# disqualified UK driver - can I take a Spanish driving test?



## elguiri (Jul 7, 2012)

i am a expat from uk. My uk driving licence has been disqualified - i have been in spain for twelve months and have my NIE and Social Numbers etc -can i apply and take a Spanish driving test? - i am a mechanic and need a licence to work.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

elguiri said:


> i am a expat from uk. My uk driving licence has been disqualified - i have been in spain for twelve months and have my NIE and Social Numbers etc -can i apply and take a Spanish driving test? - i am a mechanic and need a licence to work.


:welcome:

I've given your question a thread of its own

just to be clear - do you mean you've been disqualified from driving or that your licence has expired??


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

elguiri said:


> i am a expat from uk. My uk driving licence has been disqualified - i have been in spain for twelve months and have my NIE and Social Numbers etc -can i apply and take a Spanish driving test? - i am a mechanic and need a licence to work.


Legally , no. there's a question asking "do you hold a licence in another country ?".

Then again the disqualification, as far as I know, only applies in the UK.


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## elguiri (Jul 7, 2012)

Thank You both for your replies - to clarify, Yes I have been disqualified due to obtaining 12 speeding points (my bad) i worked as a express courier.....


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Your disqualification applies only to the U.K. I think you can take the Spanish test and obtain a Spanish licence, however you cannot drive in the U.K. until your disqualification expires.

The Spanish driving test is not easy, I have a friend who passed his test in Australia, he is local, first he had to take the theory test, all in Spanish, he failed and had to be retested. He then took the driving test, he failed but passed on the second attempt.


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## elguiri (Jul 7, 2012)

Hepa said:


> Your disqualification applies only to the U.K. I think you can take the Spanish test and obtain a Spanish licence, however you cannot drive in the U.K. until your disqualification expires.
> 
> The Spanish driving test is not easy, I have a friend who passed his test in Australia, he is local, first he had to take the theory test, all in Spanish, he failed and had to be retested. He then took the driving test, he failed but passed on the second attempt.


Thanks for that HEPA - i appreciate that what i am asking may not be 100% ethical - i understand that even if i did obtain a spanish licence then yes i would not allow me to drive in uk - Thank you for your reply


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Hepa said:


> *The Spanish driving test is not easy*, I have a friend who passed his test in Australia, he is local, first he had to take the theory test, all in Spanish, he failed and had to be retested. He then took the driving test, he failed but passed on the second attempt.


Indeed .... you have to learn how to indiscriminately drive on the wrong side of the road whenever possible, and handle a vehicle whilst simultaneously eating an orange, calling someone on the phone, lighting (and rolling) a cigarette whilst talking to your mother in the back seat and waving your hands around in a dangerous manner. You must master the ability to get 10 people into the car at any one time, plus associated luggage. Parking skills include facing the wrong direction on a roundabout, and dont forget if you go into a car park with only one other car in it ... you MUST park so close to the drivers door of that other car so that the driver cant open it. You get extra points if he is already in the car, and you have a friend in another car with you with which you can block both doors.


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

in Spain 12 months? surely your UK ban would be done and your UK licence would have been reinstated, which would allow you to drive in Spain. If you no longer have a UK address, have it sent to a "care of" address of a familymember or friend.

As for Spanish driving, Stravinsky forgot to mention, the ability to position your car 50% over the white line, on blind corners, speed limit signs should be treated as "target speeds", a smart car CAN occupy three parking bays, 44 tonne trucks have "right of weight"


You'll be fine


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## elguiri (Jul 7, 2012)

dunmovin said:


> in Spain 12 months? surely your UK ban would be done and your UK licence would have been reinstated, which would allow you to drive in Spain. If you no longer have a UK address, have it sent to a "care of" address of a familymember or friend.


my licence was disqualified last month i was working as courier covering airports all over europe - i got busted last time i was in uk on M11 near Cambridge. 

for the record i got a call from a guy yesterday who explained that it is a "grey" area - meaning that if i don't mention it to him he can start me from scratch here and sort me lessons, theory and test - meeting him later to discuss how much it'll cost - will update later if he seems legit..


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

elguiri said:


> - i am a mechanic and need a licence to work.


Do new drivers in Spain have full rights are do they face limits on what they can drive etc?


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

NickZ said:


> Do new drivers in Spain have full rights are do they face limits on what they can drive etc?


You have to display a green L plate for a year and not drive above 80 kph.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

I'm wondering if a mechanic would have problems with that. Or if the shops insurance has limits?


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## elguiri (Jul 7, 2012)

the answer to the the OP is YES - but, i would have to forget ever possessing a UK licence - as trying to activate my UK licence after my ban has expired will rings bells that i have two european licences.....not exactly sure of the problems or consequences that would incur, but i'm sure the authorities would not satisfied about that 

so from what i gather, it is not technically illegal, but not exactly perfect etiquette either.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

It is quite possible that the ban will have expired before you actually pass a spanish test ! the 1st time failure rate is around 90+% on the CDS. Each time you fail the practical test you have to have an additional 12 hours of lessons before re-taking. 2 fails & you are up to 24 hrs before another test. 
The chances of passing 1st time , for a Brit, is astronomical as the way they are taught is completely different. foe example in UK hillstart you indicate & wait with handbrake on. Here that's an instant failure; You wait whilst riding the clutch & indicator on !! The list of differences is endless & unbelievable.


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## Sunhat (Jun 20, 2012)

gus-lopez said:


> It is quite possible that the ban will have expired before you actually pass a spanish test ! the 1st time failure rate is around 90+% on the CDS. Each time you fail the practical test you have to have an additional 12 hours of lessons before re-taking. 2 fails & you are up to 24 hrs before another test.
> The chances of passing 1st time , for a Brit, is astronomical as the way they are taught is completely different. foe example in UK hillstart you indicate & wait with handbrake on. Here that's an instant failure; You wait whilst riding the clutch & indicator on !! The list of differences is endless & unbelievable.




Oh well, I would fail then! I hate coming out of Mercadona underground carpark if there is a queue:car:


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

gus-lopez said:


> It is quite possible that the ban will have expired before you actually pass a spanish test ! the 1st time failure rate is around 90+% on the CDS. Each time you fail the practical test you have to have an additional 12 hours of lessons before re-taking. 2 fails & you are up to 24 hrs before another test.
> The chances of passing 1st time , for a Brit, is astronomical as the way they are taught is completely different. foe example in UK hillstart you indicate & wait with handbrake on. Here that's an instant failure; *You wait whilst riding the clutch & indicator on !! * The list of differences is endless & unbelievable.


I often wondered why a lot of cars have that horrible smell of burnt out clutch plates.

How do they do it when driving an automatic?


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

dunmovin said:


> I often wondered why a lot of cars have that horrible smell of burnt out clutch plates.
> 
> How do they do it when driving an automatic?


Back to the OP's point:

I still think getting the Uk Licence back, then exchanging it for a Spanish one will be less time consuming and cheaper. Having to resit a test in the UK would be bad enough for an experienced driver( we all pick up "bad habits" along the way, but add to that the "pass" criteria and rules are different)

I let my HGV class 2 lapse when we moved abroad, as even the thought of taking the test again, in a strange country, worked like a laxative.

p.s. the UK car licence allowed me to drive in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, mainland China (not recommened) USA and all over Europe


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## Manin_bcn (Jun 18, 2011)

Not forgetting: parking on pedestrian crossings. Incessant blasting the horn because there is a two mile traffic queue (which nothing can be done about). You will definitely pass the test if you demonstrate that you can actually bump the car in front and behind, when parking, but, you have to demonstrate that you "really couldn´t give a damn" when you do it!


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## elguiri (Jul 7, 2012)

Admin - you may lock the thread...


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## Manin_bcn (Jun 18, 2011)

elguiri said:


> Admin - you may lock the thread...


What does that mean: "admin - you may lock the thread"?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Manin_bcn said:


> What does that mean: "admin - you may lock the thread"?


it means he doesn't wish the discussion to continue

but he doesn't get to make that decision....................


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## Manin_bcn (Jun 18, 2011)

Ah, okay, thanks very much.


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