Hope you can point me in the right direction for a few Q’s I’ve got re getting a driving licence in Taichung
I’m moving to Taichung on the 10th May and have my 90 Day Visitor Visa. I think I have to apply for a ‘spouse visa’ when I get there as we will (myself, Taiwanese wife & baby on the way) be living there for a year or 5, depending on how well we settle.
1 - Can I get a driving licence on a 90-day Visitor Visa?
(if not - can I ride with my full UK licence legally in TW? Would my UK licence allow me to both ride scooters and drive cars?)
2 - Does the Taiwanese licence cover 2 wheeled and 4 wheeled flavours the same as my UK licence does? Or is there a separate test for scooters/cars?
3 - Where is the test/licence authority in Taichung? I read a post which indicated Beitun(?) Road - is that the right place?
I’ve driven all around Taiwan on my previous 4 visits on both 2 and 4 wheels, and have had my licence in the UK for about 15 years, so am well aware of the madness of the traffic, but I’m not interested in Driving school unless it’s a necessity to pass the test.
My wife and her family just said it would probably be fine for me to drive as we were only there for a month or so at a time on our previous visits - and after seeing the traffic there, ‘probably fine’ is probably about as good as it’s going to get! But as I’ll be living there possibly for years I’d like to minimise the hassle if I’m ever pulled over by the police.
Get an international driver’s license and then go to the DMV with 2 photos to get it legal for Taiwan. You will not be able to get a Taiwan driver’s license till you get your ARC which may take 2-6 weeks depending on how organized and prepared you are.
i use my international drivers license from AAA in USA. i got it prior to my trip to taiwan and it’s valid for 1 year. i been doing this for 6yr now since i fly back and forth.
FYI just make sure when u drive in taiwan u have ur international drivers licenese and your original drivers license from your country. one time i forgot my USA drivers license and they gave me a $9,000nt ticket
i just got it recently (got tired depending on some one to do it for me if i didn’t travel back).
go to DMV get the form and find out where to get ur physical.
go get ur physical (its easy).
go to ur embassy and get ur drivers license notarized ( i went to AIT ).
go back to DMV with two photos.
why i didn’t do it earlier? my local friends told me no need more better with the IDL. which is true cuz the local cops take a look and tell me go home lol. freeway ones are different, if they pull u over they have to give u a ticket no matter what. since they couldn’t write me one ( no taiwan id #) they wrote it to the car registered owner.
Magic - thanks for info again chaps. For those of you moving to Taiwan from the UK, here’s how I got my IDP (International Driving Permit):
[ul]Take both parts UK driving licence, passport, 1 x recent passport photo to the Post Office *[/ul]
[ul]Make sure your address is up to date on the driving licence **[/ul]
[ul]Hand over £5.50[/ul]
[ul]It’s good for 12 months[/ul]
The IDP must be applied for in person, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time before departure date. Just do the opposite of what I did…
*not all post office branches have the IDP form available - and the branch finder on the royal mail website got it wrong for me…
**I nearly didn’t get my IDP as I filled in the form at the post office with my current address - which was different to the one on my driving licence. Luckily after explaining to the Nice Lady that I still own the property my licence is addressed to, I think the Nice Lady was lenient on me as I was leaving in 2 weeks (it would take 3 weeks to amend my UK licence according to Nice Lady.). Nice lady.
I’ll fill this in further when I get to Beitun or wherever it is…
[quote=“darren13”]Magic - thanks for info again chaps. For those of you moving to Taiwan from the UK, here’s how I got my IDP (International Driving Permit):
The IDP must be applied for in person, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time before departure date.
D[/quote]
IIRC you can apply by post, from the ROC, for a UK IDP.
[quote=“Ducked”][quote=“darren13”]Magic - thanks for info again chaps. For those of you moving to Taiwan from the UK, here’s how I got my IDP (International Driving Permit):
The IDP must be applied for in person, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time before departure date.
D[/quote]
IIRC you can apply by post, from the ROC, for a UK IDP.
You have to apply to the RAC.[/quote]
I think I read that a while ago, but didn’t they stil require the passport original?
I would worry a bit about letting that disappear in a pack of brown paper and bubble wrap. I’ve already lost one once before albeit not through the post.
