Car rental companies warn of how Brexit will affect British driving licences

Car rental companies warn of how Brexit will affect British driving licences

The Spanish National Car Rental Business Federation (Feneval) has warned of the consequences of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a ratified withdrawal agreement, mainly for the car rental sector, as British driving licences may no longer be valid in the EU

EL ECONOMISTA – Europa Press – 19 March 2019

The Spanish National Car Rental Business Federation (Feneval) has warned of the consequences of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a ratified withdrawal agreement, mainly for the car rental sector, as British driving licences may no longer be valid in the EU. The rest of the tourism industry is also preparing for a hard Brexit.

In this regard, as published in the Spanish Official State Gazette (BOE) on 2 March, driving licences issued by British authorities will be valid in Spain “only” for the first nine months as of the date on which the United Kingdom withdraws from the European Union.

During this transitional period, holders of these licences who reside and/or work in Spain may exchange them for a national one. However, after these nine months, i.e. at the end of the year, driving licences issued by UK authorities will be regarded as non-EU driving licences.

UK Warning

The UK Department for Transport has published a report stating that, from 28 March 2019, British driving licenses may not be valid in some European Union countries, in which case UK drivers wishing to drive in Europe would have to get an International Driving Permit.

Feneval has stressed that the envisaged measure rules out tensions over this issue during the coming summer season. The Federation has also assured that they will be on full alert for the outcome of negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom to see how the measure will ultimately affect car rental.

Source: El Economista