Bermuda is working on a deal with Britain and other “key partner countries” to create a framework for reciprocal driving licences.

At the moment, Bermuda licence holders can drive in the UK for up to a year but they have to pass a driving test if they want to stay on the road legally after 12 months.

The deal would remove the requirement to get a UK licence and also cut insurance costs.

The Ministry of Tourism, Transport, Culture and Sport confirmed the move after the issue arose during questions last month in the House of Lords — Britain’s Upper House of Parliament.

A ministry spokesman told The Royal Gazette officials were “progressing the Throne Speech commitment to have the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic extended to Bermuda and it is at the legislative drafting instruction stage”.

He added: “The objective is to support a clear and internationally recognised framework for reciprocal driving licences.”

He said getting the island on board with the 77-year-old convention, which Bermuda has never signed, would “facilitate the structured recognition of foreign driving licences and create opportunities for selective reciprocal arrangements”.

However, Bermuda would try to strike a balance under any agreement between making it easier to drive abroad while “preserving Bermuda’s local control and regulatory authority”.

A repeated sticking point on the issue has been opening the way for overseas drivers to unrestricted access to the island’s small roads with private cars.

The move, which was announced in the 2024 Throne Speech, came up in Britain’s House of Lords in response to questions posed to Lord Hendy, a Labour peer and a Minister of State in the Department for Transport.

He gave written answers to a query on which countries were engaged in or seeking discussions with the UK on reciprocal recognition and use of driving licences in both jurisdictions.

Lord Hendy listed Bermuda among 17 jurisdictions around the world that had approached Britain’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency seeking a driving licence exchange agreement.

The others were Albania, Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Georgia, Israel, Kenya, Kuwait, Kosovo, Malaysia, Mauritius, San Marino, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Israel and Tunisia

Lord Hendy’s response to the query added: “Work on these agreements is in various stages of development.”

Members of the House, known as peers, also heard that the licensing authority seeking an exchange agreement “must provide the information needed to assess whether its driver licensing and testing standards are equivalent” to those in Britain.

The issue has caused headaches for Bermudians abroad in several countries, but especially in the popular destination of the Azores, an autonomous territory of Portugal, where drivers were subject to arrest or fines.

Bermudian drivers reported difficulties in hiring vehicles over the legal grey area in multiple other countries, including Japan and the US.

As of last year, the Azorean issue was under consideration by lawmakers in Portugal.

The update last week from the Bermuda Government did not provide a timeline for when recognition might be secured abroad for the island’s driving licences.

Bermudians living in the UK were invited by the Gazette to share their experiences anonymously. Many found no issue with the requirement to switch over to a British driving licence.

One said: “Bermuda licences are useable for up to a year but if one plans to live in the UK, then a conversion is required within 12 months of being resident. The process is very straightforward.”

Another responded: “As I understand it, you’re allowed to drive for one year on your Bermuda licence but by the end of that year, if you want to keep on driving legally, you have to have passed a UK driving test.

“Because of the backlog caused by the Covid lockdowns, the chances of someone being able to sit and pass a UK driving test within a year are at present virtually nil.”

One Bermudian reported that he had waited “weeks to get an appointment to do the written test”.

He added: “Then it’s like four to six months to the nearest driving test appointment.”

The backlog was corroborated by several others.

One observed: “Another issue with Bermuda licences not transferring is that when you go to get insurance, they price it on your UK licence alone.

“I’ve had my licence in Bermuda for almost ten years and no incidents — but when I got insurance for my car in the UK, that had no weight on the cost, so the cheapest policy I could get was over £1,000.” The figure adds up to roughly $1,360.

A Bermudian woman who had lived in the UK for more than a decade agreed that it would mark a convenient step for the island’s licence to be transferable, especially for insurance reasons.

“I agree we need it, but I also think it’s challenging,” she said.

“Just because it’s also the left side of the road doesn’t make Bermudians able to drive here.”

She cited weather conditions, such as snow or ice, as a serious factor and said that a Bermudian friend who had lived in Britain for two years was “petrified” of heading out on to the effectively alien driving conditions of the motorways.

The woman added: “I wish my licence was transferable. I can say that for myself because I drive very well. But not everybody drives very well.

“Coming from Bermuda to here and not knowing how to manage heavy traffic — that speaks to why it should not be transferable.”

A deal is in the works between the Bermuda Government and “key partner countries, including the United Kingdom” to strike a balance between getting better recognition abroad for the island’s driving licences and “preserving Bermuda’s local control and regulatory authority”.