personally I drive on the licence of the country I am resident in and have never had an issue renting cars in any country.
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22-03-2019, 11:25 AM #33
Interestingly, a Hong Kong license does not require residency to be valid. Hence I wonder whether it could be used by someone such as @hullexile when residing in the Philippines as a valid driver's license to be used in the UK.
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22-03-2019, 11:53 AM #34
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22-03-2019, 12:08 PM #35
Just saying, in case one wants to be a jet setter with no permanent address or moves to a country where it's difficult to obtain a license (did you have to wait a year before you could apply for the Philippine license?) A Hong Kong license may work out well in those cases.
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22-03-2019, 12:34 PM #36
Same with a Dutch drivers license. Valid even when residing outside of the Netherlands and can be renewed as long as you have a correspondent address (can be any friend). I renewed last year and double checked this specifically. Validity is not revoked when you are non-resident. (I also have a HK drivers license as I am resident here, and a Chinese drivers license as I drive on a regular basis in China). But during my other travels I always use my Dutch license when I rent a car, the HK one was frowned upon several times.
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22-03-2019, 01:25 PM #37
One simple reason to get a HK licence is that when hiring a car online you need to input your address with the credit card details. Many companies will refuse the rental if the card address is different to the licence address.
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22-03-2019, 01:28 PM #38
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.
To clarify I'm a UK citizen and my photo license expired in in 2010, so it is under 10 years. I am at the moment trying to renew online but need my national insurance number which I've forgotten so waiting for that now before renewing. Lots of hassle.
Can I confirm with some of the comments here, have you tried renting a car with just your paper license in the UK? Did it work?
The paper licence I have is called "Counterpart Driving Licence" and this expires in 2042.
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22-03-2019, 01:34 PM #39
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22-03-2019, 01:35 PM #40
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