Commentary on Sections Part 3: Access to Services etc Driving licences Section 46: Grant of driving licences: residence requirement
211.Section 97 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (“the 1988 Act”) and Article 13 of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981(26) (“the 1981 Order”) set out the circumstances in which the Secretary of State and Department of the Environment must grant Great Britain and Northern Ireland driving licences respectively.
212.Subsection (1) amends section 97(1) of the 1988 Act to provide that one of the conditions for the grant of a driving licence is that the person must meet the relevant residence requirement.
213.Subsection (2) inserts new section 97A after section 97 of the 1988 Act to define the residence requirement and provides, in particular, that a person will not meet this requirement where they require leave to enter or remain in the UK but do not have it.
214.Subsections (3) and (4) make corresponding provision to the 1981 Order in respect of the grant of driving licences in Northern Ireland.