neek

I appreciate the advice. We've booked the care hire through Trip.com (Budget - direct attempt via Budget said no cars available but Trip.com had them, I guess they block-book), and the wife has sorted insurance already. As a backup plan, I have applied for a JAF translation of my UK driving license (using NordVPN with a Japan endpoint tricked their system into thinking I was physically in Japan, a requirement of using the service) and a friend in JP has printed it at a 7-Eleven (there is no 7-Eleven in our arrival Chitose airport, apparently, so luckily I have a friend in the right place). If I have any trouble with the IDP from Thailand I will wave my UK license translation politely and smile 🙂 @Krabi King says he was fine, so that's good to hear. I'll try to feed back in due course and report on success/failure for others in this situation.

Thank you - yes, I installed the DLT queue app, and when logging in you have to specify if it's as a foreigner or a Thai national. Using it alongside my wife on her phone, there is no option to apply for a IDP as a foreigner. I even don't see the same list of offices when accessing other parts of the app, offices we would visit in Bangkok are available on my wife's phone but greyed out on mine. So, as you say, one seems to just have to go and try on the day. luckily we were at Immigration the other day to sort a re-entry permit for my visa, and applied for a certificate of residency at the same time, which is in the post. We will visit the DLT office with it once it arrives and try for a 1949 IDP. Apologies for the delay in replying, I really appreciate all the responses here, it has been very reassuring.

A quick follow-up: on checking the UK Gov website https://www.gov.uk/driving-abroad/international-driving-permit it does seem that Japan uses the 1949 convention, and Thailand the 1968 convention, and so an IDP issued in Thailand is not valid for use in Japan. Futher, since 2024 we can no longer acquire IDPs from the UK Post Office by post: https://www.postoffice.co.uk/help-support/international-driving-permits It seems the only way to get one is to apply in person at a PayPoint store. I've been out of the UK for 20 years and haven't heard of these, and am not planning to travel to the UK any time soon. So it seems my only option is to take the UK license to Japan, and get a Japanese translation from the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) once there. This sounds like a real hassle for a family landing at CTS with luggage, and any alternative would be welcome!

Hi all, I'm a British national with a British passport (no Thai passport), holding both British and Thai driving licenses, and planning a trip to Japan where we will hire a car. Would an International Driving Permit (IDP) issued in Thailand be accepted by a Japanese car rental company, given that I am not a Thai national? I am in Thailand on a 1 year non-O visa, and do not have official Thai Residency or Nationality. I believe Thailand is a signatory to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, so technically an IDP issued in Thailand meets Japan's requirements, but I suspect the hire car company may refuse to give me a car unless I can show Thai residency/nationality. This is a big deal for us, as no-one wants to book everything and fly into Japan only to find their car hire is refused at the counter. I haven't found much searching these forums and the web, and although ChatGPT says rather vaguely that a Thai issued one may not be accepted, my Thai wife is sure that a Thai issued IDP would be accepted. In fact, my latest attempt on ChatGPT clearly stated "Japan only accepts IDPs issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention. Thailand is not a signatory of that convention — it follows the 1968 Vienna Convention, which Japan does not recognize for IDPs. Therefore, an IDP issued in Thailand is not valid for driving in Japan, regardless of nationality." Maybe the LLM is hallucinating again 😞 I can begin the process of getting an IDP from the UK and courier over here ASAP but the wife is insisting this is unnecessary, and just to get a Thai one from the Department of Land Transport (DLT) office. Any personal experiences in this situation would be very gratefully received!