Northern Irish Driving License whilst studying in the UK

Harness68

Please can someone help.  If I have a Northern Irish driving license, do I have to convert it to a UK license. I am a student, and my car insurance company are telling me I have to convert my license to a UK license whilst in England and then convert it back to a NI license when I go back.  Is this correct. This seems a big inconvenience.  I thought NI was part of the UK 

The_Unready

I thought NI was in the UK too. Strange indeed!

Harness68

The Insurance company is asking that I change my license to a UK whilst in England and a NI whilst in NI

Car_54

This is rubbish. The OP needs to get back to the insurer, and escalate it to someone who knows what he's doing.

eamon

NI is and will remain part of the UK for the foreseeable future. Do as Car_54 says.

For future readers it is always useful to read you certificate of motor insurance as well. For years Direct Line had ROI (Republic of Ireland) cover as a standard feature. This is no longer the case. So if any of you regularly take your  car to NI check your insurance just in case you are using Dublin or Rosslare ports.

shiraz99

eamon said:

NI is and will remain part of the UK for the foreseeable future. Do as Car_54 says.

For future readers it is always useful to read you certificate of motor insurance as well. For years Direct Line had ROI (Republic of Ireland) cover as a standard feature. This is no longer the case. So if any of you regularly take your  car to NI check your insurance just in case you are using Dublin or Rosslare ports.

You don't have a UK licence in this country, it's a GB licence and therefore there may be different rules for NI licences after a period of time, it's possible the OP has been using his NI licence for more than 12 month in GB and may need to swap it over he wants to continue.

Edit: I've just checked and you can use a NI licence in the GB until it runs out. Having said that the insurance co, can dictate what rules it requires to insure you in GB and if that entails insisting that you have a GB licence then so be it. I'd try a  different insurer.

oldagetraveller1

"You don't have a UK licence in this country, it's a GB licence"

If that were correct, why does mine have "U.K. Driving Licence" at the top?

My expired E.U.style licence also has "U.K." inside the golden stars circle.

Yes, I know my keyboard is quite unpleasant.

Manxman_in_exile

Although it does say "UK", isn't that just a bit of meaningless branding, like changing the international vehicle identifier from GB to UK earlier this year?  I don't think the use of "UK" here can be taken to mean* anything legally or constitutionally.

If it truly were a UK licence as opposed to a GB one, there'd be no need for a separate NI licence, would there?

*As somebody from the Isle of Man I'm frequently surprised at the way in which .gov.uk websites frequently seem to treat "GB" and "UK" as being interchangeable.  I sometimes wonder if they know the difference themselves

sheramber

The insurance company may require the address on your licence to agree with the address on your insurance policy.

You can only have a Northern Ireland  address on a Northern Ireland driving licence. 

Robbo66

shiraz99 said:

eamon said:

NI is and will remain part of the UK for the foreseeable future. Do as Car_54 says.

For future readers it is always useful to read you certificate of motor insurance as well. For years Direct Line had ROI (Republic of Ireland) cover as a standard feature. This is no longer the case. So if any of you regularly take your  car to NI check your insurance just in case you are using Dublin or Rosslare ports.

You don't have a UK licence in this country, it's a GB licence and therefore there may be different rules for NI licences after a period of time, it's possible the OP has been using his NI licence for more than 12 month in GB and may need to swap it over he wants to continue.

Edit: I've just checked and you can use a NI licence in the GB until it runs out. Having said that the insurance co, can dictate what rules it requires to insure you in GB and if that entails insisting that you have a GB licence then so be it. I'd try a  different insurer.

Not Sure that is correct, top left of my licence say UK Driving licence in bold blue letters. NI is part of the UK so no change in licence is needed

page 6

https://www.licencebureau.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Driving-in-Britain-as-visitor-or-resident.pdf

shiraz99

Robbo66 said:

shiraz99 said:

eamon said:

NI is and will remain part of the UK for the foreseeable future. Do as Car_54 says.

For future readers it is always useful to read you certificate of motor insurance as well. For years Direct Line had ROI (Republic of Ireland) cover as a standard feature. This is no longer the case. So if any of you regularly take your  car to NI check your insurance just in case you are using Dublin or Rosslare ports.

You don't have a UK licence in this country, it's a GB licence and therefore there may be different rules for NI licences after a period of time, it's possible the OP has been using his NI licence for more than 12 month in GB and may need to swap it over he wants to continue.

Edit: I've just checked and you can use a NI licence in the GB until it runs out. Having said that the insurance co, can dictate what rules it requires to insure you in GB and if that entails insisting that you have a GB licence then so be it. I'd try a  different insurer.

Not Sure that is correct, top left of my licence say UK Driving licence in bold blue letters. NI is part of the UK so no change in licence is needed

page 6

https://www.licencebureau.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Driving-in-Britain-as-visitor-or-resident.pdf

As already explained by @Manxman_@Manxman_in_exile the "UK" logo is branding only, probably used to replace the old EU branding that was required by the EU. You actually apply for a GB driving licence, not a UK one, which is why in NI residents have to apply for a NI driving licence. Also, as mentioned, my post does say that NI licence holders can continue to use their NI licence up until it expires.