We will be leaving Switzerland at the end of March.

Ideally, I'd like to buy a car in UK a week before we move, drive it down to Basel and then drive back with the dogs when we move.

I'm looking at the best options for this.

My assumptions so far are

• If I switch my CH licence to UK before the move, I won't be allowed to drive in Switzerland
• If I switch CH licence to UK after the move, I'll have issues insuring the car (probably have to use temporary insurance) until my UK licence arrives

I've also considered hiring a car from UK for that week, but it only puts off the licence issue for a bit and it'll just be extra expense.

Does anyone have ideas on the best approach or alternatives (bearing in mind the dogs can't fly and I will need a car immediately in UK)?

Has anyone used a company like dayinsure? Are their rates reasonable (that is, would a week with them be more expensive than hiring a car)?

Does anyone know how long it takes to receive a UK licence after sending my Swiss licence to DVLA?

__________________
Nothing of value kept in this post overnight.

Why should you have troubles insuring a car while holding a Swiss drivers license? It is valid in the Uk for a year after you move there, just like a UK license is valid here for a year and gives no trouble with insuring.

I don't think you're going to escape making an arduous call to DVLA to get the current, correct answer. I'm led to believe that the Swiss licence is an 'extract' of the UK licence held by DVLA, if you passed your driving test in the UK, so DVLA treat the matter as a change of address. Once you have a permanent address in the UK, it should be simple.

As for car insurance, when we moved to CH, my car insurance was with Axa (via a really good cashback deal on Topcashback ). When I called to cancel my insurance, they offered to continue it in CH as they also operate here, so...they might be an option worth considering.

Sorry I can't help with the validity or length of time to receive your new licence, and good luck with the move.

You need to sign a declaration that you have been resident in the UK for the last 6 months it's part of the form.
If Driving a UK Car to CH whilst still a resident you need to stop at the border & get a temporary import certificate.
Insurance will be expensive as you are not a UK resident at the time of application, only a couple of insurers will accept the risk. Stewart Collins would be my first port of call, Aviva will probably offer a quote as well.

Day insure is an option, was about £30-40 a day when I got a quote last year. No an exchange is an exchange if you have a Swiss license it is a Swiss license & only a Swiss license. If the exchange was a long time ago & DVLA still list your license at your old address (as they do with me), It would be illegal to state you had lost it & require a duplicate. The declaration states that you don't have another EU/EEA license.

Your non resident is the issue, & many insurers will not cover a non UK license or load the premium.

My brother had a CH license & had cars in the UK & CH, his premiums were extremely high as he had 3 children under 25 at the time with driving licenses plus a central London address..

Why the move from utopia to post Brexit dystopia?

Or are you trying to get back before the drawbridge is raised?

One point you need to check, the dogs need tapeworm treatment and there is a strict time window:
https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad/t...treatment-dogs

"A vet must treat your dog for tapeworm and record it in the pet passport or third-country official veterinary certificate every time you want to bring it to the UK.

The treatment must have been given no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours (5 days) before you enter the UK. Your dog can be refused entry or put into quarantine if you do not follow this rule."

Rent a car, problem solved.

Tom

I have a UK car for sale that has to get back to the UK somehow, maybe we can sort something out.

Just an idea

Easiest to rent a French car that can be rented near Basel & dropped at Dover, however customs permission is needed for a Swiss resident to drive in CH. Day trips on the Channel are very cheap.

The primary issue is that the exchange of licences is covered by EU legislation which may, or may not, cease to be valid at the end of March, hence why I believe that these queries can only be accurately answered by DVLA, if then. Any information that we can provide is highly likely to be inaccurate purely because of the timing of the move, and only DVLA will be aware of the interim measures they are putting into place before resolution of the matter.

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizen...y/index_en.htm

You earlier claimed a UK transferred to a Swiss License was really still a UK license. I call BS regardless of what happens after the UK leaves the EU.

The UK will accept an exchange of a previously exchanged UK regardless of any EU bullshit due to the fact that the original test was taken in the UK. DVLA will give info on your license status online, they have not forgotten just because you exchanged a license.

Project fear, here we go again.

You may call whatever you like. It is really no concern of mine. The fact remains that only DVLA will be able to offer the correct advice on the matter. Or...do you presume to know better?

1) When you say move before end of March 2019, presume you mean well before 29th, so no added complications with the dogs & you entering UK before the 29th with them.

2) As you are in Basel, have you thought about only driving the car to (Basel) Mulhouse, France, find some way to get luggage dogs across the border, maybe meet up at the Premier Class motel in Mulhouse or the like.

3) Re getting UK driving licence. You need to order on line, pack to be posted to UK address, could take 7 to 10 days to arrive.

“D1 pack Application for a driving licence for a car, moped or motorcycle”

There is a phone number on that form 0300 I believe. Phone them, they will look up your previous details & they tell you which parts of that form to complete. You send it via post with photo, Swiss Driving Licence and payment either via cheque or Postal Order for around £15 to £18

Don’t you read the papers or listen to the Greeks?

There’ll be no more tangerines on the shelves!

No. The exchange of non EU-license is solely based on national law.

Further, for an EU legislation such as the Directive 2006/126/EC to be valid in an member state it must be converted and implemented into national law (Germany's implementation of Directive 2006/126/EC can be found in the Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/fev_2010/ Interestingly from 19. Jan 2013 to 27. Dec 2016 it contained at least one rule which was not according the EU legislation).

In the UK it is the The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999 (amendment and changed many times since then), various The Driving Licences (Exchangeable Licences) Orders and the Road Traffic Act 1988
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/all?ti...c%20Act%201988
Wow, what a non-codified, non-consolidated mess It is like they want to keep its subjects non informed about the actual law.
All those regulations and acts neither disappear nor do they become void with Brexit.

All what has to be changed is some wording and minor details. All which already have been prepared with the The Driving Licences (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2...0181251_en.pdf

Finally, what fatmanfilms says. If you acquired your driving license in the UK you still have all those UK driving rights and privileges. It is just a matter of listing them on an actual driving license. A driving license only shows what driving privileges you have but the license itself does not give you the privileges. If you physically lose a driving license you are still allowed to drive but might be fined because you can not show it in case of a police control.

Yeah, I do

__________________
"Okay, I just hope we don't wake up on Mars or something surrounded by millions of little squashy guys."

Whatever happens he would still need to have been resident in the UK for six months (185 days to be precise) to be able to exchange his Swiss licence for a UK and he’s not going to be able to fulfill that criteria between now and the end of March.

He needs to focus on finding a way to do it legally using his Swiss licence.

I had british car insurance on a foreign license for years (long story) I used privilege, maybe worth giving them a try.