Asterisk

My first car

Remember yesterday's post about me being illegal/legal? I put a little * by the word driver's license and told you I would address that today. So here goes...

As I was talking to the lady about this that and the other, my driver's license came up. I thought it would be valid until the end of 'it'. Basically until December 2022. Until she dropped a bombshell: 185 days and it has to be exchanged. Or, in case there is no agreement between the Netherlands and Norway: I have to retake all my tests! 

Now, I owned a British license a long time ago. In fact, it was my very first one and when I moved back from England to the Netherlands back in 1994, I had it exchanged fairly quickly. Then when I moved to Norway I used my Dutch license until it 'ran out'. Basically I needed compulsory lessons and they had to be put on the license. So, a Norwegian license it was.

I moved to Northern Ireland and hey presto: one year after moving there, I would have to exchange it. *Sigh*. In the end of course that didn't happen, because I moved back to the Netherlands before the year was up. So, what's the deal now?

Well, after looking into it, it turns out that...

If it is a license issued by a member of the European Union, I can drive with it until it expires in December 2022. If it is a license issued by a member of the European Free Trade Association, the same rules apply. If it is a license issued by a country with which the Netherlands has made agreements, then the 185 day-rule comes in. And if it's a country with which the Netherlands does not have any agreement: retake all tests. 

If I had for example moved to Alberta or Quebec in Canada and then back: car license fine, bus license retake. But British Columbia or Ontario: retake the lot. My license was issued in Norway, which is not a member of the EU. It is however a member of the EFTA, which means...

December 2022! With all the trimmings.