Licence ban for foreign drivers

FOREIGN nationals who are not permanent residents in the UK will no longer be eligible for a driving licence, under tough new rules announced by the government.

Junior transport minister Paul Clark said from now non-Europeans who are in the UK on a temporary basis would not be allowed to apply for a licence.

In a written statement to MPs, he said: "It is right that those whose status remains undecided and those without leave should not be seeking to establish the benefits of ordinary settled life in the UK, including access to driving licences."