Singapore Expats

Hi,

I read through the sticky on DLs and didn't see this covered so looking for advice/opinions/experiences of people.

I'm British and have/had a British driving licence since I was 18, I'm now 36. The reason I say had is because the photocard expired a few years ago. Call me stupid (I'm sure you will) but it never occurred to me that it would expire and I remember when I left the UK DVLA said there is nothing to do as I was moving abroad.

I've lived in Singapore since 2006 and since 2008 I have been a PR. Never considered converting my licence as I didn't think I'd ever need to drive a car here with the convenience of everything.

I recently became aware that my UK driving licence photocard has expired, so I can't drive anywhere, even renting a car would seem to be impossible.

Now for the tricky bit. The DVLA in the UK will not renew my photocard as I'm not a British Resident and they say I should convert my driving licence to my country of residence.

Will Singapore allow me to convert the licence even though the photocard part has expired with just doing the basic theory test or will I have to start completely from scratch again and do the practical test etc too?

I've been reading up now and it seems PRs are supposed to convert their licence immediately which obviously I didn't do but this was because I never intended to drive here and didn't realise the issue with my UK driving licence.

My understanding is that the photocard expiry is just for the photo and not for your entitlement to drive but I've not seen anything that spelt this out clearly and no idea how the authorities here would view that.

Anybody else fallen into this issue or is it just me?

Thanks

The UK photo card licence really does not mean anything - you can not even rent a car with it in the UK - you always have to show your paper licence. It is your paper licence that is the important thing and this does not expire. So you are still a licenced driver. you can ask the DVLA for a copy of your paper licence and tell them that you need this so that you can convert your UK licence to a Singapore Licence.
Then off to Sims Ave and have it converted. You need to sit the multiple choice theory test and then licence is automatically converted over.
But it can take some time to get an appointment for a test. So make sure you book now while waiting for your paper from DVLA.

Yes agree with katbh, you need the green piece of paper and it doesn't matter that the photo card expired or that you didn't convert immediately upon becoming PR provided you haven't been driving here. I had a 2 month wait to take the theory test down at comfort ubi in recent months...

Thanks for the responses! Theory test booked, 2 months wait!?!

Anyway, time to phone DVLA as well but appreciate the feedback.

Thanks