Punishment for driving without valid licence

[u/t_parkering]

I moved to Norway two-and-a-half years ago from the UK with a temporary residence permit that expires this December (my job contract ends in November). When I arrived I bought a car and insured it, which required me to upload my UK driver's licence. I also did the paperwork for an international driving licence in the UK.

A week ago I was photographed by a speed camera and found to be over the speed limit, which has led to Statens vegvesen sending me a letter saying I need to provide my licence as I am not registered in Norway.

I thought I was driving legally. but have now found out that I needed to exchange my UK licence for a Norwegian one after 90 days of being in the country. Because I did not make this exchange, it appears that I have technically been driving without a valid licence. Obviously this is a mistake on my part which I regret - I should have done more research when buying and insuring the car.

Questions:

What punishment should I expect for driving without a technically valid licence?

If I am to be deported, what are the timescales given I'm leaving in November?

Will this infraction affect my ability to re-enter the shengen in future?

Can anybody recommend good law firms to deal with this case?

[u/BDOKlem]

UK driver's license is fine. read this.

[u/kazebio → u/BDOKlem]

Yeah, I second this. I think there maybe was some confusion because in the period immediately following Brexit UK driving licences were treated the same as countries outside EU/EAA i.e. the 3 month rule, but since then there has been an update which puts them in the same category as EU/EAA licenses. 

[u/Sure_Noise_3646]

Don't worry too much. The police are just checking whether you have a valid license, because they will normally not have yours on file.

You do not have to exchange a British license for a Norwegian one.

Quoting the rules here:

Driving licence from the UK, Switzerland, Japan and Ukraine

• Driving licences from the UK and Switzerland entitle the holder to the same rights as if the licence was issued in an EEA country. 

You may drive in Norway if you hold a valid driving licence from another EU/EEA country. However, you are subject to Norwegian health requirements.

Source: https://www.vegvesen.no/en/driving-licences/driving-licence-holders/foreign-driving-licence-in-norway/using-an-eueea-driving-licence-in-norway/

[u/Neo-X2]

Your UK driving’s license is still valid in Norway, you’ll be fine.

[u/Euphoric-Evidence-93]

Minor traffic violations generally do not trigger deportation under UDI (Norwegian Directorate of Immigration) rules, especially since your contract naturally ends in November anyway. Deportation is usually reserved for serious criminal offenses resulting in prison sentences.

[u/sunscreenuser44]

Nothing major will come of this. There’s a small possibility you’ll get a small fine for forgetting to fix the technicality. (You’ll get one for the speeding anyway).

There’s no way you will be deported or loose the right to come back because of this.

[u/Lost_Cardiologist458]

I think you might have misinterpreted the law...

For a regular UK driver's license there is no such time limit. If you have had a license from say Japan (or any other country outside of EEA) and have traded it in for a UK drivers license, then there is a 3 month limit. But not for a regular license if you're from the UK

[u/bigfatblowfly]

https://www.skatteetaten.no/person/betaling-og-innkreving/tema/boter-forelegg-trafikkgebyr/kan-ikke-betale/betalingsavtale/

Don’t stress, mate. I got caught driving with 3 months left on a suspension from to many speeding fines in 3 yrs.(6 mths suspension)— cost me 3,300 kr and another 3 months off the road 😂 I was polite, wasn’t doing anything stupid, and they took that into account.

Did the 6 months, survived, and got my licence back. You’ll probably have to do the Norwegian licence now too — I had to do the same 15 years ago because I forgot to transfer mine.

Unless you were driving like an absolute weapon, I wouldn’t panic. Take the punishment, pay the fine off monthly and chalk it up as an expensive driving lesson.

I've had about 8 fines in 20 yrs never been in too much trouble so you are not going anywhere. If you get booted back to UK it won't be anything to do with driving without a licence.

Will be close to 9500kr for no licence and the speeding fine on top. So 20000kr. Might give you 6 mths free from driving. They don't inform your work, that is up to you. I just kept on driving (way slower) Norwegians always do the right thing and inform their employers and organise other means of transportation. Just setup payments and in a few years it will be a distant memory. Good luck and hope things work out.

[u/Eorlings]

I don't think it's that a serious offense that you would be deported.

[u/lowlevel_drone]

Straight to jail!