George Mathias
THE British embassy in Spain has provided an update on the driving licence saga, with many angry that the announcement sounds like a broken record.
Since May 1, Brits resident in Spain with UK driving licences are no longer legally allowed to drive without taking a Spanish driving test.
While negotiations were planned to have an agreement in place by the end of July, this eluded both sides and many thousands of Brits remain without vital transport to go about their daily lives.
The UK embassy said: ”There remains some outstanding work to be done to agree the annexes of the agreement.”
“We recognise that many people are considering their whereabouts over August and so would like to know more about the negotiation timeline. We want to be open about the fact things may take longer than we’d like during August,” they said in a Facebook post.
But there was some good news, as the embassy confirmed that the agreement will mean Brits will have six months to exchange their UK licence for a Spanish one without having to take a test and will be able to drive using their UK licence in the meantime.
Photo: Wikipedia.
In addition, the agreement will apply to anyone holding a UK licence ‘whether they were here before the end of 2020 or whether they move here in the future.’
However, many expats on Facebook were less than impressed.
John Wardles said: “This is disgraceful and full of continuing false promises! Why didn’t Hugh Elliott say that it was practically impossible to get us back on the road. We are being given false hope every week.”
Roger Haggett said: “Still no reason why the Spanish government won’t let people back on the road. If you have an agreement in principle surely there can be no reason to keep people suffering?”
While an agreement is closer than ever, we need to continue to put pressure on both sides to get a move on and urge all readers to sign the parliamentary petition here.
READ MORE:
- U-TURN CAMPAIGN: Main text for agreement set out in breakthrough for Brits driving in Spain
- U-Turn Campaign: Everything you need to know about the driving licence exchange debacle for Brits in Spain
- EXPLAINED: How easy is it for a Brit to take their Spanish driving test?
