Starting from May 2025, drivers from Taiwan will no longer be able to transfer their licenses.
Transferring to a Queensland licence | Transport | Queensland Government.
Not just Taiwan though - they have given a lot of countries the chop.
Woah, it’s not just Qld, may affect most states and territories. Will affect Aussie to Taiwan exchanges too if they don’t come up with another agreement.
NSW has that notice too:
Tbf, I completely agree. I would never issue directly to a Tw driving licence holder without having the holder retake a local exam. They are just completely unaware of driving safety skills besides parking (in that I give them that they are very good at it even when parking in places they should not).
Also they don’t actually know the road code. All Taiwanese I ever speak to adamantly believe that fastening the seatbelt in the back seats is not mandatory, or also it’s ok to use the phone while driving.
Me too!
Seconded, although I’d be sure to add the stipulation that they pass the local exam after taking it, to avoid arguments later…
Think I’ll send the article to my home countries DMV requesting the do the same.
It was implied, but yes, best to be specific.
A test doesn’t stop that behavior though. I remember peeling out of the test centre when I got my full licence as a teen. I had similar fun when I got my moto licence.
It’s more of an enforcement thing
Here in Canada every third person is on the phone while driving and somehow they all passed the test
I wonder how they handle it if a Queenslander comes to Taiwan, transferred to a Taiwanese licence, and then goes back to Queensland.
I imagine the initial test pass is recorded in the state’s driver licence registry.
No, as they previously held an Australian licence by way of the standard route.
It is now every state and territory that no longer recognises Taiwan licences.
When you go home you don’t generally swap your licence, unless you didn’t hold one before. You merely renew the expired licence (if it has expired) or request a replacement if it hasn’t expired.
When you swap a licence they don’t cancel the old one in the original jurisdiction.
Seems it can expire for up to 5 years and you can get it back…
You can renew your licence within 5 years of its expiry date. If your licence expired more than 2 years ago, you won’t be able to use your driver licence as proof of identity. You will need to bring 3 evidence of identity documents.
If your licence expired 5 or more years ago, you cannot renew your licence. You will need to apply for a learner licence. However, you are able to apply for a class of licence you previously held as a returning driver.
It depends. The UK DVLA cancels your existing licence; their agreement with Taiwan states that Taiwan has to take your UK licence and mail it back to the UK, who promptly cancel it.
Qld isn’t the UK. There are no agreements for Australian states re drivers licences and Taiwan. I would be surprised if the UK really cancelled UK licence.
When I swapped my NSW drivers licence for a UK one they didn’t cancel the NSW one… I just renewed it when I got home.
Many juridictions take the foreign licence on ‘swapping’ they don’t do anything with them though.
Based on what I see every single day on the roads here in Taiwan, I can only say: good!
Guy
Interesting, didn’t happend the other way around when I got a UK licence, then I got to keep UK licence after I renewed NSW one.
Likewise, a friend swapped their Taiwan licence for a French one… and Taiwan didn’t cancel their Taiwan licence either.
Did you notify the UK and get a refund on surrendering licence?
I think the treat my between Taiwan and the UK makes it the respective countries’s responsibility to take the original licence away.
Taiwan asked me for my UK licence and I handed it to them and then they dealt with it. I ordered a new one online that I use strictly for ID (bank stuff, buying alcohol) when I’m back in the UK.
If I were stopped by the police, I’d hand over my TW licence, IDP and passport so they could check the stamps to see I’m not living in the UK.
A couple of months later, I got curious and tried logging into my driving licence account and saw I was blocked from ordering new replacements because they had a record that I held a foreign licence.
Yep, that’s how I got mine. Although I did it in advance via mail so I could buy a banger immediately upon return to help my family get settled in quick.
Australia doesn’t do that.
Although it does require you (in QLD at least) to apply for renewal via mail if your photo was more than 10 years old. But can renew online if photo is within 10 years
I got my drivers licences in Victoria
Went to Taiwan, ‘exchanged’ for a Taiwanese licence but I didn’t have to forfeit my Australian licence. I presume this isn’t a requirement because drivers licences are de-facto ID cards in Aus.
I then did my scooter test in Taiwan. Returned to Australia and ‘exchanged’ (Taiwan licence not forfeited) it for a motorcycle licence - Victoria does not licence scooters and motorcycles separately.
Then got an international drivers permit. I could now legally drive a motorcycle permanently in Australia and temporarily in dozens of countries, including Taiwan, despite never having driven a motorcycle in my life.
It never made sense the scooters/motorcycles were exchangeable.
Disclaimer - I went to ‘lessons’ and got my motorcycle licence in Taiwan before ever actually riding a motorcycle.
The UK doesn’t let you have a licence if you’re not normally resident so this is their way of enforcing it.
However, if you don’t exchange your licence for another one abroad, they won’t chase you about it.
QLD for example technically has that rule but they don’t enforce it.