Minibus category lost on foreign licence?

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Sun 18 Sep 2016 20:27
Minibus category lost on foreign licence? - Bilboman

I have a niggling doubt regarding my driving licence entitlements, as I seem to be in a grey area. Having passed a British driving test pre-1992 I am by default entitled to drive a 7.5 tonner and (not for reward) a 15 seater minibus.
I swapped to a Spanish licence when I bought a car here in 1999, and my default entitlements were reduced to 3.5 Tons and a 9 seater minibus, despite my protests. (A friend of mine persuaded the authorities in a different provincial traffic office to transfer all his entitlements!)
On the DVLA website the details of my dormant British licence show my previously held categories, but I no longer actually hold a British licence, so printing off one of those new fangled entitlement codes would be as much use as a copy of Winston Churchill's birth certificate!
My question is: on a future trip to the UK, would a hire company be permitted/obliged to let me hire a 15 seater minibus? This would be a one-off scenario, certainly not worth the bureaucracy and cost of taking the corresponding Spanish test. I have no wish to swap back to a British licence and in fact cannot legally do so unless I migrate permanently.

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Tue 20 Sep 2016 12:17
Minibus category lost on foreign licence? - focussed

Is it the case in Spain that to validate the 7.5 ton/15 seat minibus entitlement that a medical is required at a certain age and every 2 or 3 years after that - probably 60?

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Thu 22 Sep 2016 00:44
Minibus category lost on foreign licence? - Bilboman

The standard "B" licence (car, minibus or light van up to 3.5T + max 9 passengers incl. driver) has to be renewed every 10 years to age 65, then every 5. There is a new photograph and a medical (eyesight, hearing and reflexes) test upon renewal.
For the 3.5 - 7.5 tonne (LGV?) and 10-15 seat minibus categories (C1 and D1 respectively - the two categories I would automatically be allowed on a British licence but not in Spain) the renewal periods are shorter - every 5 years up to retirement and 3 years thereafter.
These are the general categories but I can't say whether anything else is requiredfor professional as opposed to private use. All quite straightforward, unless you start attaching a trailer!

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Thu 22 Sep 2016 10:07
Minibus category lost on foreign licence? - RT

In the UK - the C1 and D1 are now subject to full D4 medical every 3 years from age 70 - although drivers on full C/D licences will have been having the d4 medical before age 70.

Anyone who gets C1/D1 from grandfather rights (pre 1997 UK licence) also get C1E/D1E as grandfather rights so there's no issue with trailers.

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