Driver License Extention Report

[kriswillems]

Today I went to extent my 1 year driver license in leam chabang, sriracha, chonburi.

I had all the necessary paperwork with me:

- copy of passport, first page + copy of the page with the latest extension stamp

- original passport (with non-o visa)

- copy of old drivers license + original

- recidence certificate (to be obtained at immigration for 300B in my case), to prove I live in THailand

- doctors certificate (which you can get for about 100B, if you look around a bit)

- 605B (for license + digital photo)

I was politely dressed and speak Thai fluently.

The lady at the desk (called ธวัลรัตน์ วงวิเศษสรวุฒิ, which was the boss of that department) refused to give me a 5 year extension, because I don't have a work permit.

She said I was a tourist and come and go. She misinterpreted the residence certificate and read only the first sentence of it and not the part which talks about how long I am allowed to stay here. I can read Thai almost fluently.

I tried to show her it wasn't true and that I lived here for more than 4 years without leaving the country and I pointed to the residence certificate and my passport, but she refused to look at it.

I always stayed polite and smiled. She knew pretty well she was wrong and in the end she said that that she was a government officer and in that status she could decide whatever she wanted and she would only give me a 1 year extension.

Then I asked why other people in my situation could get a 5 year extension. She told me that they might have got it somewhere else, but not in her office, maybe in Banglamung.

So, I told her in this case I would go to Banglamung.

Over there my papers were accepted with a smile and without any question. After the eye-sight and reaction-test I was given my 5 years extension. So, an happy end after all.

[Orac]

It does seem to arbitary depending on where you go or who you see there. I extended my one year to a five year in Pattaya 4 months ago and they didn't require another eyesight/reaction test.

[Mario2008]

Moved to motor forum

[MJCM]

It does seem to arbitary depending on where you go or who you see there. I extended my one year to a five year in Pattaya 4 months ago and they didn't require another eyesight/reaction test.

I did my extension (1 year to 5 years) in Pattaya last month, and I had to do the following tests before they gave me my new license.

- Brake test (Reaction Test)

- Color Test

- Align 2 sticks

Maybe it depends when you go if you have to do the test, but TiT.

[tomallison]

It does seem to arbitary depending on where you go or who you see there. I extended my one year to a five year in Pattaya 4 months ago and they didn't require another eyesight/reaction test.

Absolutely correct. Each office/person you see will have different requirements.

[TommoPhysicist]

When faced with such people, I ask them to please write a note to say who they are and why they are rejecting my application, then sign it.

Usually works wonders.

[Soutpeel]

Dependent on the office used, if you dont have a WP they will not give you a 5 year DL, this is quite common, they will give you another 1 year

I renewed my 5 year less than a week ago in Rayong and all I had to do was provide copies of my WP, PP, and old 5 year DL....did a colour vision test and had to watch a "road safety video" - 45 minutes was in and out in about an hour.

I dressed in shorts, T-shirt and flip flops, my spoken Thai is cr*p and dont read any Thai but never the less I was given a new 5 year license

Edited April 5, 2012 by Soutpeel

[kriswillems]

Well, what I wanted to say is that if you get rejected in one office, it's much more efficient to go to another office than to fight for you right.

If I would have accepted the 1 year license, I would need in the next 5 years:

5 medical attests

5 residence certificates

5 driver licenses

5 digital photos

This would have costed me several thousand of baht (5025B) and at least 1 week time of my life (for running around for the papers).

Now I lost in total 1.5 days and 1005 B.

There's no reason to refuse a person a drivers license because he/she doesn't have a work permit because the international agreements about drivers licenses between Thailand and other countries (my country included) don't specify this as a requirement (I verified this with the embassy). So, the lady at the desk was just wrong and invented her own rules.

[Soutpeel]

There's no reason to refuse a person a drivers license because he/she doesn't have a work permit because the international agreements about drivers licenses between Thailand and other countries (my country included) don't specify this as a requirement (I verified this with the embassy). So, the lady at the desk was just wrong and invented her own rules.

The lady at the desk didnt invent her "own" rules, this rule about a WP/ 5 year license is common at a few traffic departments, so suppose now you are going to suggest a conspiracy amongst all the ladies at the various traffic departments against farangs

Further not having a WP does not prohibit you from getting a Thai DL, so your statement is just plain wrong, you have not been refused a DL...some departments will not give you a 5 year license if you dont have WP, but they will issue you with a 1 year license as many times as you like.

What international agreements are you talking about, Thailand can set what ever rules it likes about its own drivers licensing system.

[kriswillems]

Sorry, I just tell you what the embassy told me.

There's an agreement between my country and Thailand that states that Thai people can change their 5 year drivers license for a permanent drivers license of my country (when they come to live in my country).

The other way around this agreement states that we can obtain a drivers license (1 year and then 5 years) without doing any driving test (when we live in Thailand).

Since Thailand signed the agreement they are supposed to follow it.

Edited April 6, 2012 by kriswillems

[Soutpeel]

Sorry, I just tell you what the embassy told me.

There's an agreement between my country and Thailand that states that Thai people can change their 5 year drivers license for a permanent drivers license of my country (when they come to live in my country).

The other way around this agreement states that we can obtain a drivers license (1 year and then 5 years) without doing any driving test (when we live in Thailand).

Since Thailand signed the agreement they are supposed to follow it.

Can you please post a link from you country which shows this, or better still which country are we talking about.....as getting a Thai DL on the back of an existing foreign DL is nothing unusual and this agreement is in place with many countries...

Further any agreement would only apply to your 1 year DL, as when you get issued your 5 year its on the basis of your 1 year Thai DL (expired) and absolutely nothing to do with your foreign DL ie you dont need to show your foreign DL to get a 5 year Thai DL.

so I am very confused over what you have been told and on face value appears to be completely incorrect as you will not be issued a 5 year Thai DL just by showing a foreign DL, this is not how it works

[stevenl]

Sorry, I just tell you what the embassy told me.

There's an agreement between my country and Thailand that states that Thai people can change their 5 year drivers license for a permanent drivers license of my country (when they come to live in my country).

The other way around this agreement states that we can obtain a drivers license (1 year and then 5 years) without doing any driving test (when we live in Thailand).

Since Thailand signed the agreement they are supposed to follow it.

Your username sounds Dutch or Belgian.

If so, there is no such an agreement, except for the normal agreement in place with many countries. And that agreement does not entitle to 5 year DL's.

[kriswillems]

Ok, in this case I have been misinformed an I apologize.

Anyway, it might be useful for other foreigners to have a list of offices that refuse a 5 years license without WP.

Maybe we could post them over here to avoid other need to go through the same experience?

The first one is:

- ao udom/ leam chabang Sri Racha

[PattayaParent]

Dependent on the office used, if you dont have a WP they will not give you a 5 year DL, this is quite common, they will give you another 1 year

I renewed my 5 year less than a week ago in Rayong and all I had to do was provide copies of my WP, PP, and old 5 year DL....did a colour vision test and had to watch a "road safety video" - 45 minutes was in and out in about an hour.

I dressed in shorts, T-shirt and flip flops, my spoken Thai is cr*p and dont read any Thai but never the less I was given a new 5 year license

Did you need the Certificate of Residence from Immigration with having the WP? What about a medical?

I have a WP with a Rayong address but my current 5 year license which will expire next month has my true Pattaya address on it and I want to avoid the hassle of dealing with Pattaya Immigration / DLT if possible.

I could probably get a Certificate of Residence from Rayong Immigration if needed.

So does your license have your real house address on it or the address on your WP?

[kriswillems]

Dependent on the office used, if you dont have a WP they will not give you a 5 year DL, this is quite common, they will give you another 1 year

I renewed my 5 year less than a week ago in Rayong and all I had to do was provide copies of my WP, PP, and old 5 year DL....did a colour vision test and had to watch a "road safety video" - 45 minutes was in and out in about an hour.

I dressed in shorts, T-shirt and flip flops, my spoken Thai is cr*p and dont read any Thai but never the less I was given a new 5 year license

Did you need the Certificate of Residence from Immigration with having the WP? What about a medical?

I have a WP with a Rayong address but my current 5 year license which will expire next month has my true Pattaya address on it and I want to avoid the hassle of dealing with Pattaya Immigration / DLT if possible.

I could probably get a Certificate of Residence from Rayong Immigration if needed.

So does your license have your real house address on it or the address on your WP?

I can't answer your questions because for sure much depends on the officer you meet. But my experience with the Pattaya office is good.

- my passport changed, so my passport number was different from the number on my old driver license -> no problem.

- my name in my new passport was differently spelled, they wrote my middle name in full, while there were only initials on my old passport and old drivers license -> no problem

- My residence certificate was not issued by the Pattaya office (I don't live in Pattaya), but I applied in Pattaya for the new driver license -> no problem

- The age on my residence certificate was not the correct (immigration made a mistake in calculating my age) -> no problem

- The first time I applied for a 1 year driver license (that was in Sri racha) I had a WP because I was working in BKK, the WP stated my BKK address, while I lived in Sri racha -> no problem

I think you can expect very little problems in Pattaya, in all the time I waited there, not even 1 foreigner was refused or sent back.

My experience in Sriracha were bad. The first time I went there (1 year ago), I was blamed and sent back because I put on shorts and sandals (even before I could say 1 word). At that time they had a message on the wall about the dress code (in Thai). So, this time was dressed politely, but that didn't help either.

Edited April 7, 2012 by kriswillems

[PattayaParent]

^thanks Kris but my questions were directly to Soutpeel and his Rayong appication experience.

I know there's little problems in Pattaya but I'll have to take 1 or 2 days off work to get the license, 1 day to go to Pattaya Immigration in the morning, and collect the Certificate of Residence in the afternoon and then head to the DLT and apply and collect next day (or get a company driver to collect it). In Rayong I can do it with only a couple of hours out of the office as I am working in Rayong and not have to deal with the queues, chaos and attitude at Pattaya Immigration and DLT.

Anyway I thought you had to get your Certificate of Residence from the Immigration Office you're resident in and therefore your licence from the same area though?

.

[kriswillems]

^thanks Kris but my questions were directly to Soutpeel and his Rayong appication experience.

I know there's little problems in Pattaya but I'll have to take 1 or 2 days off work to get the license, 1 day to go to Pattaya Immigration in the morning, and collect the Certificate of Residence in the afternoon and then head to the DLT and apply and collect next day (or get a company driver to collect it). In Rayong I can do it with only a couple of hours out of the office as I am working in Rayong and not have to deal with the queues, chaos and attitude at Pattaya Immigration and DLT.

Anyway I thought you had to get your Certificate of Residence from the Immigration Office you're resident in and therefore your licence from the same area though?

.

Yes, you've to get the residence certificate in the immigration office you're resident.

About were to apply for a drivers license, I am not sure what the law says. I asked the lady in the Sriracha two times if it was legal to reply in another office (because she refuse a 5 years license), but she didn't answer me and said everything depends on the officer.

So I went to banglamung on got lucky. They didn't refuse me there, so I think it's ok to apply somewhere else.

Hope Soutpeel will answer about his Rayong experience (sorry for interfering).

[PattayaParent]

^No problem Kris, I'm interested if your experience in getting an 'out of residence area' licence was luck or the norm. As is so often the case here in LOS there is a set of rules that are sometimes not understood / applied consistently across different offices which should know what the rules really are.

It is the case when registering a car that you don't need the Residence Certificate if you have a Work Permit, or for opening a bank account, so I'm interested to hear from Soutpeel if it's the case that I won't need one to get the license and what address will be shown on the licence, the company address on the WP or a home address.

Edited April 7, 2012 by PattayaParent

[Soutpeel]

Dependent on the office used, if you dont have a WP they will not give you a 5 year DL, this is quite common, they will give you another 1 year

I renewed my 5 year less than a week ago in Rayong and all I had to do was provide copies of my WP, PP, and old 5 year DL....did a colour vision test and had to watch a "road safety video" - 45 minutes was in and out in about an hour.

I dressed in shorts, T-shirt and flip flops, my spoken Thai is cr*p and dont read any Thai but never the less I was given a new 5 year license

Did you need the Certificate of Residence from Immigration with having the WP? What about a medical?

I have a WP with a Rayong address but my current 5 year license which will expire next month has my true Pattaya address on it and I want to avoid the hassle of dealing with Pattaya Immigration / DLT if possible.

I could probably get a Certificate of Residence from Rayong Immigration if needed.

So does your license have your real house address on it or the address on your WP?

PP

Having a WP....no residence certificate required.

Didnt need a medical certificate

License has WP address, not real house address, in fact my WP address is in BKK, which appears to be not an issue either with Rayong.

All they want was copies of the applicable pages of my WP, visa/data pages from my PP and old 5 year DL (you do need the originals with you as well, as they want to see them)

In and out around 1 hour, most of the time taken up watching a road "safety" video, ( 45 minutes - have a sleep) only "test" was a colour vision test...literally 1 minute

The one thing I was told by someone was to do the renewal's in the afternoon after lunch around 14:00, as there is more of tendancy for them to push things along quickly and they want everyone out the door by 16:00

[Soutpeel]

Yes, you've to get the residence certificate in the immigration office you're resident.

No you dont if you have a WP...you dont need a residence certificate

[MJCM]

.......

I know there's little problems in Pattaya but I'll have to take 1 or 2 days off work to get the license, 1 day to go to Pattaya Immigration in the morning, and collect the Certificate of Residence in the afternoon and then head to the DLT and apply and collect next day (or get a company driver to collect it). In Rayong I can do it with only a couple of hours out of the office as I am working in Rayong and not have to deal with the queues, chaos and attitude at Pattaya Immigration and DLT.

...........

PP, if you are going to the Pattaya DLT, I just did the 1 to 5 years there last month, I got there at around 7am and left with a brand new 5 year license at around 10am. If you are renewing a 5 years license, you also are required to watch a Video, which adds around another 1 hour.

[Langsuan Man]

I had such trouble getting my 5 year license from Pattaya that I took the bus and went to Bangkok and got it within an hour and a half (the delay was waiting for the video to be played)

In Pattaya they absolutely refused to accept the letter (with seal) from a foreign embassy that my one year license had been returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in accordance with the ending of my diplomatic status. Pattaya actually wanted me to go to the police and report my license stolen before they would clear the computer record of the missing one year license. I refused to go to the police and lie, and the Bangkok Land Transport Office (near Chatachuck) had no trouble understanding how the system works and issued the 5 year license based upon the letter from the embassy and the computer record

It has been my experience dealing with these petty bureaucrats here it is usually easier to go to another office an get what you need done or if that is impossible go on a different day and try and see a different employee

[stevenl]

I had such trouble getting my 5 year license from Pattaya that I took the bus and went to Bangkok and got it within an hour and a half (the delay was waiting for the video to be played)

In Pattaya they absolutely refused to accept the letter (with seal) from a foreign embassy that my one year license had been returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in accordance with the ending of my diplomatic status. Pattaya actually wanted me to go to the police and report my license stolen before they would clear the computer record of the missing one year license. I refused to go to the police and lie, and the Bangkok Land Transport Office (near Chatachuck) had no trouble understanding how the system works and issued the 5 year license based upon the letter from the embassy and the computer record

It has been my experience dealing with these petty bureaucrats here it is usually easier to go to another office an get what you need done or if that is impossible go on a different day and try and see a different employee

Yes, that is the same wise decision the OP made.

Don't make any problems, simply go somewhere else.

[PattayaParent]

Dependent on the office used, if you dont have a WP they will not give you a 5 year DL, this is quite common, they will give you another 1 year

I renewed my 5 year less than a week ago in Rayong and all I had to do was provide copies of my WP, PP, and old 5 year DL....did a colour vision test and had to watch a "road safety video" - 45 minutes was in and out in about an hour.

I dressed in shorts, T-shirt and flip flops, my spoken Thai is cr*p and dont read any Thai but never the less I was given a new 5 year license

Did you need the Certificate of Residence from Immigration with having the WP? What about a medical?

I have a WP with a Rayong address but my current 5 year license which will expire next month has my true Pattaya address on it and I want to avoid the hassle of dealing with Pattaya Immigration / DLT if possible.

I could probably get a Certificate of Residence from Rayong Immigration if needed.

So does your license have your real house address on it or the address on your WP?

PP

Having a WP....no residence certificate required.

Didnt need a medical certificate

License has WP address, not real house address, in fact my WP address is in BKK, which appears to be not an issue either with Rayong.

All they want was copies of the applicable pages of my WP, visa/data pages from my PP and old 5 year DL (you do need the originals with you as well, as they want to see them)

In and out around 1 hour, most of the time taken up watching a road "safety" video, ( 45 minutes - have a sleep) only "test" was a colour vision test...literally 1 minute

The one thing I was told by someone was to do the renewal's in the afternoon after lunch around 14:00, as there is more of tendancy for them to push things along quickly and they want everyone out the door by 16:00

Thanks Soutpeel, sounds like it's going to be easier in Rayong than going to Pattaya.