Get another one! The DMV have been trying to crack down on IDP’s somewhat (see statement on their website) however it’s quite hypocritical as Taiwan issues 3 year IDP’s whereas most countries only issue a 1 year. A friend had a 2 year IDP from his country and the DMV would only stamp it good for 1 year, he had to go back at the end of the year and (with a struggle) have it stamped for another year.
I have 2 friends who got lucky, I was never lucky despite trying 3 different DMV’s! One DMV employee suggested I report my license lost when I went home and just get another one…no one could categorically tell me what would happen to my home license once given to the DMV here, if it was sent back to my home country and hence discovered that I had lied about it being lost there are quite stiff penalties.
Mhh, looks like I really should renew mine then before coming to Taiwan! Thought that wouldn’t be necessary because I will exchange anyway. But not so sure about that…
My home country doesn’t issue new IDPs when not living there, though. So after the IDP expires, I won’t be able to get another one unless moving back to my home country.
Another thing: IDPs from other countries are only accepted within the first year of moving to Taiwan, right? How to get around that? Or do people simply not care…?
Can you get a family member/friend to apply for it for you?
I used IDP’s near on 20 years, the DMV did start to get a bit shirty about them last year, still stamp them though.
Best option is just go and do the test, it’s not that difficult just a PITA. If you have time and ~NT$15K just do a course in a driving school, pretty much guaranteed pass. Cheaper option but potentially far greater PITA is to just go and do the tests at the DMV.
No, the regulations state that people living abroad in member states which signed the international agreement about road traffic are not eligible to receive an IDP…
Need to have a registered address.
Ok, so I just take the IDP to the Taiwanese DMV and if they stamp it, everything is fine?
Me too. Ontario, Canada. I gave it up. The only downside I’ve had so far was that renting a car in Canada requires a translation so I needed to get the international license
Yep, good for the duration of the IDP or ARC as far as I remember. Technically it’s supposed to be done within a certain time period of arriving in Taiwan but that’s generally ignored or they will accept the last time you entered Taiwan. Bring your passport or copy of immigration records if you didn’t get your passport stamped.
Please note: When exchanging a German driver’s license for a foreign driver’s license, you must deposit your German driver’s license. This will be sent by the foreign authorities to the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) in Flensburg. German driver’s licenses exchanged abroad will then be returned by the KBA to the German driver’s license authority (Straßenverkehrsamt) which issued the driver’s license. The KBA does not keep any driver’s licenses. If you have your main residence in Germany again, please contact the German driving license authority responsible for your current place of residence for the exchange of the foreign driving license. It is not permitted to hold several valid driving licenses at the same time.
It seems like the regulations in the EU only forbid holding more than one EU driving license. However, Germany seems to have extended this to all driving licenses world wide…
So seems to be mostly a problem for people from Germany. I thought it would be a more general issue at first…
Hmm, that page has been carefully edited over time to eliminate reference to Taiwan, which I believe is a signatory to both the 1949 and 1968 conventions, under the name of the Republic of China. Ironically, the example picture on that page is still Taiwan’s IDP.
You can’t use an IDP in China. I could be wrong, but I don’t think you can use any non-Chinese license in China, because no other country provides you with the skillset you need to successfully crush pedestrians when turning at intersections, hit bicycles going the wrong way round a roundabout, or run people down as they cross an unlit freeway in the middle of the night.
So that means that there is no difference between a Taiwanese, a Canadian, a German, a US, … IDP in terms of acceptance? All valid in the same countries?
That one says “Taiwan-issued international driver’s permit (IDP): Valid for operating
a vehicle: No” for Estonia, for example while the Wikipedia link says Estonia has agreed to the IDP convention…
I’ve got licenses in three countries including Taiwan. They didn’t take my foreign license when I got my Taiwanese one.
Also most countries allow you to renew an expired license a number of years after the expiration date. So even if Taiwan took my foreign license, it’s not difficult to get another.
The DMV stamp is good for a year, if they stamp a new IDP then you’re good for another year. They were making noises about not wanting to keep stamping them year after year but I didn’t have an issue doing it for near 20 years, it’s only due to difficulty getting a new IDP this year that I bothered to go and do the test.
Once you have a valid license (and insurance) there is no issue with the police, even in an accident scenario. A stamped IDP is fully valid.
Actually a non-stamped IDP is also valid if it is within 30 days of entering Taiwan. The bizzarro world with this is that the DMV put so much emphasis on entry dates for eligibility of various things that if you go abroad and come back to Taiwan you are good for another 30 days unstamped, even if you’ve lived here for 50 years! All that matters is the 30 date period after you enter Taiwan.
A word of caution once again though, your insurance may not be valid if you do not have a valid license/IDP or your license/IDP has expired. Post accident is not the time you want to find this out.
Depends on what the Taiwan DMV did with your foreign license. If it is sent back to your home country with a record of the exchange for a Taiwan license it would not be a good idea to go home and claim your license was lost/stolen/expired and request a new one.
The licence I used to get my Taiwanese license allows a five year period after expiry before requiring me to establish a new license. They also don’t have any laws against having a license in another country.
Everyone can make their own mind up on whether they want to accept the risk. For my country I’m required to complete a signed statement in the presence of a police officer in the event of a replacement of a lost or stolen license claim. Going to my home country with this statement and finding out they know the license was exchanged by me would not have a good ending.
That’s for your country, you state above that you were not required to hand over your home country license. There are many varied rules around the world. For my country I am required to give up my home license if I want to exchange, I’m also supposed to be habitually resident in my home country in order to hold and renew my home license however there is no law on holding 2 licenses that I am aware off. The example from Germany(?) above shows it may be a criminal offense to hold 2 different countries licenses.
It’s 10 years for my home country however I’m not clear how this is relevant to the discussion.
