British citizens living in Spain were always permitted to drive here with their UK driving licences. That was confirmed by the EU logo printed on the licences.
After Brexit it was known that eventually British citizens would have to swap their UK licences for Spanish ones. But there was no indication of when that might be.
Those of us that could find the time and could deal with the huge amount of Spanish paperwork needed did so, but with the bureaucracy here it is was not a process to be taken lightly.
Spain has been appealing to Britain for a deal to ensure that the British residents in Spain can continue to drive indefinitely. Of course the Spanish wanted a deal done straight away. But the ‘oven ready’ package put forward by the shambolic Johnson was not quite as oven ready as it should have been.
The Spanish government gave Britain a deadline of October to get the situation resolved. But there was still no deal in place. So the Spanish extended the deadline until the end of December.
Again there has been absolutely nothing put forward by the British government.
In frustration half of all the Tráfico centres here are no longer processing applications from the British to change their licenses. And from January 1st all residents of Spain that hold a UK driving licence will have to take both parts of the Spanish driving test.
The practical test will only be taken in the Spanish language.
Somehow Norway, Switzerland and Russia have deals in place that mean that despite not being part of the EU their citizens can drive legally without the need to take another driving test.
Britain can’t quite put a deal together for this simplistic thing.
Nominated by: The Artful Cunter
