Can I drive in the UK with my licence?

Can I drive in the UK using my foreign licence?’ If you are asking this question then you’re in the right place!

Regardless of where you are relocating from, if you hold a foreign licence you will be able to drive in the UK immediately. However, the length of validity and next steps will depend on the country of your driving licence registration. You can use this tool from the official UK government website to see if you can drive in the UK with your non-GB driving license, or you can refer to the table below

Can drive in Great Britain on their full, valid driving licence Can exchange their EU licence for a GB licence if they wish to. No need to retake driving tests.	EU/ EEA
Can drive in Great Britain on their full, valid driving licence for 12 months from when they became resident Will need to exchange their licence after 12 months. They have 5 years since they became resident to do this.	“Designated countries”: Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Andorra, Australia, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Republic of North Macedonia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Zimbabwe
Can drive in Great Britain on their full, valid driving licence for 12 months from when they became resident After 12 months, will need to apply for a provisional licence and pass the theory and practical driving tests.	Any other countries not listed above

British License Application/ Exchange Process

The process on exchanging a non-GB driving licence to a GB licence for drivers from EU/EEA and designated countries can be found on this UK government page.

However, if you are not from EU/EEA or one of the designated countries, you will need to take and pass both your theory and practical drivers’ examination to continue driving in the UK before the 12-month period is over. You can find the steps on this page. Applying for a GB licence invalidates an international licence so please keep this in mind. You’re not required to take any driving lessons in the UK before taking the test, but you might find it helpful to get familiar with The Highway Code and brush up on your driving skills. Please be aware also that the UK uses left-hand traffic

Helpful resources:

For further information, you can visit the UK government website using the following links

Joanna Tuazon

CapitalNurse International Recruitment Community Lead

I am an internationally educated nurse who came to London in 2016 to further my career. I have a well-rounded experience in community nursing and started my career in the NHS as a community staff nurse in health visiting moving on to cover areas such as rehabilitation, district nursing, and nurse-led services. Currently, I am the Community IR Lead for CapitalNurse. As an internationally recruited nurse myself, my passion is to have a wider, positive impact not only in the way healthcare is delivered to patients but also in the experience of internationally recruited nurses from recruitment to deployment and beyond.