What should a foreign tourist do to have his foreign driver license converted in Vietnam?Under Article 42 of Circular 12/2017/TT-BGTVT, a foreign tourist who wishes to have his foreign driver license converted into Vietnamese one for driving in Vietnam is required to make a dossier of application and send by post or hand-deliver it to the concerned provincial-level Transport Department. Such a dossier must comprise:
(i) An application for driver license conversion (made according to the form provided in Appendix 20 to Circular 12/2017/TT-BGTVT);
(ii) A translation of the foreign driver license into Vietnamese language, certified by a public notary office or a foreign embassy or consulate in Vietnam, in case the translator is a staff member of a foreign embassy or consulate, and fan-stamped together with a copy of the foreign driver license. If having any doubts, the agency responsible for driver license conversion may request in writing the Vietnam-based embassy or consulate of the license-issuing country to verify;
(iii) A certified copy of the Ministry of Public Security’s immigration list or a copy of the applicant’s passport (the page(s) showing the serial number and validity duration, and the full name and photo of the passport holder, and the Vietnam visa);
(iv) One color photo sized 3cm x 4cm on a blue background, of the citizen identity card’s photo type.
When coming to the agency responsible for driver license conversion to receive the converted driver license, the applicant will have to produce the originals of the documents included in the dossier of application for collation.
The conversion will be completed within five working days after a complete and valid dossier is received.
The validity duration of the Vietnamese driver license granted to the applicant will equal that of his Vietnam visa or temporary residence card and must not exceed the remaining validity duration of the foreign driver license and the prescribed maximum validity duration of Vietnamese driver licenses.
While in Vietnam, the applicant will be licensed to drive vehicles of the categories equivalent to those stated in his foreign driver license.- (VLLF)
