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Date Published: 23/02/2023

ARCHIVED - UK driving licence update: Brits will be able to drive in Spain very shortly, Ambassador says

ARCHIVED ARTICLE -

The British Embassy expects UK drivers to be back on Spanish roads “within the next few weeks”

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - UK driving licence update: Brits will be able to drive in Spain very shortly, Ambassador says

After radio silence for more than two weeks, the British Embassy in Madrid has issued a statement on Wednesday February 22 reassuring UK licence holders that the “final steps” in the negotiation between Spain and Britain will “be taken in the next few weeks”.

The update follows a barrage of criticism from stranded British drivers over the speed at which the Spanish Council of Ministers managed to reach a reciprocal licence agreement with New Zealand, which was signed, sealed and delivered in just over three months.

Ambassador Hugh Elliott stressed that the process carried out in relation to New Zealand’s negotiations “is not comparable” to the Spain-UK situation, but following this agreement he again approached the Spanish government and asked them to expedite the process for Brits.

“You will be able to drive again very shortly after approval by the Consejo de Ministros which, to repeat, we expect to take place within the next few weeks,” he said.

Understandably, hundreds of UK citizens living in Spain, who have been off the road for ten months now, railed against the ‘update’, which has said little different to previous addresses. Many are furious that the Embassy advised them six weeks ago to apply for their psychophysical test in anticipation of the agreement getting the go-ahead, another expense related to the driving licence debacle which could now be wasted.

“OMG the next few weeks (again) and you ‘recommended’ us to take the medical, shame on you. This has been a mentally draining 10 months,” one frustrated Brit wrote on social media.

Others are more hopeful, expressing their gratitude that, after a long slog, the driving licence exchange is “finally happening”.

“It’s a pity there is do much hostility over this. I am sure the Spanish government has a full schedule of work already without having to find extra time for this bill,” one thoughtful user wrote.

“First sign of madness… Repeating the same thing over and over and expecting a different result!!” another succinctly put it.

Find all the latest motoring and travel news here or join our Driving in Spain Facebook group for regular updates

Image: British Embassy

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