[vivgarner]

Hi,

Thanks for any help in advance.

My children are dual nationals who have lived in the UK most of their lives. It would be easier, faster to do a test in their other country - which has an exchange agreement with the UK - but I cannot find any information on whether this is possible.

I was confused when someone pointed me towards various sources on exchanging licenses for people who move to the UK, these sources say they have to exchange their license within 5 years of becoming resident. Hence, someone said you have to take a UK test if you have been resident for more than five years.

However, my children's situation is different because they are UK citizens and haven't done the test yet. I guess the real question is: Can a UK citizen who mostly lives in the UK, go abroad, take driving test and exchange in the UK (obviously an exchange agreement has to be in place)? Are there any time constraints?

I have tried to google and found nothing.

Thanks again!

[Santa]

It depends on which country. Here is a simple government tool to see if your children can exchange their foreign licence for a British one

https://www.gov.uk/exchange-foreign-driving-licence

[OnlineGuy]

I have been in the opposite position to this, having passed my test in the UK and then gone to live in an EU country for 15 years, where I eventually exchanged my UK licence for a local one without any formalities or test requirement. Since moving back, I have exchanged my foreign licence for a UK one again.

But I get the impression that where you take your test is more related to where you live, not your nationality. It might be hard for your children to learn to drive in their other country if they don't have a permanent address there. But in any case, it will be minimum several months to learn to drive then pass the test, so they'd surely have to spend a while living there.

If they primarily live in the UK, then from a practical and safety perspective it would seem more sensible to learn in the UK, as learning abroad could mean they are unaware of certain UK-specific rules.