Right.... I've been trawling through loadsa posts on various sites yet I'm none the wiser. I'm 70 next year. I have a caravan. If I change my UK Licence for a French one before then, do I have to take a medical? Also, how long will it last? Can I drag my caravan without any trouble? If I renewed my UK licence instead, would I be any better or worse off? Any info/advice which helps me make the right decision, please.. Ta.
No need to take the hump, Brian!
Touché
the medical is needed to keep your towing and LGV rights ;-)
(I need to renew my medical next year to keep those classes of vehicle)
But all UK licences have to be renewed at 70 Jef, it is not set in stone there is a medical but then you also need to have a UK address for the licence to be issued. If, given the chance, that when you next renew, at 75 then I believe, you are required to have a medical then you need to be resident at the UK address and the GP to have seen you regularly preceding the medical examination in order to include the possibility of recommending a limit on the issue of the licence. Although you are absolutely right in the rest of the details within the UK, the 70, risk of medical and need for a permanent UK address are problematic. Sure, as has been pointed out there is the towing matter, which since I am not a caravan owner I omitted. But Nick and I got some joy out of that to put a little spice on the otherwise not totally exciting topic.
While Brian and Nick are taking the piss out of each other, I though you might appreciate some practical advice.
I recently had to change my licence as a result of having lost my previous French permanent validity licence. I am 64 and there was no medical involved. The new licence is valid 15 years.
I am enclosing the following link from the interieur.gouv.fr site. In the event that you don't understand French, the essence is that you are under no obligation to convert an European permit to a French permit as long as the European permit remains valid and the European permit was not obtain through conversion of non-European permit. The other major restriction is that your British permit has not been restricted in any way or that you have not had a problem in France that would have resulted in a restriction in the event you had a French permit.
Hope that is useful.
When I went to the Prefecture to change my licence to a French one, I was told I could change it straight away but would lose my towing rights or I could have a medical to retain the permission to tow. Is that not correct? I am booked in for the medical later this month but if it's not needed, I'll cancel and save the 33 euros.
There's a danger I might have to work this week, so to anybody who does have fun!
Yeah. Point taken, but cant we have a ten page argument about it anyway?
Nah, don't get into caravans. What's it to me what Bruce does with his camels?
Brian, how can you make such a preposterous statement, you don’t even know if its a left hand drive, or right hand drive caravan.
Joke by the way
No medical. I sent a local Anglo off to renew, because he is 70 next spring, back in May or June. He just filled in the forms, has his passport, birth certificate and so on, plus translations for things over the nearly 20 years here. Took it all to the prefecture, got receipt for the UK one that he clearly had to leave there and had it some time in July. I was a bit younger, a mere 65 when I did mine, not even translations required. No 70 anything, in fact mine is valid for something like 15 years... I don't actually remember since it is either beyond when I intend to plague the roads by dint of my final departure or senility.