A recent announcement has been stirring the pot on the Maltese Islands. It was recently announced on the UK Government's official website that British expats living in Malta “should exchange their UK [driver’s] license for a Maltese one before 29th March 2019.”

The announcement went on to say that, “Those wishing to move back to the UK in the future will be able to re-exchange their Maltese license for a UK one if they passed their original test in the UK, the EU or a specified country. EU licenses will be valid in the UK even in a no-deal.”

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Before y’all get your knickers in a twist, we spoke to a Transport Malta rep who broke down the sitch for us.

In general:

1. Any expat who has been living in Malta for over 185 days (just over six months) needs to exchange their driver’s license for a Maltese one.
2. In the case of EU member states, driver’s licenses are simply exchanged, as per Malta’s agreement with the respective countries.
3. In the case of non-EU member states, the person needs to retake their test (both theory and practice) according to Maltese laws.

Specifically related to Brits:

1. As announced by the UK government, it is best for British expats living in Malta to apply for the exchange before the 29th March by completing the DRV30 Form.
2. If this is not done, and the driver is stopped, they might incur fines for not exchanging the license.
3. Brexit plays a big part in this. If the Brexit deal goes through and the UK leaves the EU, British expats will have to retake the tests just like other non-EU expats. If the UK remains in the EU, probably they will just need to exchange their license for a Maltese one. But since nothing is confirmed with regards to Brexit, Transport Malta cannot confirm its procedures after the 29th March as yet.

So, if Brexit goes through, we’ll probably be seeing a lot of Brits in our learner cars around the island!