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Driving licences: How does situation for Britons in Spain compare to rest of Europe?

As UK driving licence holders in Spain wait for answers regarding another extension or a long-awaited deal for the mutual exchange of British and Spanish licences post-Brexit, we look at how their situation compares to that of their counterparts across Europe.

Published: 21 January 2022 15:42 CET
Updated: 29 April 2022 10:06 CEST
uk licence exchange spain europe
The vast majority of EU countries have reached deals with the UK over the exchange of driving licences post-Brexit. Photo: Pexels/Pixabay

In late February 2022, Spanish authorities extended once again the period of validity of UK driving licences in Spain, giving some respite to British licence holders as negotiations over the mutual exchange of licences continued for another two months.

The April 30th deadline is now here and the British Embassy in Madrid is set to make an announcement to confirm whether there will be a fifth extension or an agreement over the mutual exchange of Spanish and British driving licences post-Brexit, or the failure to reach such a deal.

Thinking optimistically, could there be a deal which sees all UK licence holders in Spain – those who registered their intent to exchange, those who didn’t, those who did register intent but haven’t been able to finalise the process, and future UK licence holders who move to Spain – able to continue using their UK licences in Spain or easily exchange them for Spanish ones without having to sit a driving test?

It’s hard to say as so little has been disclosed about negotiations and the reasons for the holdups, but for several months now the UK embassy has been advising those who must drive whatever the outcome to consider sitting their Spanish driving exam in anticipation.

If a deal wasn’t reached then UK licence holders would reportedly only have to sit their driving test again (theory and practical), and the examen práctico is always conducted by a Spanish-speaking examiner, a concern for British resident drivers who aren’t fluent in Spanish. 

“We remain fully committed to reaching a long-term agreement with Spain,” the British Embassy in Madrid wrote on Facebook in late 2021. 

“So that residents can exchange their UK driving licences without taking a test, as Spanish licence holders can in the UK and as UK licence holders can in the vast majority of other EU member states”. 

So is it true that most European nations have reached successful agreements with the UK over reciprocal driving licence recognition and exchange and the ‘Spanish deal’ is lagging behind?

The evidence suggests so.

UK licence exchange agreements across Europe

As things stand, Spain and Italy are the only European countries where licence exchange negotiations are ongoing. 

However, UK driving licences remain valid in Italy until the end of 2022, so drivers who were living in Italy before the start of 2022 have more time to sit their Italian driving test in the event that a deal isn’t reached, or conversely they have more time to wait and see what happens. 

French and British authorities reached a licence exchange agreement in June 2021, considered a generous one for UK licence holders residing in France as those with licences issued before January 1st 2021 can continue using their UK licences in France until either the licence or the photocard nears expiry.

Sweden and the UK reached a deal even earlier in March 2021. British people resident in Sweden can exchange their UK driving licences for an equivalent Swedish one, without needing to take a test, just as they could when the country was a member of the European Union. 

In neighbouring Portugal, resident UK licence holders can continue to use their valid UK licences until December 31st 2022 but they must exchange their licences for Portuguese ones before that date.

Other EU nations which have decided to allow UK licence holders residing in their countries to swap their driving licences without having to take a driving test include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.   

There are slight variations in the conditions between countries, and some say you “can exchange”, others that you “must exchange” and most encourage UK licence holders to swap “as soon as possible”. In Greece, UK licences continue to be valid without any restrictions or deadlines for exchange.

That leaves Spain and Italy as the two EU/EEA countries where a deal on a straightforward exchange or long-term recognition of UK licences among residents is still hanging in the balance.  

The only question that’s left is why. 

Why did Spain have to have a system in place that required UK licence holders to register their intent to exchange a whole year before Brexit came into force? 

Why are the driving rights of all Britons who resided in Spain before December 31st 2020 not part of the other protected rights they enjoy under the Withdrawal agreement? 

And why is it taking so long to reach an exchange deal between two allies with such close economic and social links?

READ ALSO: How much does it cost to get your driving licence in Spain?

Member comments

  1. Can’t understand why British resident s living in Spain find it so hard to comply with doing what they have been given enough notice to complete.
    I have been in Spain now for 4 years changed my licence no problem applied for the new residency card when told it was available to apply for no problem filled on simple form when to police station 4 weeks later went back and picked up new residency card.
    It seems to me that a lot of Brits living over here can’t be botherd to comply to the rules and most of the should have changed there driving licence years ago but as usual they bury their head in the sand and now complain that they have to now take a driving test.

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BRITONS IN SPAIN

FACT CHECK: Spain’s ‘£97 daily rule’ isn’t new nor a worry for British tourists

The British tabloids are at it again causing alarm over the so-called '£97 daily rule’ which Spain is apparently imposing on UK tourists, who in turn are threatening to ‘boycott’ the country. 

Published: 15 April 2024 14:28 CEST
Updated: 20 April 2024 07:22 CEST
FACT CHECK: Spain's '£97 daily rule' isn't new nor a worry for British tourists

American playwright Eugene O’Neill once said: “There is no present or future – only the past, happening over and over again – now”.

In 2022, The Local Spain wrote a fact-checking article titled ‘Are UK tourists in Spain really being asked to prove €100 a day?‘, in which we dispelled the claims made in the British press about Spain’s alleged new rules for UK holidaymakers.

Two years on in 2024, the same eye-catching headlines are resurfacing in Blighty: “’Anti-British? Holiday elsewhere!’ Britons fume as tourists in Spain warned they may be subject to additional rules” in GB News, or “’They would be begging us to come back’: Brits vow to ‘boycott Spain’ over new £97 daily rule” in LBC.

The return of this rabble-rousing ‘news’ in the UK has coincided with calls within Spain to change the existing mass tourism model that’s now more than ever having an impact on the country’s housing crisis.

Even though Spaniards behind the protests have not singled out any foreign nationals as potential culprits, the UK tabloids have unsurprisingly capitalised on this and run headlines such as “Costa del Sol turns on British tourists”.

READ MORE: Why does hatred of tourists in Spain appear to be on the rise?

What is the so-called ‘£97 daily rule’?

Yes, there is theoretically a ‘£97 a day rule’, but it is not a new rule, nor one that applies only to UK nationals specifically, and not even one that Spain alone has imposed (all Schengen countries set their financial means threshold).

As non-EU nationals who are not from a Schengen Area country either (the United Kingdom never was in Schengen), British tourists entering Spain could have certain requirements with which to comply if asked by Spanish border officials.

Such requirements include a valid passport, proof of a return ticket, documents proving their purpose of entry into Spain, limits on the amount of time they can spend in Spain (the 90 out of 180 days Schengen rule), proof of accommodation, a letter of invitation if staying with friends or family (another controversial subject in the British press when it emerged) and yes, proof of sufficient financial means for the trip.

Third-country nationals who want to enter Spain in 2024 may need to prove they have at least €113,40 per day (around £97), with a minimum of €972 (around £830) per person regardless of the intended duration of the stay. It is unclear whether this could also possibly apply to minors.

The amount of financial means to prove has increased slightly in 2024 as it is linked to Spain’s minimum wage, which has also risen. 

Financial means can be accredited by presenting cash, traveller’s checks, credit cards accompanied by a bank account statement, an up-to-date bank book or any other means that proves the amount available as credit on a card or bank account.

Have Britons been prevented from entering Spain for not having enough money?

There is no evidence that UK holidaymakers have been prevented from entering Spain after not being able to show they have £97 a day to cover their stay, nor any reports that they have been asked to show the financial means to cover their stay either. 

17.3 million UK tourists visited Spain in 2023; equal to roughly 47,400 a day. 

Even though British tourists have to stand in the non-EU queue at Spanish passport control, they do not require a visa to enter Spain and the sheer number of UK holidaymakers means that they’re usually streamlined through the process, having to only quickly show their passports.

The only occasional hiccups that have arisen post-Brexit have been at the land border between Gibraltar and Spain (issued that are likely to be resolved soon), and these weren’t related to demonstrating financial means. 

Therefore, the British press are regurgitating alarmist headlines that don’t reflect any truth, but rather pander to the ‘they need us more than we need them’ mantra that gets readers clicking. 

To sum up, there is a £97 a day rule, but it is not new, it has not affected any British tourists to date, and it is not specific to Spain alone to potentially require proof of economic means. 

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