IDP and green card.

[vindiboy]

Just received the Green Card from Comfort, free, great service , and today I bought 2 IDPs one for France one for Spain /Portugal or however they work, it was unclear if I needed ones for Spain and Portugal , the staff in the post office said I did but I read on line that I did not but hey ho I now have them ; bummer is that as my driving licence expires October next year so do the the IDPs and one was supposed to be for 3 years, cant beat them can you ? Got the passport photos needed at the Post Office £6 for four so that made things easier, all done in the same building, love the Post Office. Just need to get organised for the off now .

 

[REC]

We are going to have to renew the IDP which is annual (?France?) for our trip in Jan, if Brexit is not sorted before we leave. Took it out for last year's visit in case we had a no deal while in Europe in March. And green card too....wish it was just sorted, it is worse than East Enders for cliffedge endings!

 

[TeamRienza]

Check your French IDP. I thought they were valid for 3 years whilst the Spanish one is an annual one?

Davy

 

[vindiboy]

Check your French IDP. I thought they were valid for 3 years whilst the Spanish one is an annual one?

Davy

They are BUT [ always a but] they expire when your UK licence expires as the numbers must collate. even if thr IDPs are dated longer.

 

[redhand]

We plan to leave 4th jan for 3 months.
As we will still be in eu hopefully my understanding is i do not need idp or green card before i go
Alternatively if we are out then i need both
Correct ?

 

[WildThingsKev]

I'd get a green card before leaving if I were you as you should have one if we leave on 31stJan.

 

[John H]

We plan to leave 4th jan for 3 months.
As we will still be in eu hopefully my understanding is i do not need idp or green card before i go
Alternatively if we are out then i need both
Correct ?

The UK may leave the EU while you are away. You may need both, therefore. We left the UK on 1st October and got a green card (free) and two IDPs each (£5 each) because we might need them. If we don't need them then you have lost very little. Getting a green card took 30 seconds; getting the IDPs took about five minutes. A no-brainer for us.

 

[witzend]

. Getting the IDPs took about five minutes.

15 ml drive to PO town centre parking costs a fortune 600 yrds walk takes more than 10 mins for most people who don,t live next door to a PO

 

[daygoboy]

15 ml drive to PO town centre parking costs a fortune 600 yrds walk takes more than 10 mins for most people who don,t live next door to a PO

Calais Police cells are quite comfortable I believe, and well set up with charity group
visits, so with any luck should come away with a few pairs of trainers, possibly some
designer gear and a mobile phone, so it's not all negative if you lack documments/papers,
I may see you there!

 

[redhand]

Ok I admit to being a slack arse and tend to not bother unless something is 100% certain but your advice is sound. Many thanks

 

[John H]

15 ml drive to PO town centre parking costs a fortune 600 yrds walk takes more than 10 mins for most people who don,t live next door to a PO

Fair point - some people don't live near a Post Office. However, if you are taking a motorhome or car to the EU then you will be driving via a port town and will not be far from a post office at some point. Set off on your European journey ten minutes earlier and you can get the IDPs on your way. It is just not worth the bother of not getting them.

 

[REC]

Check your French IDP. I thought they were valid for 3 years whilst the Spanish one is an annual one?

Davy

Couldn't remember if it was the french which was annual or Spanish! Whichever it is, we have to renew before we leave.

 

[redhand]

it seems comfort actually supplied me with the green card on last renewal
its just an additional page in 5 languages, I had epected something more

 

[vindiboy]

Fair point - some people don't live near a Post Office. However, if you are taking a motorhome or car to the EU then you will be driving via a port town and will not be far from a post office at some point. Set off on your European journey ten minutes earlier and you can get the IDPs on your way. It is just not worth the bother of not getting them.

BE AWARE that you will need passport size quality photos for each of the IDPs plus your licence of course my 2 IDPS cost me £11 and £6 for the photos [ 4 ] as our local PO has the facility to produce the photos So £17 needed or not I have them bit miffed about the expiry date though , only good as long as your licence expiry date, I always had and still do have the breathalyzers required for France [ NOT ] but hey ho they cost pennies and I thought better safe than sorry.

 

[vindiboy]

it seems comfort actually supplied me with the green card on last renewal
its just an additional page in 5 languages, I had epected something more

Be sure it is GREEN, the one I just received from Comfort IS GREEN.

 

[vindiboy]

Important: The RAC has now stopped issuing International Driving Permits (IDPs). From 1st February 2019 the Post Office is the sole issuer of IDPs. You can use the Post Office website to find out which branches can issue IDPs.
When taking your car abroad, some countries require UK drivers to have an International Driving Permit (IDP) before they can legally drive in them.
This international driving permit is in addition to, not a replacement of, your UK driving licence - which you also need to take with you if you're driving and/or hiring a car abroad.
Here we explain what you need to know about IDPs before leaving on your trip, covering everything from where you’ll need one, to how to apply for it.
NOT all POs can issue the IDPs best check before you get in the Queue or wrong Queue hee hee.

 

[John H]

BE AWARE that you will need passport size quality photos for each of the IDPs plus your licence of course my 2 IDPS cost me £11 and £6 for the photos [ 4 ] as our local PO has the facility to produce the photos So £17 needed or not I have them bit miffed about the expiry date though , only good as long as your licence expiry date, I always had and still do have the breathalyzers required for France [ NOT ] but hey ho they cost pennies and I thought better safe than sorry.

Most, if not all, POs that issue IDPs have photo booths, so this is not a problem. I repeat, when I got mine it took around 5 minutes in total.

 

[carol]

My insurers seemed reluctant to give me the green card before the last deadline, saying, “Let’s see what happens first” - would there be any reason for this apart from a bit of admin?

 

[John H]

My insurers seemed reluctant to give me the green card before the last deadline, saying, “Let’s see what happens first” - would there be any reason for this apart from a bit of admin?

Probably not. My insurance company (Safeguard) said they would send me one, free of charge, as soon as I phoned up to enquire. It arrived the next day and covers me for the whole of Europe.

 

[Moped]

If we leave with the BoJo Brexit deal then there is a transition period until the end of 2020. There will be no 90/180 day thing, IDP or green card requirement until 1st Jan 2021. Always of course assuming BoJo and his chums are election winners.

No matter still got these documents as in Spain before the original halloween Brexit. Both Post Office and Safeguard very helpful. Got IDP for France. Don’t need one for Spain unless in country for more than 6 continuous months which we never are.