90 Days License Conversion vs “Required” 6 Months Presence?

[Jack Peterson]

Just now, Jack Peterson said:

 I have never had a card licence BUT my licence expired at 70 with a yearly extension  up to 73 then on Medicals BUT I was here so No chance 

 Having said this, The plastic card is NOT a licence at all. It is the Paper one is the one  that is legal, I am advised that if asked by the Police Both should be submitted. a little like the ACR card here, it is what is in your Passport that matters  

[OnMyWay]

20 hours ago, Greglm said:

Here is my experience. Years ago I asked LTO to convert my license while I had a visitors visa, they said no.

I was a tourist when I converted in 2013.  After the bogus medical I gave a gift to the LTO manager and 15 minutes later I had the license.  I went there with a Canadian expat who said there would be no waiting because he would introduce me to the manager.

[Tommy T.]

I converted my USA driver's license to Philippine after more than three years. They didn't seem to care how long or really check my status, so long as my USA license was valid. As everyone else has said, your experience may vary with your location and office. Once my SRRV was shown and my valid USA license was given, all went okay. It just took a fair amount of time sitting around as they crunched through their workload.

[hk blues]

15 hours ago, Jack Peterson said:

 Having said this, The plastic card is NOT a licence at all. It is the Paper one is the one  that is legal, I am advised that if asked by the Police Both should be submitted. a little like the ACR card here, it is what is in your Passport that matters  

The paper version was abolished in 2015 and the photocard version is now the valid one - see attached link.  However, if your licence was issued before March 2000 the paper version remains valid but a photocard version will be issued if and when you renew your licence for whatever reason. 

It's really not the same as the ACR situation. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/driving-licence-changes

 

[hk blues]

16 hours ago, Gas said:

If you have a photo card license it has to be renewed every 10 years or it expires. 
It’s a bit of a gray area as in theory our licenses are good until we are 70. 
 

https://www.lawble.co.uk/driving-licence-expired/

https://www.gov.uk/renew-driving-licence

I’ve hired cars in Asia, Europe, America, Oceania and never had a problem using my Philippine license. 

If you got your licence before March 2000 you have the paper version and this remains valid until age 70 BUT if you renewed your licence for any reason after June 2015 then you will get the photocard version which expires after 10 years.  Once expired  you can get a new one anytime so there is no need to start from square 1.  Any of us living abroad are not able to renew our licence when abroad.  

[Jack Peterson]

[hk blues]

37 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

I converted my USA driver's license to Philippine after more than three years. They didn't seem to care how long or really check my status, so long as my USA license was valid. As everyone else has said, your experience may vary with your location and office. Once my SRRV was shown and my valid USA license was given, all went okay. It just took a fair amount of time sitting around as they crunched through their workload.

That's what I am hoping for, Tommy.  I have both the paper version which shows expiry at age 70 and the photocard one which has already expired.  Of course, I will show the paper version if and when I try to get the licence.  

[Tommy T.]

5 minutes ago, hk blues said:

That's what I am hoping for, Tommy.  I have both the paper version which shows expiry at age 70 and the photocard one which has already expired.  Of course, I will show the paper version if and when I try to get the licence.  

Yeah... Hope it works for you too. The advice that someone previously offered is priceless... don't show or produce any documents unless they request them... Best way to reduce hassles, in my opinion...

[hk blues]

Just now, Tommy T. said:

Yeah... Hope it works for you too. The advice that someone previously offered is priceless... don't show or produce any documents unless they request them... Best way to reduce hassles, in my opinion...

Yep, and if any documents aren't helpful to the situation then best assume they are lost!

I'm kinda annoyed at myself because I'm pretty good at covering my bases on such stuff but the driving licence situation fell between the cracks.  More annoyingly is the fact that the licence office in Hong Kong  was on the floor below my office and I passed it every single day! 

[BrettGC]

1 hour ago, Tommy T. said:

I converted my USA driver's license to Philippine after more than three years.

How'd you go with car insurance Tommy?  I know that I needed a PI licence to be able to make a claim if something happens while I'm driving our car.  That's with Toyota's in-house insurance (no-clue who it's underwritten by), so may be different elsewhere.   

Edited February 22, 2023 by BrettGC