Entered on 20 September 2002 at 9:06 a.m..
Driving
My quest for the day is to determine if I am a visitor or a resident in the UK. Why you ask is this important? Well if I am a visitor then I can drive on my US license for 12 months since the last time I entered. If I am a resident then I can drive for 12 months from the initial date of my residency. Now because of the madness of UK beaurocracy there is a 6 week waiting list for driving tests in my area. So I'm not going to make my 12 month deadline. And since the tests are really hard the chances are I'm not going to pass the first time, which would put the test off until December/January. Grrr...
I just got off the phone with Joseph from immigration who informs me that I am neither a resident or a visitor, I am a student. Great... He seems to think that I am bound by the residency rules. Grrr.
However on the form (customs C3) that I filled out to bring my belongings to the UK, it states that full time students are calssified as temporary visitors if I do not intend to make the EC my normal home. Leaning more towards the visitor end.
I'd prefer to be classified as a visitor since I could then indefinitely put off getting a UK license. However vistor are only allowed in for 6 months at a time.
I've double checked and it seems students are only allowed to drive for 12 months (I assume from the date they enter, but it doesn't really say)
My only angle left is to see if they'll let me keep driving while I try to pass the tests.