Expired UK driving license

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Aug 2012
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    59

    Expired UK driving license

    I am going back to the UK in the summer and want to hire a car, but I just checked my UK drivers license and apparently it expired in 2010! What to do?

    If I want to get a HK license, do I have to take the test again? Has anyone had this problem?

    any advice would be appreciated!

    thanks xxx


  2. #2

    Join Date
    May 2014
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    Sai Kung
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    Oh dear! It really doesn't look good I'm afraid. Get ready to grovel!

    What Happens if My Driving Licence Has Expired?

    Renewing a driving licence that has been expired for some time
    If more than two years has passed since your driving licence expired, you may be made to retake your driving test in order to get a new licence. This is especially the case if your licence has expired due to age (driving licences need to be renewed when you reach seventy years of age) or for medical reasons. For these, you may also have to pass a medical. In other cases, you can simply apply for a new licence without problem, although the DVLA will often want to know why your licence has been expired for so long.
    I would also try to convert my U.K. licence to a HK one right away. Try your luck as it were. I believe they will accept licences that have been expired for up to three years...grovel, grovel!
    Last edited by Prefab Sprout; 25-05-2014 at 08:51 AM.

  3. #3

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    Original Post Deleted
    That is incorrect. The licence can be expired up to 3 years. You then get another 10 years on your HK licence.

  4. #4

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    Original Post Deleted
    Like I said, be prepared to grovel. The OP wouldn't be the first person who had flexibility shown to them by the HKTD, especially as a Brit.

  5. #5

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    Original Post Deleted
    Agreed. It depends on who you deal with. I lost motorcycle and LGV entitlement. I appealed in writing and got the LGV but not the motorcycle. I know another guy who achieved the opposite. That said, I've heard more stories like yours where they were absolute sticklers.

  6. #6

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    If you had full motorcycle that is completely transferable. If it was provisional motorcycle or moped that is different. LGV is one of those peculiar and not common and does get overlooked sometimes, just look at the queues nowadays.

    Apart from that they are complete sticklers for by the manual rules.


  7. #7

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    Expired UK driving license

    Quote Originally Posted by HKma:
    I am going back to the UK in the summer and want to hire a car, but I just checked my UK drivers license and apparently it expired in 2010! What to do?

    If I want to get a HK license, do I have to take the test again? Has anyone had this problem?

    any advice would be appreciated!

    thanks xxx
    Edited, my comment not valid, law change
    Last edited by kimwy66; 25-05-2014 at 11:33 AM.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by kimwy66:
    Edited, my comment not valid, law change
    I'm guessing we must have been thinking the same!

    For some things, being older is an advantage

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    I'm guessing it's not actually your licence that has expired (valid 50 years I think) - simply the photo card part of it that only lasts 10 years? I think the rule here in HK is that if you have a UK licence you can get an HK one as long as the photo card only expired less than 3 years ago. So try the grovel route, it's only an admin technicality in that you didn't renew your photocard.

    Alternatively, if you still have an address in the UK, try renewing it there. I don't know what the implications on doing that is though if you are non-resident for tax.


  10. #10

    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    59

    Thanks everyone. It seems nuts that my license was only valid for 7 years (passed in 2003, expired 2010) and makes sense that it is only the photocard that expired. I will speak to the HK people tomorrow and see what they say.


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