Hello,
I have a question about transferring a foreign driver's license to a Canadian one as a new immigrant with Permanent Resident status.
The province I am moving to is British Columbia, but I assume it would be similar rules for other provinces.
The government website says that a new resident has 90 days to transfer their license from another jurisdiction. I am not quite sure what this wording implies. Does this just mean after 90 days I can't legally drive with a foreign license, or does it instead mean I HAVE to transfer the license within the 90 day period otherwise I lose the opportunity to do so? For example, if it's been 100+ days would the foreign driving experience still be accepted for transferal (note: I won't have been driving on Canadian roads during this period)?
The reason I ask is because I did a soft landing for a single week In Canada but that was well over 90 days ago. After that week, I went back to my home country to continue work for a few months (I still needed to be able to drive in my home country for my job). I am planning to move to British Columbia permanently in March 2024, which would be much longer than 90 days since I obtained my Permanent Residence status in August 2023.
Will I still be able to transfer my license when I get there? If not, that's going to be a big problem for me when I get there, but I didn't really have an opportunity to transfer it before the 90 day period ended.
Note my driver's license is from the United Kingdom so should be transferrable without needing to take a test.
Thanks for your help.
I have a question about transferring a foreign driver's license to a Canadian one as a new immigrant with Permanent Resident status.
The province I am moving to is British Columbia, but I assume it would be similar rules for other provinces.
The government website says that a new resident has 90 days to transfer their license from another jurisdiction. I am not quite sure what this wording implies. Does this just mean after 90 days I can't legally drive with a foreign license, or does it instead mean I HAVE to transfer the license within the 90 day period otherwise I lose the opportunity to do so? For example, if it's been 100+ days would the foreign driving experience still be accepted for transferal (note: I won't have been driving on Canadian roads during this period)?
The reason I ask is because I did a soft landing for a single week In Canada but that was well over 90 days ago. After that week, I went back to my home country to continue work for a few months (I still needed to be able to drive in my home country for my job). I am planning to move to British Columbia permanently in March 2024, which would be much longer than 90 days since I obtained my Permanent Residence status in August 2023.
Will I still be able to transfer my license when I get there? If not, that's going to be a big problem for me when I get there, but I didn't really have an opportunity to transfer it before the 90 day period ended.
Note my driver's license is from the United Kingdom so should be transferrable without needing to take a test.
Thanks for your help.
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