Thai national applying for an international driving license in thailand

[bilbo52]

Hope fellow board members can assist here.

My friend's thai wife is soon to be joing him in Belgium for an extended stay (likely to be a few years). She wants an international driving license, so she will be able to drive in Belgium.

Therefore my question is:

What documentation does she need in order to apply for an IDL in Thailand. She lives in Hua Hin, so I guess she will either go to the Cha am or Pranburi Transportation Office. I believe that she has held her Thai license for a number of years.

I would like to know where she has to go, what she needs to present at the office and how much it will cost her. In due course I am sure she will take a Belgium driving test to get her Belgium driving license.

In anticipation thanks for your replies.

[cnx355]

Unless there were some new rules, for a Thai national , it is just a matter of going to an office that emit the International permit and show her Thai ID car and Thai 5 year drivers license and 2 passport type photo.

Check your local area Land transport office and they will tell you if they can do it or she will have to go to the main office in Bangkok.

Last year I paid 505 Bahts

NOTE: For those in the North, the Chiangmai Land Transport Office can issue the International permit.

[bobrussell]

She applies for an International Drivers Permit not a licence. There are a number of scams online offering International Drivers licences!

In the UK anyone using a foreign drivers licence (and permit where required) has to go to court for traffic offences to be dealt with as there is no points system. The IDP only has a 12 month validity so it may be necessary to get a local driver's licence if she is going to remain in Belgium for an extended period.

I will leave the details on how permits are issued to those who know and suggest your friends wife checks out the rules for Belgium (or strike lucky that someone here has experience of the system).

[thrilled]

Just remember it is A permit not A license,A big difference.

[theoldgit]

I think that in Belgium you can only drive for six months with an overseas licence, from countries like Thailand whose licences are not interchangeable, backed up with an IDP.

An IDP is basically a translation of the foreign licence, on its own it has no standing.

[7by7]

Driving Licences Issued Outside the EU or EEA

Drivers holding licences issued by a non-EU member state without an exchange agreement with Belgium may legally drive on their licence for the first year of legal residency. After that, their licence becomes invalid and must be surrendered to the local authorities. When the licence may not be exchanged, a full Belgian theory and practical driving exam must be passed and a Belgian licence will be issued.

That's not an official site, but what they say is compatible with the pan EU driving regulations as I understand them.

www.mobilit.fgov.be is the official Belgian government information; but only seems to be available in French or Flemish.

[KhunBENQ]

Only prerequisite that I am aware of: it must not be a temporary Thai DL (which seems not to be the case here).