Do I Need Thai Licence To Buy A Bike

[coobah666]

MOVING TO MUKDAHAN IN DEC AND HAVE O VISA, DO I NEED A THAI LICENSE TO BUY A BIKE LEGALLY ,ALSO DOES ANYBODY KNOW OF A BIG BIKE SHOP AROUND MUKDAHAN OR UBON WOULD BE LOOKING FOR A HARLEY SOMETHING AROUND THE 500-700K PRICE

[ikis]

no you don't. most of the locals don't have it either, but it is really an advance to have one if you get in to accident

[katabeachbum]

no you don't. most of the locals don't have it either, but it is really an advance to have one if you get in to accident

yep, no lisenve needed.

just your passport with a valid permit to stay stamp, and certificate of residence issued by local Immigration or your embassy

you can use your home lisence legally up to 90 days before needing a Thai DL

[karlos]

no you don't. most of the locals don't have it either, but it is really an advance to have one if you get in to accident

you can use your home lisence legally up to 90 days before needing a Thai DL

So does that mean if you're here on continually rolling Tourist Visas that your license from home would suffice?

If so it would mean that every time you do a boarder run and re-enter Thailand that you are able to use your license from home all over again for 90 days, or do you have to register your license some where before riding?

I know of alot of people using their license from back home claiming they can use it indefinitely, but i believe that's not the case, please correct me if i am wrong.

Karl

[katabeachbum]

no you don't. most of the locals don't have it either, but it is really an advance to have one if you get in to accident

you can use your home lisence legally up to 90 days before needing a Thai DL

So does that mean if you're here on continually rolling Tourist Visas that your license from home would suffice?

If so it would mean that every time you do a boarder run and re-enter Thailand that you are able to use your license from home all over again for 90 days, or do you have to register your license some where before riding?

I know of alot of people using their license from back home claiming they can use it indefinitely, but i believe that's not the case, please correct me if i am wrong.

Karl

it would usually pass a police check point, but not a major Insurance claim

90 days home DL is for tourists. continued touristvisas are not tourists, they are using a loophole to live here. in addition the day you purchase a vehicle, you present a certificate of residence, thus claim you are a resident, whats it gonna be, resident or tourist?

in farang areas, Thai DL can be had with any valid permit to stay, 30 days, tourist, you name it. No excuse to not have Thai DL

[ScubaBuddha]

no you don't. most of the locals don't have it either, but it is really an advance to have one if you get in to accident

you can use your home lisence legally up to 90 days before needing a Thai DL

So does that mean if you're here on continually rolling Tourist Visas that your license from home would suffice?

If so it would mean that every time you do a boarder run and re-enter Thailand that you are able to use your license from home all over again for 90 days, or do you have to register your license some where before riding?

I know of alot of people using their license from back home claiming they can use it indefinitely, but i believe that's not the case, please correct me if i am wrong.

Karl

Yep, what KBB said. Plenty of people do it the wrong way (i.e. rolling tourist visas) and get away with it for years but the fact is a resident needs a Thai DL to drive legally. Lot's of things can make you a resident. Paying taxes, enrolling kids in a school, buying a home, etc. And it's pretty easy to exchange your home DL for a Thai one. You get to skip all the testing.

Home DL's will probably pass muster at the police checks regardless of your visa class or status, (who carries their passport 24/7?) but there are plenty of stories of it not if the cop finds out or knows you are a resident. You can be a resident and still be on a tourist visa, but holding your tourist visa (if you happen to have it with you) and home license up together in front of a cop 99% of the time they aren't going to dig any further. Get into an accident and it's another story. As a tourist you can drive on home license legally (IF it is in English and has a photo, else get yourself a legit, not bogus IDP (which is a translation document as described by UN Convention) from your home country. You need a DL from your home country before you can get an IDP.

Conversely, few people realize that you can also drive in your home county as a visitor with your Thai DL. If your just back visiting family, for example. The DLT also issues IDP's on 5 year licenses, but if you are from an English speaking country I don't know why you would ever need an IDP for your Thai (or home) license. Thai DL's are already in English and have a photo. Perhaps if your going to drive in China or the middle east an IDP is recommended. Chinese and Arabic are two of the languages on an IDP.

More info:

Thai DL's: http://driving.information.in.th/driving-licence.html

IDP's http://www.drivers.com/article/206/

[sparebox2]

No license needed to own a bike.

But you need one to ride bike legally.

[tavarich]

When you get stopped for any infraction (real or not). The BIB will not ask for as much tea money if you have a Thai DL. Sometimes they will even give you a pass just because you have one.