There is a âbutâ, though. The article claims that the IDP is recognised by 95 countries and territories. I dug a bit and found out that most of the list (smartass move ) actually considers US and Canadian states separately one by one, otherwise it would only be 31 countries. Does anyone know which countries these are?
Wow. If thats correct that is a smart ass move. 31 countries isnt all that many. Are Puerto Rico, guam etc included in this as separated too?
The article also says valid for 3 years. I thought it used to be 5?
Have driven in a number of countries in asia, and canada/usa, on my taiwan license/international without issues. But now i am curious. if something serious happened and went to court this would become a game changer.
I also thought (and still believe) that IDPs were part of an international convention so that as long as a country/territory can issue one it is universally accepted.
The issue with Taiwanâs IDP is that some countries apparently stopped accepting IDPs issued by Taiwan after Taiwan left the UN. Iâm still trying to find a complete list of where it is acceptedâŚ
Trust me, they only read International Driving Permit. And then the chinese character for them is China. Even if it reads Taiwan, for them is China.
I used this in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Colombia, USA (California) , Laos ( PRO CHINA country) , Bolivia, Vietnam.
Form all of these countries only Paraguay has relationship with Taiwan. But result the same: They just took a glance at the Int Driving Permit and they allow me to rent a car.
The car rental places might care less than the insurances or police. In many countries, driving without a valid license and causing an accident can end you up in prison - especially if one is a tourist with a high risk of fleeing the country. I personally wouldnât risk this in North America or Europe, for exampleâŚ
Maybe the wrong place for this question: I swapped my BC (Canada) license for a Taiwanese car license. I no longer have a BC licence. If I want to drive in Canada, can I just use my Taiwan licence, or do I need to get this IDP?
For British Columbia, it says that both the IDP from Taiwan and the local license are valid to drive there:
Tourist from Taiwan can use with valid Taiwanâs DDL for no more than 180 days. Holders who are staying for less than 6 months can obtain local DL with test. Once pass the test, a temporary license will be issued.
For other provinces, things might look differentlyâŚ
Note that the fact that there is no entry for the country in the PDF doesnât necessarily mean that the IDP is not accepted. That then depends on whether that country recognizes Taiwanâs IDP or notâŚ
âThose who has the ARC holder are not validâ - what the heck?!?
I think this means that California only allows Taiwanese citizens to drive in California. Not foreigners who have an A(P?)RC.
I might be wrong, but I think that the âswappingâ thing only means that you have to surrender your (in this case) Canadian licence to the Taiwanese MVO in order to receive a Taiwanese licence. There might be no records of you ârenouncingâ it in Canada, so you might be fine with claiming that you lost it and apply for a new one there.
Did anyone try it before? Curious as well. I converted a Singaporean licence so I did not have this requirement. I could keep both.
UPDATE: Ok, @Marco had the same thought 30 seconds before me
You mean Taiwan or Canada?
I can only speak for Germany (which also requires surrendering the German license when changing into a Taiwanese one) - and they require the Taiwanese authorities to send back the German license to Germany. So I am quite certain Germany wouldnât issue me another German license unless I surrender my Taiwanese one because they would know about the exchange.
Maybe even better to change back the Taiwanese license into a Canadian (i.e. surrendering the Taiwanese license to get back the Canadian one) and then returning to Taiwan and asking for a replacement because one has âlostâ the Taiwanese license.
I would assume the Taiwanese authorities to care less about that than the Canadian ones.
ExactlyâŚBUT once you are in a Rented CARâŚyou are inmune . Cuz all responsibilities, broken light or invalid plateâŚis on the Car Rental Company.
And even hou give a invalid licesenseâŚthe weight falls on the Car Rent Company for not check and just accept to keep the business haha
It happened to me in Argentina when the car only had one car plate in front, but not in the back . And even though I speak spanish and that I showed a Taiwan PermitâŚthey let me go.
In California, they stop me for not using turning light, ( but i did used). But it was with malfunction. Cop just took number of the Car Rental Company and then let me go.
Not true in most parts of Europe. In the end, the driver is responsible for the safety of their vehicle and for complying with all laws and regulations - even if they rent you an unsafe vehicle (e.g. old tires), it will still be your fault as the driver because youâre supposed to check for these things on the start of every drive.
Same here, I have rented cars in the USA and UK and while I handed over my IDP and Domestic (AU-NSW) Licence, the IDP was barely glanced at and handed back. What they recorded on their documents was my Domestic Licence.
I have never been stopped and asked to show a Licence when O/S, though if I was involved in a crash, it might be interesting when asked.
Note that an IDP, is largely there for translation too.
) actually considers US and Canadian states separately one by one, otherwise it would only be 31 countries. Does anyone know which countries these are?
