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My wife has a valid non-UK licence and has been caught speeding. Does she now have to trade in her licence for a UK licence? This seems a bit extreme as she is willing to pay the fine and accept the points. What are her options here?
My wife is from an EEA country and holds a valid non-UK licence that can be used indefinitely on these shores. She just got caught speeding and we are at the stage where we have to confirm the driver's identity. They state that if you hold a foreign licence it must be traded in for a UK licence (in order to receive points) otherwise the case must go to Court. Am I reading that right? It seems a bit extreme if we are willing to pay the fine and take the penalty. There is no counterpart with her foreign licence so nowhere to state the points. Of course they can store the offence with the DVLA no problem. What are our options here, can she not just state she has an EEA licence and take the offence on that? Also how does it work with the new safety scheme where you can attend a course and skip the points? She got caught doing 36mph in a 30mph zone.
36mph in a 30mph area qualifies for a Speed Awareness Course depending on the area, however this is not universal - some forces do not offer it and some that do don't offer it everyone.
Your wife cannot be forced to get a UK counterpart - although they will pressure her to do so in order that they can apply points but there is not much advantage for her.
If she keeps her EEA licence she cannot be dealt with by a fixed penalty but she should follow the fixed penalty procedure by sending off her foreign licence and the payment as requested. They will send it back (with the payment) saying that you cannot be dealt with in this way but must be summonsed to Court. The advantage of doing this however is in showing compliance with the system.
When the summons arrives if you admit the offence and want to achieve an outcome at the lowest possible costs, you need to plead guilty by post (usually "Option 1") enclosing your licence. Accompany everything with a covering letter saying you are pleading guilty by post to save the Court's time as while they cannot add points to your foreign licence these will clearly go on your UK driving record and will affect your insurance.
Request that the Court does not disadvantage you relative to a UK driver, and ask to be dealt with as if a UK driver had accepted a fixed penalty - with a £60 penalty and no Court costs.
In terms of means, if you do not have an income in the UK you should say so. In cases such as this the Court will only cast a cursory glance over the means statement and you do not need to go into any great detail.
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