Foreign driving licences to be widely accepted

From the beginning of February all driving licences issued in the states recognised by Finland will be accepted for driving in mainland Finland.

This amendment to the Act on Driving Licences will apply to the driving licences other than those issued in a European Union or European Economic Area Member State or a signatory country to the Geneva or Vienna Road Traffic Convention, said a Ministry of Transport and Communications press release.

Other foreign driving licences are accepted for one year following the licence holder’s entry into Finland, provided the licence is valid in the issuing country and meets certain requirements of form.

The information contained in a foreign driving licence must be in Latin alphabet and indicate the right to drive or there must be a translation of the information by a reliable party, such as an authorised translator, into Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, German or French.

If the holder o the driving licence has been entered into the Population Register, the period during which the licence will be accepted will start from the date of the register entry.

In order to prevent driving licence tourism, a licence qualification requirement is that the person’s habitual residence was not in Finland at the time of issuing the licence.

The government on 11 January 2018 proposed that the amendment to the Act on Driving Licences be adopted. The president is expected to approve the bill on Friday.