Is a Nepali driving license valid in Portugal?
If you are scratching your head and wondering, is a Nepali driving license valid in Portugal? You are at the right place. Here, we will crack the question and understand how foreign driving licenses are valid in Portugal.
Continue reading and find out is a Nepali driving license valid in Portugal, as we have collected all the information relevant to the question.
Driving School and License Tests
Those who have driving licenses approved by the countries that are members of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries or CPLP and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development or OECD are allowed to drive in Portugal as well. On that note, if you have a driving license issued from one of these countries, you will not have to earn a license in Portugal.
According to the recent amendments to the driving license law, the Portuguese government has legalized the driving license exchange. You can now drive in national territories of countries that are members of the above-mentioned alliances.
However, you can only drive in countries that are in a bilateral agreement with the government of Portugal. In addition to this, if you have a driving license issued by an eligible country, your driving license should not exceed a period of fifteen years. This implies that for you to have a driving permit, your driving license from your native country should not be more than 15 years old. Furthermore, no more than 15 years should have elapsed after the last time you renewed your license. You should also be less than 60 years of age to drive in Portugal with your former country’s driving license.
Lessons and Tests For Driving License
If you are wondering, is Nepali driving license valid in Portugal? No, it is not. Instead, you will have to apply for a local driving license. For you to be able to drive in Portugal, you should have a driving license issued from a Portuguese driving school.
To get your driving license issued by a Portuguese driving school, you must attend driving lessons. Furthermore, you should also meet the mandatory highway codes and pass the driving tests. Your driving tests will vary with the license category you are applying for.
After you have attended the lectures, the driving school will register you for a driving test. If you wish to get a driver’s license, you should pass the theory and practical test for driving.
Medium of Classes and Tests
If you are unable to communicate in Portuguese, you can apply for training sessions and theory tests to be conducted in English. When you register in a driving school, you must inform them beforehand about your language condition and proceed after they have agreed to train you in English.
Typically, your driving school will book the theory test with a translation for you. This will be approved by the Institute of Mobility and Transport or somewhere in a private examination center.
Accredited Driving Schools
You can visit the official IMT site and get a map of driving schools available in Portugal. Portugal’s official website also provides a list of IMT-recognized driving schools in Portugal. These driving schools, which IMT recognizes, offer courses and training sessions that are specially authorized by the National Road Safety Authority.
The driving test center can either be the IMT itself or any private location dedicated to the driving test.
Driving Licence Validity
After you have received your driving license in Portugal, it is mandatory that you revalidate the license after you have turned a certain age. The revalidation age may vary with different license categories. This implies that the different license categories come with different validation life span.
Driving License Revalidation Age
Stop questioning yourself: Is a Nepali driving license valid in Portugal? Delve into the depths of attaining a Portuguese driving license. Here is a detailed breakdown of license revalidation ages:
In case you received your Portuguese license by January 1, 2013:
| Groups | Age of Revalidation |
| Group 1
Categories AM, A1, A2, A, B1, B and BE, mopeds and agricultural tractors |
Before:
After you have turned 70, you must revalidate your license every two years. |
| Group 2
Categories C1, C, C1E, CE, D1, D1E, D and DE Under categories B and BE, you can drive ambulances, fire engines, transport patients, school transport, collective transport of children, and rent passenger cars. |
Before:
After you have turned 68, you must revalidate your license every two years. |
In case you received your Portuguese driving license between January 2, 2013 and July 29, 2016:
| Groups | Age of Revalidation |
| Group 1
Categories AM, A1, A2, A, B1, B and BE, mopeds and agricultural tractors |
After you have validated the driver’s license for the first time in Portugal, you will have to renew the driver’s license every 15 years until you turn 60 years old.
After:
After you have turned 70, you must revalidate your license every two years. |
| Group 2
Categories C1, C, C1E, CE, D1, D1E, D and DE Under categories B and BE, you can drive ambulances or fire engines or transport patients, school transport, collective transport of children, and rented passenger cars. |
After you have validated the driver’s license for the first time in Portugal, you will have to renew the driver’s license every five years until you turn 70 years old.
After you have turned 70, you must revalidate your license every two years. The CE category license is only valid for those who are under 20 tonnes of weight after the driver turns 67 years old. The category D1, D1E, D, and DE licenses cease to be valid when the driver turns 67 and cannot be revalidated. |
However, if you received your Portuguese driving license after July 30, 2016:
| Groups | Age of Revalidation |
| Group 1
Categories AM, A1, A2, A, B1, B and BE, mopeds and agricultural tractors |
After you have validated the driver’s license for the first time in Portugal, you will have to renew the driver’s license every 15 years until you turn 60 years old.
After you have turned 70, you must revalidate your license every two years. On the other hand, if you got your license after the age of 58 years, you only need to revalidate for the first time at age 65. |
| Group 2
Categories C1, C, C1E, CE, D1, D1E, D and DE Under the categories B and BE you can drive ambulances or fire engines, or transport patients, school transport, collective transport of children, and rented passenger cars. |
Every five years after the date you got your license until you turn 70.
After you have turned 70, you must revalidate your license every two years. The CE category license is only valid for those who are under 20 tonnes of weight after the driver turns 67 years old. The category D1, D1E, D, and DE licenses become invalid after the driver turns 67 and cannot be revalidated. |
However, is a Nepali driving license valid in Portugal? Let’s find out in the next sections.
Is a Nepali driving license valid in Portugal?
You can drive in the national territory of Portugal if your license has not expired or been suspended or revoked by any legal provision or other administrative decision either in Portugal or in the issuing state. For those wondering is a Nepali driving license valid in Portugal, here is a list of countries that are member states of the CLP alliance:
- Angola
- Brazil
- Cape Verde
- São Tomé e Principe
- Guinea Bissau
- Mozambique
On the other hand, the OECD alliance includes the following countries:
- Austria
- Australia
- Belgium
- Canada
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Slovak Republic
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States.
Hence, this list clears your confusion. ‘Is Nepali driving license valid in Portugal? If you have a Nepali license for driving, you might not be legally allowed to drive in Portugal.
However, you can apply for a driving license when you move to Portugal.
How to Get a Driving License in Portugal?
Now that you know the answer to “Is Nepali driving license valid in Portugal?” you should look into ways you can apply for a driving license in Portugal. For you to be eligible for a driving license in Portugal, it is mandatory that you have lived in the country for at least 185 days.
Here are the eligibility criteria for a driving license in Portugal:
- You should attend the driving lessons and appear in driving tests.
- A driving school should accredit you.
- You should be medically fit to drive to get the driving license
- You should validate your driver’s license.
After you have got an answer to the question, is Nepali driving license valid in Portugal, you should gear up to apply for Portuguese driving licenses. Here is what is required to get a driving license in Portugal:
- To get a driving license of A, A1, A2, and B categories, you should meet the age eligibility.
- For the A1 category, you should be at least 16 years of age. Under the A1 category, you can drive motorcycles that have a cylinder capacity of up to 125 cubic centimeters with a power rating of 11kw. Furthermore, you can drive the category AM vehicles with an A1 driving license in your pockets.
- If you are above 18 years of age, you can get a Portuguese driving license in the A2 category. Under this category, you can drive motorcycles with a power rating of 35kw. You can also drive vehicles in the AM and A1 categories.
- You can drive cars under category B of Portuguese driving license. Furthermore, you can drive tricycles with a power rating of 15 kW. You are eligible for a Category B driving license if you are over 21 years of age. In addition to this, you can ride motorcycles with a power rating of 11 kW and a cylinder capacity of 12 cubic centimeters. You can also drive vehicles of AM and B1 categories and category I and II agricultural vehicles.
- You can also get a category A driving license in Portugal if you are above 21 years of age. You can drive any motorcycle, tricycle, category AM, A1, and A2 vehicles.
Have you been asking yourself, Is a Nepali driving license valid in Portugal? Well, No, you cannot drive with your Nepali driving license. Instead, you will have to apply for Portuguese licenses. For a Portuguese driving license, you have to spend at least 185 days in the country.
However, if you already have a driving license in any EU country, you are eligible to drive in Portugal by default.
Furthermore, if you have any licenses from any of the EU countries, Iceland or Norway, you should inform the Institute for Mobility and Transport before you drive to Portugal. You should inform the IMT within 60 days of your residence in Portugal when you start driving in the country.
In case your license has expired or you want a different category of Portuguese license, you can exchange your foreign license with the Portuguese license.
The documents required when you are applying for a Portuguese license are as follows:
- Permanent or even temporary residence permit for Portuguese residentship. You should have one of the residentships issued by the Foreigners and Borders Service or SEF.
- You must have a temporary or permanent residence card which is issued by the SEF.
- In addition to this, you should have a passport, a study, work, or temporary residence visa, which is issued by the Portuguese consular post. All these documents should be issued by SEF or any other department.
- You should also be able to submit the electronic medical certificate that portrays that you are physically fit to drive.
- You should also submit your psychological assessment report and certificates that ensure your mental fitness for a driving license.
