Vietnamese and foreign drivers can now register for international driving permits. Residents who want to obtain the licence should submit a valid motorbike or car driving licence granted by Vietnam, and an application form along with a fee of 135,000 VND (6 USD) to the department. Foreigners must also include their permanent resident cards.
The IDP will be issued within five working days after the required documents are submitted at No.2 Phung Hung street or No.16 Cao Ba Quat street. The permit, valid for three years, will be issued in Vietnamese, English, French, Russian or Spanish, and allow the holders to drive vehicles in 73 countries that are members of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.
The IDP will be issued within five working days after the required documents are submitted at No.2 Phung Hung street or No.16 Cao Ba Quat street. The permit, valid for three years, will be issued in Vietnamese, English, French, Russian or Spanish, and allow the holders to drive vehicles in 73 countries that are members of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.
The municipal Transport Department’s driving test and licence management office is set to process up to 60 documents per day.
International Driving Permits (IDPs), which allow the holder to drive a private vehicle overseas, will officially be available to Vietnamese nationals and foreigners, according to Deputy Head of the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam (DRVN) Nguyen Van Quyen. The granting will be piloted in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for a month before being conducted nationwide. In accordance with the 1968 Conventions on Road Traffic and on Road Signs and Signals, known as the Vienna Conventions, which went into effect in Vietnam on August 20 this year, IDPs are recognised in the 85 countries that signed the conventions and are valid for 1-3 years from the date of issue.
The IDP contains the holder’s personal particulars and the vehicle classes translated into English, French, Russian and Spanish.
An eligible application for an IDP must be submitted with a valid driver’s licence and passport or permanent residence card alongside a required application form. The application fee is 150,000 (6.67 USD).
The permit will then be issued within five working days. Notably, the IDP is not valid for driving in the country of issuance. Beholders are advised to bring both his/her IDP and national driving licence when travelling in Vietnam and abroad.
The international driving licences will look like passports and will be available in various languages including English, French, Russian and Spanish. This international driving licence will be valid in 73 countries.
The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic is an international treaty designed to facilitate international road traffic and increase road safety by establishing standardised traffic rules amongst the participating parties.
The Convention was ratified at the United Nations Economic and Social Council's Conference on Road Traffic in Vienna in 1968. It came into effect on May 21, 1977. By August 2014, Vietnam had ratified the convention.
