Due to the old kung flu it doesn’t look like I’ll be taking a trip home anytime in the near future, IDP expired and home country drivers license expiring soon, looks like I have to finally take the plunge and get a local car license.
Could exchange my home license for a local however prefer to keep it.
Checked out the local car driving schools, need a minimum of 35 school days before taking the test and next available spaces are in mid July which pretty much means September for a license.
One of the schools does offer test prep for an hourly fee and I go do the test myself, easy right? Wrong.
Appointments for doing a test can only be made online these days, there doesn’t appear to be any sign up site in English, eventually found this one in Chinese, 監理服務網 - 查詢場次 .
Fill out the required information requesting a “small car” test and it spits out the following;
報名失敗
尚有考前講習未完成
無體檢資料
持有學習駕照未滿 1 個月
telling me my registration has failed due to some sort of pre-exam thing that I apparently have not completed, not having medical information and having held a license for less than a month.
No idea what the first one is about. Or the second for that matter as you are supposed to bring a medical report with you.
The third refers to the requirement to have help a learner license for at least 3 months before doing the test however a valid foreign driving license is supposed to be a valid substitute.
Has anyone successfully applied for a car test recently? Have I messed up somewhere? Is this yet another “foreigners need not apply” thing where I have to go there in person to make an appointment that cannot be made in person?!
Prefer to keep it, can renew it anytime within 10 years of expiry, it’s for a manual transmission and is accepted in many countries without the need for an IDP, plus I have a full “heavy” motorcycle category on it too which Taiwan will not exchange so I’d lose it. I’ll just do an auto test in Taiwan, the license is of very limited use without an IDP anyway.
Why on earth would you go to a driving school here?
Get the hospital record, take the written, which is now also in english and on computer even in the sticks.
Then go for driving test. It is insanely easy in taiwan. The only issue may be if you use their old school japanese tiny perain car and you are a person if height.
Otherwise easy as pie, they will help you explain. If they give you lip, give them som.e back…
What if you need to go to a driver’s school cos you’ve never driven in your life. How much would that cost here? How long would it take to learn how to drive a car.
Go to hospital with your NHI card. Bring a secondary ID like ARC as well in case they give you any shit. Tell them you want ti get your drivers license and be patuent while they assist you where to.go for what. in the end.you a document with a pretty sweet looking red inked stamp that tells the driving authorities yiure giid to go for.a driving test.
Dont quite me, and it may have changed, but before we didnt need this to take the written exam, it was only needed for the actual driving test. So can arrange your time as needed.
Citizens have to.prove medical fitness the same way, so dint bother cryung.discrimination. Certain meducal jssues like being color blind made it.impossible.to get a license. At least before. age restrictions.etc also all apply regardless of arc/national status.
Take your written test. Go to the gov office where that happens in your area. Bring your ID.
Number 1 & 2 are interchangeable if rules havent changed, as per above opinion.
Take all your written test papers, medical papers and ID to the testing area office in your area and arrange a time to take your test.
At that time, show up.
When you drive with the tester, dont fuck up.
After get your paper that says you passed, you can drive and they will send you your licence soon.
Some noteworthy points.
They care a lot about your tire placement. Will make sure you stop on a colored area, they check your front tires are on the colored paint. Point: depth perception. Note the front and tire distance if using thier car. If your car, should already be aware.
Car schools.are.generally total shit and.literally tell you hiw to.accompish the maze. Wish I was joking. Diwn to.how.many times.you should turn the wheel when.reach Xx location. If you pay more, red envelooes might get you licensed. Locatiin dependant.of.course. but if.you are a person of decent intelligence, you dont really need them. In fact, i.feel paying.them actually hurts this.country.
The tester normally cares a great deal about fjnal wheel placements not as.much how.they got there so long.as within reasin. I got points off on the straight stretch for.stopping.for a.pidgeon. That was their only issue with my test, so just let them deduct something to let their ego feel fullfilled.
If you go to any if those places and be polite, you will be treated fairly so dont.stress.
See the problem is that you need to make an appointment online to do those tests, they specifically state that you can no longer rock up and make an appointment at the test center as they have this fancy new online registration. Tried but the computer is saying no.
Based on the errors you posted, I think you’d better go to the DMV to ask - looks like you need to take a class, get a learner’s permit for a month, and submit medical docs before you can register for the test online.
As explained, the permit is negated by having a foreign license. The system has no way of knowing I have a foreign license even though, as adequately demonstrated by other government departments, it knows I’m a furiner due to the ARC no. format.
The med report I’ll get tomorrow and see if that error goes away.
Really prefer not to as it’s not convenient in the slightest, hence asking if anyone has successfully signed up recently.
15k I believe. I did it recently (driving school located in 五股 in New Taipei). But I also took private driving lessons with with a teacher driving on city/country roads and freeway. Not sure about legality of latter.
Go to the Shilin DMV, once you enter turn right and there will be a set of small desks full of people who look like they are doing absolutely nothing. Tell them you don’t know how to make an appointment online and that if you can get a spot the same day (try to speak Chinese if you can). They will hook you up with an appointment while they teach you the online system.
I mean, even if they know you’re a foreigner, they can’t know whether you have a license or not, or whether it’s from your passport country or somewhere else… I assume they need to verify it in person and put some kind of override in the system.
It would be much easier to sort this at the DMV. As usual, the rules change frequently and people share their own experiences which are not the same or no longer accurate.
Yeah, unfortunately it’s one where you actually have to swap it out, they take it and send it back to my home country. Supposedly at some point in the future when I move home I can get it back, my next country is unlikely to be my home country so the whole swapping it back probably won’t happen and the next country may not have a reciprocal agreement with Taiwan so I’d be in some sort of limbo.