Driving in South Africa with a British License.....?

Question

I heard you can but only for 12 months and then you have to convert to a south african license. if I do that, will they take my British license away and give me an SA one, is there no way I can keep my UK license and get a SA one without redoing all the tests etc?

thanks in advance

Answer 1

To tell you the truth, you can use your British drivers licence in South Africa for 2 years or more, but yes one of the conditions say convert it to a South African one within the first 12 months. For example when I came to UK I used my South African drivers licence for more than 1 year and no one gave any problem. I would still be using it even today but I had to convert it when they needed to subtract some points from me (speed camera). Now I'm using a British one in South Africa and no one bothers to question me about it. This condition becomes inevitable once you become a South African citizen or once you obtain a South African residence permit, in that case you'll have to convert it. I don't think they let you keep a British one. Get more information from this site: http://www.services.gov.za/foreigndriverslicence.aspx

Answer 2

This is how I understand the process, although I am by no means an expert.
Before you come to SA you apply for an "International license" from the AA. It is with this license, not your British one that you drive around in SA.
This expires after 12 months, and before that you have to apply for a SA license. If they find you suitable you get a SA license, but you also get to keep you're UK license.
But usually the department of transport is slow and messes these things up, and you'll have to do you're driving test again.
Unlike UK, where you get a temp or learners license and after wards go to write the theory test and do the driving test, in SA, you have to pass the theory test, then you get the temp or learners license, and then after a couple of months you go for the actual driving test.
But as far as I know, your UK license stays valid through all this, and only expires on it's actual expiration date in UK, in which case you have to return to UK to get a new one.
So first I would advise inquiring in UK for an "international license" and then as soon as you arrive in SA, applying for a SA conversion.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Sorry, Anria but not quite right. If you give up your British licence or swap it for a South African licence you will have to resit a test in the UK to get your British licence back. I talk from experience but maybe the answer is that their is so much fraud on licences in SA you should just buy one. Many,many white people do this with their kids because it is nigh on impossible to get a test date. Then when you do they invariably fail you or you have to bribe them to get a pass. The kids get plenty of lessons before hand to make sure they are competent. As difficult as it may seem to accept what goes on in SA you will find out that every Government Dept is rife with corruption other than Finance.You can check out the Auditor Generals report on all of them if you dont believe me.