Greek Rider License & insurance question

Motorcycling
1

A guy at work is looking at buying a bike, he’s Greek and has a full bike license in Greece, he’s also got 5 years no claims on his Greek bike insurance.

He asked me a few questions today and I didn’t really have any idea what the answers were so thought I’d ask the experts on here.

  1. Can he just ride indefinitely on a Greek license or does he need to get a uk license at some point?
  2. Would a UK Vs Greek license affect anything ( insurance cost for example)?
  3. Is NCB earned in Greece valid in the UK?

Also, he’s on the lookout for a bike. Mentioned a Hornet as that’s what he has back home but I don’t think he’s got any firm idea other than something similar.

Thanks guys.

2
  1. No, he has to change it within 3 years of becoming resident. Failure to do this and he will be unlicensed and uninsured, should he have an off (or just pulled over by the cops).
  2. Depends on the insurer, it usually isn’t much though.
  3. Should be valid as long as the documentation is in English, but it can depend on the insurer.

This is for an EU license.
A non EU license has different rules (you have to exchange within a year for some countries and some licenses cannot be converted).

3

You can drive on a Johnny Foreigner licence for a few years before you have to get it changed. I think it is 3 years now as above, I used my Dutch licence for 9 years before I changed it for a UK one as it was about to expire. Your insurance will be slightly cheaper if you have a full UK licence. You also cannot use a foreign licence to avoid points as they create a duplicate record matched to your driving licence number to store your points. If you get over 12 points they can withdraw your right to drive in the UK but you should still be fine in your home country.

I held on to my Dutch licence for so long because I figured if I got a ban at least I could move abroad. But that wasn’t too smart. It would have been better to get it changed early and save on insurance.

4

A licence issued by another EU country is valid for use in the UK for 3 years or until the owner is 70, whichever is longer.

From what I’ve read, insurance may be more expensive with a non-UK licence.

I doubt if any if not all insurance companies would honour non-UK NCB.

5

You may also have issue with Loan / hire bikes my Loan bike insurence insists on full UK licence

6

Many companies accept non-uk no claims bonus. I’ve a Polish friend who had eight years accepted from his Polish insurer without an issue. He needed a letter from the foreign insurer confirming the no claims bonus, and he had to get it translated into English. Phone around and ask.