Vietnamese driving license.

Now it depends on the length of your visa. Getting a VN license is not too difficult.

License

colinoscapee wrote:

Now it depends on the length of your visa. Getting a VN license is not too difficult.

License

Hi Colin and thank you for your reply. i would initially be on either an VEC or an investors visa. My thinking is the Investor visa would be better. My father in law has a business i will invest in and grow accordingly. That said can you advise please ?


Kind regards

Mike

bertieboy123 wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

Now it depends on the length of your visa. Getting a VN license is not too difficult.

License

Hi Colin and thank you for your reply. i would initially be on either an VEC or an investors visa. My thinking is the Investor visa would be better. My father in law has a business i will invest in and grow accordingly. That said can you advise please ?


Kind regards

Mike

Your license now expires as per the length of your visa. A VEC is for 5 years, your license will last as long as your visa or when your existing license from your home country. Read the link I attached earlier.

bertieboy123 wrote:

Hello all.

What is involved in a foreigner obtaining a Vietnamese drivers license ? I know some will ask why on earth i would want to drive in Vietnam lol :-) But i am married to a Vietnamese lady (Who normally drives me around when in Vietnam) We currently live in the UK, but are planning our escape if/when Vietnam opens again. Today she informs me she would like me to drive her around Binh Duong instead of her driving me lol :-) I am a very accomplished driver here in the UK, i have a license to drive multiple vehicles and machinery, and i have driven in Binh Duong before, however i would like to be totally legal once i make the move for good. I will mainly drive in Binh Duong and Vung Tau and between both.

TIA for any info

Kind regards

Mike

As long as your uk licence is valid you can exchange here, cosfs abouy 8usd... of 100usd if you pay an agent to handle the translation.

Passport with visa is the only other document you need

If you have a VEC do it on your VEC and you will get a license that expires with that term.  An investor visa will likely be one year and your license will expire with that visa so it's just one more hoop to jump through each year.

Getting a license is very easy.  I've gotten one and renewed one.  Very cheap and simple to do both times if your wife goes with you to talk with them.

Many thanks for your replies.


Regards

Mike

bertieboy123 wrote:

i would initially be on either an VEC or an investors visa. My thinking is the Investor visa would be better. My father in law has a business i will invest in and grow accordingly. That said can you advise please ?

There is a sticky thread on obtaining an investor TRC at the top of the Vietnam page.

Not complete sure of type of UK driving license.

I came to VN with international driving license(kind of book)+normal european driving licence, which is valid for one year. Before it completely expired I applied for VN one.

1. you need to translate and notarize UK driving license.
2. go to department of transportation (in Hanoi Tay Ho - 258, chi cong) they have lunch break between 12.00-13.30.
3. fill the form. They will make copy of passport, visa and residence card. They make foto of you as well.
4. After one week you come to pick it up with fee 165k VND but you need to prove its you with passport.

pribina wrote:

Not complete sure of type of UK driving license.

I came to VN with international driving license(kind of book)+normal european driving licence, which is valid for one year. Before it completely expired I applied for VN one.

1. you need to translate and notarize UK driving license.
2. go to department of transportation (in Hanoi Tay Ho - 258, chi cong) they have lunch break between 12.00-13.30.
3. fill the form. They will make copy of passport, visa and residence card. They make foto of you as well.
4. After one week you come to pick it up with fee 165k VND but you need to prove its you with passport.

Seeing that he will be living in Binh Duong, Hanoi maybe be a bit far to do his license.

it seems i might have been careless not knowing you could just 'exchange' licence if you had o/seas licence. and my wife has not been helpful as she does not want me to drive

so my AU licence of some 40 years has just expired

what are my options? as i would really like to hv a licence (bit like missing your wallet)

PS the info on your link is really great .. https://mysaigoncity.com/vietnam-driving-license/,

No way tp renew the licence back home and have someone mail it to you?

AU licence of some 40 years has just expired,,, if you have access to your "mygov" account then just go online and renew your licence and put an Australia postal address if you have family or friends there and get them to post it...

I did it last June it's easy,,,,

... ok, i will check that on mygov, but earlier before it expired, i thought why would i spend some $150 (?) to renew a licence i won't use.

of course, if i knew, i should hv got VN licence before it expired

so VN office will not just ignore fact that it expired a few months ago?

thanks. see separate reply.

myvietnam wrote:

... ok, i will check that on mygov, but earlier before it expired, i thought why would i spend some $150 (?) to renew a licence i won't use.

of course, if i knew, i should hv got VN licence before it expired

so VN office will not just ignore fact that it expired a few months ago?

Your VN licence expires same date as your Australian licence or your VN visa whichever is sooner,,,

noted

Why renew an Aus licence you won't use? Well, because it's properly recognised internationally. Try doing anything semi-official overseas with a Vietnamese one :-)

Then again, if you never plan on going anywhere outside ASEAN countries anymore, you might not need your Aus one. Still, I don't think it's sensible to let it go.

If you try renewing remotely, good luck with getting an Aus MyGov account if you don't already have one from there. And don't ever count on any official-looking stuff sent by mail to Vietnam. As I mentioned on this forum before, in five years of living in Saigon, the only mail that ever got through was two postcards from my sister in Europe. Two Aus police checks that I desperately needed for VN work permits never arrived, nor did postal voting documents from Europe. Too difficult for the censors, I suppose, so I can only assume they went into the bin.

I did manage to renew my Aus licence from VN, a fair bit of paperwork -- I required some medication at my age and therefore needed a health check, fortunately carried out by my Saigonese GP who was trained in Australia -- which I sent registered express mail from the GPO. I then got the Aus end to send the renewed licence to a trusted friend in Melbourne where I picked it up on my next visit there.

thanks for comments
ps i hv received CCs ok from AU

What about applying for a Vietnamese Driving license from start to finish when you don't have a international one is something like that possible ?

If so anybody know any English schools for it in HCM.

I kind of moved here before finishing my driving license at my home country

Thanks.

Are you talking about a motorbike license or a car license?

Rick Hayward wrote:

Are you talking about a motorbike license or a car license?

Sorry forget to mention that it would be a car license.

Thanks.

My Vietnamese motorbike license required that I take the test, however, it is good for life. My car license here only required that I produce a valid home country (US) license, however, it expires on your TRC expiration date or your home license expiration date, whichever comes first. All car licenses in Vietnam expire, even for the Vietnamese. The normal Vietnamese validity period is 10 years for a basic car license. The validity time does shorten as you increase the size or type of vehicles. The normal 10-year period really doesn't apply to expats since it's based on your TRC or home license expiration. I don't remember what my car license cost but I think it was in the neighborhood of 200,000 vnd.

@pribina  hi, that is in Hanoi. What about HCMC, where can one do this?? Tks.

Not complete sure of type of UK driving license.

I came to VN with international driving license(kind of book)+normal european driving licence, which is valid for one year. Before it completely expired I applied for VN one.

1. you need to translate and notarize UK driving license.

2. go to department of transportation (in Hanoi Tay Ho - 258, chi cong) they have lunch break between 12.00-13.30.

3. fill the form. They will make copy of passport, visa and residence card. They make foto of you as well.

4. After one week you come to pick it up with fee 165k VND but you need to prove its you with passport.

- @pribina

@pribina  hi, that is in Hanoi. What about HCMC, where can one do this?? Tks.

- @Swee Loke

@pribina  hi, that is in Hanoi. What about HCMC, where can one do this?? Tks.

- @Swee Loke

@Andybris2020  much gratefully noted...

I have a question about this.  I plan to move permanently to license and get a spousal VEC.  I will convert my American license over to a VN driver's license, but from what I am readying I still need to maintain my American driver's license too?  If I move to another ASEAN country this isn't the case.

So the VN for foreigners is just an IDP in Vietnamese?  I know an ID too.

If I take the tests in VN, my license will expire as a Vietnamese person's would?

Thanks (scratching my head)

- @Bill52222

I have a question about this.  I plan to move permanently to license and get a spousal VEC.  I will convert my American license over to a VN driver's license, but from what I am readying I still need to maintain my American driver's license too?  If I move to another ASEAN country this isn't the case.

So the VN for foreigners is just an IDP in Vietnamese?  I know an ID too.

If I take the tests in VN, my license will expire as a Vietnamese person's would?

Thanks (scratching my head)

- @Bill52222

I'm pretty sure (not 100%) that if you choose the 5-year Visa Exemption Certificate (VEC) that allows you to be in the country visa free for 6 months at a time (extensions being possible) you won't qualify for a VN driver's license, and even if you did, it would need to be redone each time you reenter the country.

(Colin or Andy or GOB?)

A better option for a foreigner spouse of a Vietnamese citizen would be to get either a 2 to 3 year Temporary Residence Certificate or at least a 1 year TT visa.

- @OceanBeach92107

I have a question about this.  I plan to move permanently to license and get a spousal VEC.  I will convert my American license over to a VN driver's license, but from what I am readying I still need to maintain my American driver's license too?  If I move to another ASEAN country this isn't the case.

So the VN for foreigners is just an IDP in Vietnamese?  I know an ID too.

If I take the tests in VN, my license will expire as a Vietnamese person's would?

Thanks (scratching my head)

- @Bill52222

I'm pretty sure (not 100%) that if you choose the 5-year Visa Exemption Certificate (VEC) that allows you to be in the country visa free for 6 months at a time (extensions being possible) you won't qualify for a VN driver's license, and even if you did, it would need to be redone each time you reenter the country.

(Colin or Andy or GOB?)

A better option for a foreigner spouse of a Vietnamese citizen would be to get either a 2 to 3 year Temporary Residence Certificate or at least a 1 year TT visa.

- @OceanBeach92107

Sorry, dont ask me about VEC & driving licence all I know is that with a TRC you get a Vietnamese driving licence for the duration of the TRC or the end date on your country licence which ever comes first. So for example if you have a UK driving licence that runs to xxxx2003 but your TRC finishes xxxx2022 then your Vietnamese driving licence finishes on your TRC xxxx2022  date........I think!!

- @goodolboy

I have a question about this.  I plan to move permanently to license and get a spousal VEC.  I will convert my American license over to a VN driver's license, but from what I am readying I still need to maintain my American driver's license too?  If I move to another ASEAN country this isn't the case.

So the VN for foreigners is just an IDP in Vietnamese?  I know an ID too.

If I take the tests in VN, my license will expire as a Vietnamese person's would?

Thanks (scratching my head)

- @Bill52222

I'm pretty sure (not 100%) that if you choose the 5-year Visa Exemption Certificate (VEC) that allows you to be in the country visa free for 6 months at a time (extensions being possible) you won't qualify for a VN driver's license, and even if you did, it would need to be redone each time you reenter the country.

(Colin or Andy or GOB?)

A better option for a foreigner spouse of a Vietnamese citizen would be to get either a 2 to 3 year Temporary Residence Certificate or at least a 1 year TT visa.

- @OceanBeach92107

Sorry, dont ask me about VEC & driving licence all I know is that with a TRC you get a Vietnamese driving licence for the duration of the TRC or the end date on your country licence which ever comes first. So for example if you have a UK driving licence that runs to xxxx2003 but your TRC finishes xxxx2022 then your Vietnamese driving licence finishes on your TRC xxxx2022  date........I think!!

- @goodolboy

That 2003 license may expire before the 2022 visa,lol.

- @colinoscapee

I'm pretty sure (not 100%) that if you choose the 5-year Visa Exemption Certificate (VEC) that allows you to be in the country visa free for 6 months at a time (extensions being possible) you won't qualify for a VN driver's license, and even if you did, it would need to be redone each time you reenter the country.

- @OceanBeach92107

@colinoscapee

My experience has been if anything expires, TRC, passport, work visa, US driver's license in my case, or a change in hairstyle my VN driver's moto and auto license expired. While gathering up documents, visiting the local wat for chops, and generally chasing around the block, think about all the niceties and why you've chosen to live in Vietnam. It eases the anguish. And for god's sake, don't attempt rationalizing the process. It's just how the process works. And after renewal, you'll have 2, 3, or 5 years to gather up strength for the next go.   

- @River Frogs

@SteinNebraska how is the process to renew the driving license? I dont want to go with documents missing or things. Cheers

@danrodri,

You renewing because of visa run out or o/s licence ran out?

Just do same as first time do licence app, get passport/new visa/trc etc and licence photo copy and translated and take again to licence office, give papers and get photo taken,, same as first time

All as easy as first time just remember 2 copies (cafe next door does them if forget)

Both expired same time. But I got my new residency permit for another year. So....they don't renew? No use bringing the expired VN license and new residency permit? I have to do same process again, like I am getting a brand new VN license based on my foreign license? Bummer