It's time to raise the curtain.

[reddragdiva]

I am the greatest Swarf fanboy evah, so much so that I showed up at the gig a week early. Not that I looked at that handbill for the address and the date failed to register or anything.. If you ever suffered under the delusion that I have a brain ... So next week I have Bauhaus on Monday and a pile of bleepy things on the Tuesday. \m/

Earlier today was similarly productive. I went to the DVLA in Wimbledon to get my Australian licence exchanged and they decided I need the photo endorsed as I've been here over two years. Bah! Still, what's four hours on the trains.

And tomorrow, work. w00t!

Me by eyeliner297. Apparently I look evil.

Comments

[redcountess]

Not evil, just confused ;-p

[kineticfactory.livejournal.com]

Re: getting licences changed. Don't you need to take the test to get one if you've left it for more than 12 months since arriving? Or can you get a British licence on the strength of an Australian one just like that?

[redcountess]

No, you have up to five years to exchange it, but after 12 months you can no longer drive here on your original licence. Many Commonwealth countries, eg. Australia, Canada, etc. have this "designated" status.

[kineticfactory.livejournal.com]

Thanks for that.

What's the procedure? Is it worth doing if one lives in central London and has no plans to buy a car?

[secretlondon.livejournal.com]

Good luck with yer job!

I've achieved absolutely nothing today, so I can relate..

[notintheseheels.livejournal.com]

Belated congratulations on the job. Which clubs are you gracing with your presence this month?

[wintrmute.livejournal.com]

I've heard that the 12 month thing applies from when you can last show you arrived back here.

ie. if you live here, but visit australia every year, then you're fine. And some people claim that if you just visit somewhere outside the UK every year, it's also fine.

But I am not a lawyer, and have not tested this theory in a court of law. However I've been hiring cars and vans without a problem for years.

[reddragdiva]

Possibly, but I see nothing wrong with being absolutely in the clear :-)

[reddragdiva]

B-Movie next Friday, possibly. (Though that'll be three nights out in one week!)

[redcountess]

You get a form (D1) either sent to you from the DVLA website (it's not downloadable, which is stupid), or pick one up at the post office, fill it in, get a passport sized photo, get it witnessed by a professional (list on the site) that has known you for two years, and then either go into their local office in Wimbledon with the above and your passport, which they will check and give back to you, or post the whole lot in to their head office in Swansea, and hope your passport doesn't go missing!

It depends if you ever think you'll need or want to drive a car in the future, for travel or moving or emergency. I asked David to get one because I'm not able to get around easily with the fibro, and am also interested in checking out historic places around the country.

[kineticfactory.livejournal.com]

So that's a professional in Britain who has known me for two years? Blimey, that could be tricky...

Do you forfeit your Australian licence when you do this? Mine expires next year, and I was planning to renew it on my visit to Melbourne later this/early next year.

[redcountess]

In our case, that would still be more than 12 months, unfortunately (we were last in Oz April 2004), but thanks for the heads-up :-)

[redcountess]

Yes you do, unfortunately, but you can drive in Melbourne on a British licence, IIRC. You have up to five years to exchange it, so you could always wait until you've returned, if you're worried about it.

Here's the info on the DVLA website, btw.

[kineticfactory.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

Given that it expires in December of next year, and needs to be valid at time of exchange, it's probably a choice between renewing my Victorian licence and getting a new British one. Given that I'm applying for a visa to stay here, the latter sounds like a better option.

If they need my passport, it'll have to wait until the Home Office is finished with it. (Assuming that they don't mistakenly give it to a terrorist paedophile they just released from maximum-security prison or something.)

[redcountess]

I had no problems getting mine back from the Home Office the two times I had to send them mine :-)

[kineticfactory.livejournal.com]

Was this for a visa? How long did they hold onto it?

I'm hoping they process mine (which I'll send off shortly) quickly; there's a band I want to see who'll be playing in Spain in October.

[redcountess]

Yes, when we got married I applied for temporary leave to remain, which gave me the right to work, but was only valid for two years, that expired last year, then I had to apply for indefinite leave to remain. The Home Office has estimated waiting times on their website, but IIRC in both cases I had my application approved within weeks.