On the hunt for an international driver's license
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The latter applies to my search for an international driving licence. Although I have had a Thai proof that I am allowed to drive a car for 12 years and that was always sufficient when renting a car at Düsseldorf and Schiphol, a new and cheaper provider wants to see an international driving license for tenants from countries outside the EU. I know that I can drive in the Netherlands for 180 days with a Thai driver's license.
Strangely enough, international driving licenses in Thailand can only be obtained from a Land and Transport Office in provincial capitals. So if you live in Hua Hin, you have to either go to Phetchaburi (60 km) or Prachuap Khiri Khan (100 km). So I chose Phetchaburi, with passport, passport photos and Thai driver's license.
That turned out to be largely insufficient. The grumpy and older lady at the entrance informed me that I also needed an Immigration paper. Moreover, the Passport number on my driver's license does not match the number in my (relatively new) passport. When the old one has expired, you will get a new one with a different number. The lady was not convinced of the logic of this. So I returned empty handed to Hua Hin.
The question is: what now? I have asked the company that wants to rent me a car for dispensation and emailed a copy of my Thai driver's license and my expired Dutch copy.
On Facebook I came across an advertisement from an agency that claims to be able to arrange everything in the field of driving licenses in Thailand. All this costs 4000 baht and I have to take care of the Immigration paper in question myself, or be satisfied with an address in Phuket, because the office is located there. After reporting my telephone number, I was called by a lady who promised me an extension of stay. So I have had it for 12 years…. So just dismissed.
The redeeming word came yesterday from the company that rents me a car at Schiphol at the end of April. I can go there with my Thai driver's license. Pfff…
Welcome to Thailand
Pay a dime more and go back to the bigger, better informed rental company that will accept your Thai Driver's License
All the effort you are doing now also costs a thing and another
Succes
Which company at Schiphol is that?
And you must be in possession of a Ned. credit card?
please the landlord at Schiphol
Hey Hans
Ask Arie on Saturday how he obtained his Thai motorcycle license
Gr
Trees
Hans has a Thai driver's license…….
I wonder after reading this story, why didn't you have your Dutch driving license extended.
I had my Dutch driving license renewed 3 years ago.
And I have also been deregistered in the Netherlands.
You must have someone who lives in the Netherlands to whom the driving license can be sent after approval of your renewal, so with a Dutch postal address.
The CBR in Veendam does not send driving licenses to foreign postal addresses.
The Dutch driver's license is worth many times more than the Thai one.
The rental companies and governments in the Western world countries also know what a Thai driver's license represents, zero point zero.
I think that rental companies in the USA or Germany would rather see the Dutch version than the Thai one.
As far as the credit card is concerned, I know that when I rented a car in the Netherlands or the USA, a credit card was required at the renowned rental companies such as AVIS and Hertz and Budget at the airport.
In a place such as Zwolle, I could suffice with an ATM card.
I understand that I have to go back to the Netherlands to extend / renew my Dutch driving license, if you have any other solution for this, I would like to hear this…. Thank you in advance
I found this on the site of the RDW take advantage of it.
If you do not live in the Netherlands or in a member state of the European Union (EU) or European Free Trade Association (EFTA), you can apply for a new driving license at the RDW. In this article you can read how that works.
1. You request an application form by sending an email to the RDW. The RDW will send you the application form as soon as possible to the Dutch correspondence address that you must provide. The application form has a sticker for the passport photo and is therefore not suitable for downloading from this website.
2. You then send the application form together with a number of documents to the RDW, Driving License Unit, PO Box 9000, 9640 HA Veendam. In the manual for applying for a driver's license PDF, 66.5 kB you can read which documents you must submit.
3. You pay the costs for the driver's license application.
This can be done by direct debit or you can transfer the amount to account number 47 72 56 600 – IBAN NL25ABNA0477256600 in the name of the RDW in Veendam, stating your driving license number and your personal details. Direct debit is the fastest. If you transfer the rate from abroad, you can do so by stating the BIC code ABNANL2A and the International Banking Code NL25ABNA0477256600.
4. The RDW will then send the driving license within 10 working days to the correspondence address you specified in the Netherlands.
Important!
To renew your driving licence, you must provide a Dutch correspondence address to the RDW. The RDW will send the application form and driving license to this address. The RDW does not send application forms and driving licenses abroad. You provide the correspondence address when requesting the application form in step 1.
You do not have to return to the Netherlands.
See Jack's post.
Please note that your passport photos must meet the SAME requirements as for your passport.
The application form contains examples for a passport photo of what is and is not possible .
I also paid by means of a one-off direct debit.
Greetings Jan.
Hans Bos wrote that you can drive for 180 days with a Thai driver's license. Is not true. In the Netherlands, if not registered in NL, maximum 90 days. In Belgium, for example, you are not allowed to drive with it.
All car rental companies at Schiphol accept the official Thai driver's license, but not all of them accept the international driver's license. The latter has little value.
I myself, traveling a lot, don't even bother to get an int. driver's license with me. Saves a lot of trouble.
Hans almost got it right: it is not 180 but 185 days. Say 6 months.
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Can I drive in the Netherlands with my foreign driving license?
Whether you are allowed to drive in the Netherlands with your foreign driving license depends on the length of your stay. And the country where you obtained your driving licence.
Temporary stay in the Netherlands with a foreign driver's license
Are you temporarily in the Netherlands and do you participate in traffic? For example for work or during your holiday? Then you must have a valid foreign driving licence.
Living in the Netherlands with a foreign driver's license
If you have lived in the Netherlands for more than 6 months, you must convert your foreign driving license to a Dutch driving licence. When you have to do this depends on the country where you obtained your driving licence.
Driving license obtained in a country outside the European Union or European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
You may continue to drive with your foreign driving license for up to 185 days after registration in the Netherlands. After that you must have a Dutch driving licence.
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And the RDW writes:
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Driving with a foreign driver's license
If you are going to live in the Netherlands and you have a foreign driving licence, you can still use this driving license for a certain period. How long depends on the country where you obtained your driving licence. After this period has expired, you must have a Dutch driving licence. Either by exchanging the foreign driving license for a Dutch driving license or by taking the driving test again.
Driving license issued outside the EU/EFTA
If you have a valid driving license issued in a country other than an EU/EFTA member state, you can use it up to 185 days after registration in the Netherlands (in the BRP). After that, you may only drive in the Netherlands with a Dutch driving licence. In some cases you can exchange the foreign driving license for a Dutch driving licence, in all other cases you will have to take the theory and practical exam again at the CBR.
Tourist in the Netherlands
Are you not going to live in the Netherlands, but are you here as a tourist? Then you are allowed to drive in the Netherlands with your foreign driving licence. Do you have a driving license issued by a country other than an EU/EFTA member state? Then the categories on your driving license must correspond to the Vienna Convention (this concerns categories A, B, C, D, E). If your driving license does not meet these requirements, it is wise to have an international driving license in addition to your foreign driving licence.
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Source: RDW and central government
See: https://www.thailandblog.nl/lezersvraag/thais-rijbewijs-nederland-worden-gebruikt/
As a special feature I would like to point out the bad guys among us. Rob V's piece is completely correct, but there is a limited group of Dutch people, which can also be foreigners, who also lived in the Netherlands in the near past and who committed offenses and/or crimes there as a driver and who were therefore banned from driving or whose the driver's license has been declared invalid. If a driving license is subsequently obtained abroad in a “disguised manner”, it is not the intention that this driving license is subsequently used in the Netherlands, not even for holiday purposes.
Below is a piece of text that applies to this in the Netherlands.
The recidivism scheme
Have you been convicted twice within five years for driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or a combination of alcohol and drugs? Or did you receive a penalty order for that? And was the blood alcohol level more than 1,3 promille on the second offense in the case of alcohol? Or did you refuse to cooperate with an alcohol or drug test? According to the law, your driver's license is then invalid and you are no longer allowed to drive. This is called the 'recidivism scheme'. To get a new driver's license, you have to take the exam again. This punishment is separate from the course or examination that you are now required by the CBR to do. You may therefore have to take the exam again and receive an examination or follow a course. For questions about the criminal procedure or about the punishment you can receive, you can contact the part of the Public Prosecution Service where your case is or has been handled.
To regain possession of a driver's license, you must complete the following steps:
1. Request a certificate of authenticity for recidivism from the RDW;
2. Submit a Health Declaration to the CBR. Enter all the categories that you want to see on your driver's license. You can easily submit a Health Declaration via My CBR;
3. You take the theory exam again. Are you a professional driver? Then you take the theory exams RV1 and R2C/D;
4. You take the practical exam again. Are you taking a practical exam for category B, BE, C, CE, D or DE? Then take your declaration of authenticity for recidivism with you.
By passing an exam for the 'heaviest' category you held on the invalid driver's license, you can re-acquire all of the underlying categories. It is not obligatory to take an exam for the most difficult category. You can also opt for category B, for example. But then you can no longer claim the return of categories T, C(E) and/or D(E) that may have been in your possession. The municipality will eventually issue a new driving licence. In this application process, the driver's license register determines which categories you are entitled to.
If your driving license is legally invalid and you take the exam with an automatic switch, you will receive the machine code behind the relevant category on the driving licence. This does not affect the underlying categories.
You can get an international driving license for 500 baht. Previously you could only get it in Bangkok. Now just at the office of the Thai driving license. I have been driving it in the Netherlands since 1988.
You can also get an international driver's license with your Thai driver's license, I did that without any problems
I myself have rented a car several times with a Thai driver's license, both at the well-known rental companies and at EURO Car.
On the Thai driving license the dates and category are indicated in English, then an INT driving license is not necessary
I'm surprised that you don't get / have a driver's license for life in the Netherlands like we do in Belgium …….?
The Dutch also receive a driving license for life. They only want to see the passport photo renewed, so refresh it every 10 years by means of a renewed copy.
At some point, I think you have to be medically examined again, and the doctor can then indicate whether he thinks it is necessary for someone to take a driving test at the CBR. In any case, that happened to my mother when she was 85, which must have been around 2005.
I suspect she must have used all her charms, because the only comment she got was that she shifted a little late and that maybe she should think about an automatic.
To which she responded, “Sir, I drove an Audi 13 GL 100E Automatic for 5 years. I've only had this Punto for two months and I just have to get used to shifting gears again.'
We are now digressing, but I still want to report the following:
If you are 75 years or older or if there are already doubts about whether you can still drive safely, you must complete/purchase a medical statement, have yourself examined by a doctor on the basis of that statement (not every doctor performs these tests) and then send that statement to the CBR. Depending on that statement, the CBR determines whether you need to be examined by (a) medical specialist(s) and/or whether you need to take a driving skills test. For further details see: https://cbr.nl/11350.pp
Here: http://autorijschoolsanders.nl/downloads/eigen-verklaring-en-keuring/ is an example of a self-declaration to see when you are legally obliged to submit this statement. And that is in many more cases than I expected.
If you cause an accident and it turns out that you have not complied with this legal obligation, this can have major (financial) consequences.
@brabantman and @Rob V.: It is not yet entirely clear to me whether the term is 185 days, 90 days or indefinite for a Dutch person with a non-EU/EFTA driving license who is not registered in the Netherlands. On the one hand, I think that as a non-registered Dutch citizen, they can continue to drive around indefinitely, because no maximum period is mentioned. On the other hand, I think that like tourists from most countries*, they are allowed to drive around for a maximum of 90 consecutive days, because they are allowed to stay in the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days out of 180 days.
So far I haven't been able to find an answer on the internet after some searching.
*Only people from Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Vatican City, United States of America or South Korea are allowed to stay longer in the EU/EFTA.
There is no limit if not registered in the Netherlands.
But of course there is a limit to how long someone can stay in the Netherlands without being (officially) registered.
@Ger-Korat thanks for the explanation, so we learn something from the neighbors ..
And don't you get that new copy when you're unsubscribed...? In Belgium, the deregistration has nothing to do with that, ... unless you have to go to a different authority than your normal municipal administration .. eg provincial or local ....
A registration with an address at the Embassy with your foreign address is an extension of your municipal administration ...... not registered anywhere .... that is a different story ... then you have disappeared / without a trace and you fall out of the administration ... also with us ...
If you are registered, you will receive a message 3 months before the expiry date that you must request a new one. If you have been deregistered, you can keep an eye on the expiration date yourself and request a new one.
The Netherlands does not have registration at the embassy. When deregistering from the Netherlands, you provide an address abroad, if you wish. And then the various authorities such as municipality, government, tax authorities and more send this to this centrally registered address automatically. You must report subsequent moves abroad to each individual authority and such.