If anybody could offer advice about this I would be very grateful.
I have a candidate who is a British citizen ie UK passport and driving licence. He has lived in Spain for around 10 years now but is planning to come back to the UK permanently in a few months time and wants to pass the LGV test. The problem is the declaration on the D25 (LGV test report) that the candidate must sign at the start of the test. The declaration basically says 2 things
That the vehicle is properly insured and
That the candidate has resided in the UK for at least 185 days in the last 12 months.
The DVLA has informed me that they treat him as an ex pat and have no problem with the licence having an address of a relative or friend. He is OK to have cat C provisional added. I cannot seem to find anything that gives a reason for the 185 day residency rule or whether he will be permitted to take the driving test.
People I have asked about this generally say just sign the form and take the test. Who would know the difference, but the candidate is worried he may get into some sort of trouble.
Also can anyone tell me is there a similar declaration to sign when taking the theory test.
I lived in Africa for a while and got a residents permit, but never had any trouble when I returned to the UK. I was still registered with my bank and doctors although I wasn’t on the electoral roll
The document was quite useful but it does not address the actual issue of will this guy be able to take the LGV test before he has been resident in the UK for 185 days.
The document was quite useful but it does not address the actual issue of will this guy be able to take the LGV test before he has been resident in the UK for 185 days.
Thanks to everyone for their help in this. I would especially like to thank ROG for the time he spent researching this for me.
Today the candidate made a personal visit to the regional DVLA office in Chelmsford before he returns to Spain tomorrow. They told him that strickly speaking he should be resident in the UK before applying for a Cat C provisional. They also said nobody would know the difference.
While with a candidate on test at Chelmsford today I had the good fortune to meet the area LGV supervisor and his boss from the DSA in Nottingham who both absolutely stated that the 185 day residency rule for taking tests only applies to EU nationals driving on a non UK licence who wish to exchange their licence for a UK one and take additional tests in this country.
They both stated that because he holds a UK passport and a UK issued driving licence he is clear to test.
Nobody can put anything in writing or even direct me to a written statement or leaflet but the candidate seems happy now.
