NZ driving license - do I really have this right?!
Husband and I (both in our 40s) both have Bermuda driving licenses (we've been living here for nearly 8 years). While we previously had licenses in Canada (and he also had one in the UK), they are long expired (well over the 12 month threshold that NZTA allows for conversion).
If I understand this correctly, each of us needs to:
1. Pass a theory/written test in order to get a "learners" license - once we have this, we can only drive a car with an approved "supervisor" who has to be a fully licensed in NZ for at least 2 years
2. We then have to wait SIX MONTHS (!!!!) after getting the learners permit to take the practical test in order to get a "restricted" license - with the restricted license we can drive "unsupervised" during certain hours of the day and to carry a spouse as a passenger
3. In order to get a "full" license we can either wait another SIX MONTHS (!!!) and take the second practical test or take an advanced driving course and wait three months before taking the second practical test.
One of my questions was about the restrictions when we have a "learners permit" - since we still have valid overseas licenses (Bermuda) and we could legally drive on those for 12 months, I thought that was something we could do while we wait out the six month period before we can take the practical test to get a restricted license. However, I searched the forum and seemed to find indications that once you've taken the theory test and obtained a learners permit you can't use your overseas license and the full restrictions of the learners permit apply - including the fact that you need an approved supervisor. Am I understanding this correctly because it seems crazy?!?!?! It's going to make things really difficult for us because we obviously can't act as supervisors for eachother and we don't know anyone in NZ. :( Is there some way that we can apply for an "exception" to eliminate the 6 month waiting period before we can take the restricted test? We've both been driving for 20+ years at this stage, so it does seem unduly burdensome.
I think we can work with the waiting period between restricted and full license but I'm really concerned about the ability for us to cope with the 6 month period where we have learners permits. The only thing I could think of would be staggering the learner permit acquisition, so that one of us is driving on an international license while the other party waits out their 6 months and can't drive anywhere but this really does not seem practical or ideal!
Thanks in advance for any insights and my apologies if this is clearly answered somewhere already - I did do what I thought was a thorough forum search.
And now I'm reeeeeaaaalllly regretting letting my Canadian license expire.
