Driving Licence Exchange, UK to Ontario (Ottawa) on Work Permit

[HypnoFunk]

Hi there,

I'll be moving to Canada in May to begin work for at least two years on a work permit. As I understand it, Canada has an exchange agreement in place with the UK. My licence was issued in February 2013, so I have had it more than three years. I have asked the UK driving authority to send a 'letter of entitlement' to prove the authenticity of my licence. I have some questions about the exchange process.

1) I will live in Ottawa, but I will not be a permanent resident, I'll only be there on a work permit. Am I still eligible to exchange my licence?

2) Is the 'letter of entitlement' from the UK driving authority enough proof of driving experience? I would like to exchange for the full G licence.

3) If I return to the UK after two years, will I be able to retrieve my original manual-transmission UK licence? I don't want to have to take another driving test if I return to the UK.

Thanks all for your time.

 

[jc94]

You are correct! It'll cost you $80.

You just need the plastic card, you don't need the A4 green paper (which I believe is no longer required in the UK either? for me I gave them both and got the green bit back).

1) Yes, work permit fine. I'm on one.

2) You don't need a letter of entitlement. At least myself and others I know who moved from the UK (both permanent and temporary for a year) did not.

3) I have been told (by ServiceOntario) that you can indeed exchange it right back. I was worried because if I did (/do) return to the UK I might want to hire a manual (stick) and Canadian license don't differentiate like UK ones!

They (Canada) send the UK card back to the UK I believe; you get your ON license. This annoys some people I know, but is generally preferable to having to take and pass a Canadian test.

Be aware, car insurance is insane in Ontario. Likely better in Ottawa vs Toronto (GTA) where I was quoted ... at best, $300 a month. And that's looking around, State Farm was charming (rental insurance) but ... well she wouldn't quote me an exact amount! Said it's significantly over $600 a month. To which I said "I guess I'm not driving them". After 3 years it drops (to $562) with them.

I have friends who are older and have lived here many many years.. I think the best rate I've heard of is $1600 in Brampton which isn't exactly downtown.

And for reference ... I think I paid < £400 in the UK.
The places I tried in ON ignore no claims info from the UK, I heard it helps in BC so your mileage may vary.

The only thing I've found that helps is paying to belong to ZipCar/AutoShare where you can accrue "no claims" discounts and get a letter for $50 after a few years. Plus it costs me about $150 a year to belong (inc. $0 on my first accident) and I can rent a car for ~$10/hour / $80/day. Not cheap but better than insurance.

 

[HypnoFunk]

jc94 - thank you very much from our reply, that's really useful information.

You are correct, as of June 2015 the paper counterpart of the UK licence is no longer valid. It is only the plastic card that serves as the licence now.

It's a relief to know that I will be able to get back my manual-transmission licence if I do ever return to the UK. I actually phoned the DVLA yesterday and they said that they will always have on record the fact that I have a manual-transmission licence in the UK and that I have passed my test. The person on the phone even said that it would show up on their records that my licence is under exchange in another country/province. Even if the province doesn't send back your original licence, I was given the impression that the DVLA would be able to issue a new driver's licence.

Good idea about the ZipCar/AutoShare method, I may look into doing that once I arrive.

Thanks again for your time in replying to my question