What are procedures for conversion of driver licenses for foreigners residing in Vietnam?
Under Article 41 of Circular 12/2017/TT-BGTVT, procedures for conversion of a driver license into a Vietnamese one for a foreigner are as follows:
The applicant makes and hand-delivers a dossier to the Department for Roads of Vietnam or the provincial-level Transport Department of the locality where he has registered for residence, sojourn, temporary residence or permanent residence.
Such a dossier must comprise:
- An application for driver license conversion (made according to the form provided in Appendix 20 to Circular 12/2017/TT-BGTVT);
- 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 embassy or consular office of the license-issuing country in Vietnam to verify;
- A copy of the applicant’s passport (the page(s) showing the serial number and validity duration of the passport, the full name and photo of the passport holder, and Vietnam visa) or residence card, sojourn card, temporary residence card, permanent residence card or a document certifying the foreigner’s permanent residence in Vietnam. If having any doubts, the agency responsible for driver license conversion may request in writing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security’s Immigration Department or the Immigration Office of the provincial-level Public Security Department of the concerned locality to verify.
When carrying out the procedures for conversion of his foreign driver license at the agency responsible for driver license conversion, the applicant will be photographed and have to produce the originals of the documents included in the dossier for collation.
The conversion will be completed within five working days after the competent agency receives a complete and valid dossier.
The validity duration of the Vietnamese driver license converted from the applicant’s foreign one must be equal to 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 the Vietnamese driver licenses.
In case the applicant is licensed to drive different vehicle categories in his country, he will be granted a Vietnamese license for driving such vehicle categories in Vietnam.- (VLLF)
