Well this is a puzzler and I dont know wether it wants to be here or if anywhere
I have a friend in the Uk who is Italian. He has an Italian Driving licence etc…
He would like to take his HGV licences - C & C&E. Is it possible for him to do it in the UK and have it added to his Italian driving licence?
Not with out exchanging his Italian licence for a UK one first
ralliesport:
Well this is a puzzler and I dont know wether it wants to be here or if anywhere
I dont personally know the answer but its certainly the right place to ask. You may have to be a little patient in waiting for a reply- the person who knows is probably currently internet-free and half-way down Italy himself, sat in some Tratorria…
Not that I`m bitter or jealous in any way. 
.
Vince
I’me not bitter n twisted either.
Exchanging his Italian licence for a UK licence should be a formality. We are, after all, all in the EU.
if a resident in the uk they can drive on their italian licence for 12 months (i think), after that they should (possibly must) exchange that licence for a uk licence, they keep whatever categories that they already hold on the old licence.
should they wish to keep the italian licence they can but they will have to apply for a provisional uk licence and pass the relevant driving tests to obtain a full licence. personally if they intend to remain in the uk for ever then i would keep my old italian licence, obtain a provisional uk licence and sit the class 2 test then go for a class 1.
should they intend to return to italy or another european country then exchange the licence and when or if they move they can exchange it back again.
they have to have a uk residence first.
Below are the rules as set out by the DVLA
Visitors
If you hold a valid Community licence and you are visiting Great Britain, you can drive any vehicle for as long as your licence remains valid. The appropriate full entitlement for the vehicle you wish to drive must be shown on your licence.
Residents
If you have a valid Community licence, this will authorise you to drive in this country for the periods set out below. Alternatively, you can apply to exchange your licence for a British one at any time.
Provided your licence remains valid you may drive in GB -
Ordinary licence holders
Until aged 70 or for 3 years after becoming resident whichever is the longer period.
Vocational licence holders
Until aged 45 or for 5 years after becoming resident whichever is the longer period.
If you are aged over 45 (but under 65) until your 66th birthday or for 5 years after becoming resident whichever is the shorter period.
If you are aged 65 or over for 12 months after becoming resident.
In order to continue driving after these periods, a British driving licence must be obtained.
Further information is available here:
http://www.dvla.gov.uk/drivers/drvingb.htm#2
Henk
Really he cant then.
He live 6 months here & 6 months in Italy remaining an Italian resident - his wife is english. He would like the licences because he is experienced contenental driver knowing his way to Italy
However as my driving licence only has a tiny uk inside the eu stars you would think it was possible guess he will have to talk to the dvla.
thanks
Looks to me like he doesnt need to change his licence. He appears to be resident in Italy and a visitor to the UK. All he needs to do is get his LGV licence in Italy, then he can drive LGV’s where ever he likes (or can get a job). Having driven in Italy, it seems to be easier to get any class of licence there .
Simon, you may have mis-read. He lives in the UK.
It may be allowed. Dealing with the Italian authorities would be the difficult bit, at a guess.
He might find it easier and cheaper to EasyJet down to his home area in Italy and do it there.
As to your last sentence, what on Earth could you possibly mean?
Vince
as for driving or working anywhere not if it is france 
i have my c, and c+e catergories on my english licence and live here permenantly, and for me to drive for a french company i have to change my licence for a french one then re-sit my hgv over here. bloody annoying as i only passed my c+e 18 months ago and c 5 years ago, and i thought france was in the eu too 
chris
Caveman,
Sorry, you’ve got it wrong about France, but you may have an excuse, it is well known that different Prefectures interpret the rules in different ways.
Down here in the Dordogne when I went to work for a French firm after coming to live here I merely had to get a medical, pay the fee and exchange the HGV licence for a French one. I lost a year on the entitlement because of my age I think but when I passed 60, took another medical, paid the fee and renewed it for 2 years. No test no examination but you do have to take a 3 day refresher course every 5 years (all French drivers do) called the FCOS. Passing is a formality though unless you are unusually thick, but you do need some command of the language just in case the instructor asks you a question. In a class of 20 odd that isn’t a problem though. Best thing was each morning 0800 start then 30 minutes debate on where we would eat lunch (4 routiers within 15 minutes). Then about 2 hours lunch and finish at 1700. The centre was 30 miles away from my home but as there were 4 of us from the same firm we shared the car work.
Just to hark back to my comments above re Prefectures and Sub-Prefectures, there was a Portuguese driver, resident for ten years still driving on his Portugese HGV.
Regarding our Italian friend as he is officially resident in Italy there would be no need to get a British licence I think.
Salut, David.
Salut David,
I don’t think Chris (Caveman) would be eligible for FCOS as he’s not held his licence for long enough. From my dealing with AFT-IFTIM training I believe you need to have passed your test before '93 to qualify for the FCOS ticket. I think FIMO is what he’d have to do? Mind you when the UK gets its act together on the minimum training legislation that will have european status and the French can’t say no, even though we know they’d like to 
so it may be easier for British ex-pats to pass it on a return visit to the uk if the language is a problem.
Glad to read that you found FCOS to be easy - I’m still intending to do it but haven’t needed it yet … one day soon perhaps.
Joyeux Noel,
Craig
Craig,
You are absolutely right, I’d forgotten about that.
Funny thing is about FCOS, nobody at the firm told me about it and then one Friday I was stopped on the N21 south of Limoges by the Ministry in a full check. No problem apart from a 15 minute out of hours, off the disc overrun one evening during the week when I was searching for a restaurant to park up at. He looked at the trace mismatches from one day to the next and then at me “chercher un restaurant?”, I nodded and he said OK. That’s what I like about the French, anything goes in the interest of food. However, at the end of the check he said FCOS and repeated it when I queried, not understanding. I still didn’t understand, never having heard the term and, as he then let me go without further comment, I forgot about it.
One year later I was stopped again on a Friday in the same lay-by by the same official, was let off a similar minor infringement and then faced with “FCOS?”. This time he said ask the Boss when you get back. I did and the place was suddenly in a panic. Within a week I was on the course at Perigueux. I was treated with great understanding but had no problems as almost everything I knew from my many years on the road. Those things particularly French, like the fractionnement exceptions to the hours law and some facts relating to French HGV speed limits were a useful addition to my knowledge. We had some time on the road 3 at a time with an instructor which was a welcome diversion but generally the whole thing, which I had been dreading, was a doddle.
Are you working for a French company and how is your French? I get by pretty well but am dismayed at my slow progress even after 4 years here. My age I suppose!
Bonne Fete
Salut, David.
bon apres noel,I think craig has got it how to say this the wrong way round regarding the two f,s I,ve got the fcos but dont need fimo,the fimo is not needed if you have had hgv licence for over 10 years could be a little less but you need to prove and in french that you had passed your test AND where working has a hgv driver for a living.Getting the fcos with out any knowledge of french and to resonable standard is no way a walk over,sat in a room with 20 french truckers who dont speak a word of anglais(well maybe some of the f words)questions in french,exams in french. Joyeuses fetes atout . Froggy
froggy:
bon apres noel,I think craig has got it how to say this the wrong way round regarding the two f,s I,ve got the fcos but dont need fimo,the fimo is not needed
With all due respect I don’t think I have got it wrong - perhaps I may not have expressed myself clearly but I do know the diference between FIMO (Formation Initiale Minimale Obligitoire) and FCOS (Formation Continue Obligatoire de Sécurité). I seem to recall from a previous post that I was the one who told you about not needing FIMO as you, like me, are already considered as an experienced driver under french regulation trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=534
Of course a bit of Christmas excess might have clouded you memory on that point
The point is that for established drivers with licenses dating back to before '93 and two years of accredited work then FCOS is the ticket. For a more recently qualified driver FIMO is the route to follow (hence the ‘formation initiale’ in FIMO) Like I said I’ve not got either as I don’t drive for a French firm, but I had to battle with the French over this five years ago when I first moved down to Marseille on our initial attempt back in 1999 (finally got a job with some Dept 13 cowboy outfit who didn’t care about paperwork 
)
A plus tard,
Craig
Craig,bon soir I have just read and reread your posting and I still think that you,ve got it how to say ,alors you did say about the fimo -fcos and you were right which is what makes me think you must be in the christmas spirit anyhow whats it matter it,s christmas,if I could spell marseille I would ask you what are you doing there 
ps thank once again for the info on the fcos passed it tuesday.Merry christmas 
the millon euro question is what happens to my english c+e entitlement when i change mon permit de conduit anglais pour un permit francais?
as i have nearly been resident here a year (13th jan) i have to change my licence, but dont want to lose my hard earned c, and c+e entitlement, so do i get to keep my english licence too, but change the address to an address of a friend in the uk 
or is it illegal to hold two licences, and the english one goes back to swansea via the prefecture (dept 43)
seems stupid to me that i only passed c+e in march 02 and c, back in 2000 that i have to re sit at a cost of nearly 2000€ which is more expensive than for the other 2 cats. put together
i know craig and i have discussed this before but it still niggles me no end, and what i have seen of french drivers in general be it trucks or cars i know i can drive a hell of a lot better but hands are tied
a tout la mond bon fete et bon annee
chris
Hello Chris,
I would suggest you contact the DVLA- fax is probably the best method in this case.
Explain the problem.
They have some very helpful people who are only too happy to get involved in unusual cases, and will act as agents on your behalf.
Vince
Caveman,you better be quick or else you will loose you entilement to change your hgv licence for a french one.There is a one year window to get it changed and after that you must take ALL the groups to get a french licence,having said that you have been in france for nearly a year is that officially or just casually because if not how do they know l how long you,ve been here.
The DVLA when I phoned them were helpfull but only could give the british side,having a different address on the licence to the place you live is accepted by the dvla if live abroad because you cant have a none UK address on your licence.Just to add I went back to UK acouple of month ago and did afew days on the agency,yeah guess what ,got stopped by the old bill on the m62 near leeds for a “check” no problem with the check but they did,nt have a clue said that they were going to arrest me ok no worries after 20 minites and lots of phone calls to god knows where went on my merry way. froggy
Chris,
Can’t help with your entitlement problem as I didn’t get involved with FIMO. With my long held licence I got a full swop (in fact I gained I think in the PSV department) but don’t be tempted to keep the two licences. The Prefecture sends the UK one back to Swansea. Somebody will smell a rat sooner or later.
Salut, David.