I found out the other day (on EF) that we can use our UK driving licence here for one year. This is fine but then I thought is that one year from when we get a car and start driving or one year from when we arrived to live in Switzerland?

Hopefully someone can clear this up for me.

Thanks in advance

One year from your day of Entry to the country. That is the day of entry when you commence residence.

What he said, and then you will get an international licence

What do you mean by an international driving licence?

An "international licence" is just a translation document that is used when temporarily travelling to another country. The Swiss licence is no more or no less international than any other licence.

I mean when i changed my licence i got a new international driving licence that can be used anywhere in the world

The OP's UK driving licence can be used anywhere in the world too, as can any licence issued by an EU member state and many other countries worldwide. To call the Swiss licence an "international licence" in that respect is actually false information.

Even with the Swiss licence you may still be required to carry an International driving permit in certain Jurisdictions.

I agree, but now when you change your licence they give you an international licence. My Swiss Licence would not allow me to hire a car back in the Uk hence why i had to change my licence again. The first time i had to change after living here 1 year, and the 2nd a few years ago to the international 1, when anyone changes there licence now they get the international 1

I think not. Of course you can rent A CAR with a Swiss licence in the UK or anywhere else - I've done so in the UK, USA, Australia and a number of European countries...

I think Sutter is mixing up an International Licence and a Credit Card format licence.

I am talking from experience i was not allowed to hire a car in the UK 2 years ago with a swiss licence

LOL wish i was

And I know many people who have rented cars in the UK, US, Ireland and many other countries with the old Swiss licence. I think you probably got a desk clerk who didn't know their arse from their elbow.

Either way, there is not a choice of licences that the OP can take. A Swiss licence is a Swiss licence and a UK one is a UK one. Both are valid in all European Jurisdictions for a time not exceeding one year.

I have a blue 4-sided Swiss licence issued 20 years ago which I have used to rent cars with at least twice a year for last last 20 years (without translation). No rental company has batted an eyelid or made the slightest comment on the licence...

I would agree with you, but it has happened to me twice with different companys

Maybe they just don`t like the look of me to hire a car then

Maybe you just got unlucky twice sutter, as car rental companies have never looked to closely at my licence when hiring. I even gave some spotty oik at avis at Heathrow Mama G's by mistake once, but that was in the days of the old paper license.

When Mama G converted her UK license to a Swiss one they did ask her for a medical though, turned out that the 7.5cwt (I think) that you get with a UK Licence means your a trucker here! So we had to say that she didn't wanna drive a truck and it was cool.

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How do you know if a Frenchman has been in your garden.... your rubbish is gone, your dog is pregnant.... but at least your cabbages are pest free

Technically, you have one year to exchange your foreign license for a Swiss one, but
I still did it with 1.5 years without a problem.

Strange thread.

Agreed the Swiss licence (or license if you're American! ) is not an "international driving licence" and is not more or less advantagous than one issued from the UK.

Strictly speaking there's no such thing as an International Drivers Licence. There's the International Driving Permit (details here), but that is just a supplement document with translations of your licence. I personally got one from Basel-Stadt police (details here) for CHF 40 as I was going to the USA and thought outside of Europe I may have issues... especially as my licence is in German. However I didn't.

Within Europe however I have hired many (and I mean many) times in the UK plus once in Ireland, Germany and Poland with just my Swiss licence. No problems. I once got involved in an accident in the UK the police man said "you speak good English" after he looked at my licence. Shame he couldn't read "Grossbritannien"

The only thing I can think of is that the rental company in the UK that didn't except the Swiss licence wasn't one of the big rental companies, but a small independant company who may have an insurance company that for whatever reasons only except UK licences. However having said that my mum's UK insurance company allows me to drive her car with my Swiss licence.

Also see this interesting link... European driving licence. Although the Switzerland is not in the EU, the new format is the same.

I've one of the old paper format licenses. I've quite happily rented cars from the big companies. I was turned down by one small company operating near Birmingham, because they insisted that the license must have an English translation - and of course, it's only in German, Italian and French. So I used Avis. And got a free upgrade, and my wife added as another driver for free, because I was so patient when they had to enter my details 3 times.

I changed my EU licence for a Swiss one last year. There is certainly nothing "more international" about it. It is all in German, apart from the title which is in the four official Swiss languages and English... The format however is similar...