# UAE driving licence in Portugal?



## SpiggyTopes

Hello Everyone,

We're on target for arrival in Lisbon in July .....

My wife has a full UAE driving licence - how can I find out if this can be converted to a Portuguese one?

Cheers.


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## travelling-man

Probably on the IMTT website but you'll probably need to be a patient soul to find it.


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## dstump

SpiggyTopes said:


> Hello Everyone,
> 
> We're on target for arrival in Lisbon in July .....
> 
> My wife has a full UAE driving licence - how can I find out if this can be converted to a Portuguese one?
> 
> Cheers.


Email the Portuguese Embassy in Abu Dhabi - we have found them very helpful, and quick to respond. We will arrive in Portugal just before you in May, after 10 years in 
Dubai.

Denise


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## dstump

*UAE driving license in Portugal*

Just found the relevant information, which you can find in the following web site, (as per TM’s steer). 

Outras Situações

Make sure you open the link in Google Chrome and get it auto translated.

The crux is that you can exchange your UAE license within 185 days after becoming a resident and you meet the following criteria:

•	You meet the minimum age.
•	You are physically and mentally fit to drive.
•	You live in PT.
•	You are not disqualified from driving.

The process looks quite straight forward and standard for most nationalities of license: 


present your existing license, 
a photo (presumably a passport photo rather than a selfie on the beach), 
a doctor’s and psychologist's examination report, 
a certification that the driving license is authentic – this is where you will need to get the guys in Abu Dhabi Embassy to certify it,
fill out form Model 1 IMT
€ 30


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## SpiggyTopes

Many thanks to all.


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## siobhanwf

My understanding is that driving schools will do the process for you


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## travelling-man

siobhanwf said:


> My understanding is that driving schools will do the process for you


They certainly will in my area and they seem to be able to achieve far more, far quicker than if you try to DIY.

You will need to get a letter from a doctor to say there's nothing medically wrong with you that might prevent you from driving but no need to worry if you don't have a GP, most driving schools will obtain such letter for you at minimal cost.


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## azoreseuropa

dstump said:


> Just found the relevant information, which you can find in the following web site, (as per TM’s steer).
> 
> Outras Situações
> 
> Make sure you open the link in Google Chrome and get it auto translated.
> 
> The crux is that you can exchange your UAE license within 185 days after becoming a resident and you meet the following criteria:
> 
> •	You meet the minimum age.
> •	You are physically and mentally fit to drive.
> •	You live in PT.
> •	You are not disqualified from driving.
> 
> The process looks quite straight forward and standard for most nationalities of license:
> 
> 
> present your existing license,
> a photo (presumably a passport photo rather than a selfie on the beach),
> a doctor’s and psychologist's examination report,
> a certification that the driving license is authentic – this is where you will need to get the guys in Abu Dhabi Embassy to certify it,
> fill out form Model 1 IMT
> € 30


I thought that a doctor is required and psychologist is not needed. I was told to go to a doctor and you do not need psychologist. Correct me if I am wrong.

Oh, to exchange for Portuguese driver license cost you € 30 euro ?


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## dstump

Actually the psychologist's report is needed in the case of the certain categories of license only:


_"Favorable psychological assessment certificate issued by any psychologist in the exercise of their profession , for Group 2 drivers: drivers of vehicles of categories C, CE, D, DE, category C1, C1E, D1 and D1E and drivers categories B and BE exercising driving ambulances, fire vehicles, transport of patients, school transport and light car hire passengers."_


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## SpiggyTopes

Hi All,

I can close this now.

Only UAE citizens are allowed to convert their UAE driving licences to Portuguese ones .... how hard is the driving test?


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## travelling-man

Portuguese bureaucracy is a royal PITA. 

I don't think the test is particularly difficult and I've just been looking into it for someone else. 

It consists of a written test that you have to pass first and then a practical driving test. 

Costs are quite reasonable and I was quoted €400 total cost for the theory training, full set of driving lessons and both exams. 

Oh and best of all, it can all be done in English.


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## robc

travelling-man said:


> I don't think the test is particularly difficult and I've just been looking into it for someone else.


I did not know there was a Portuguese test, round here I think the licences are handed out in cereal packets. 

Rob


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## liksah

SpiggyTopes said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I can close this now.
> 
> Only UAE citizens are allowed to convert their UAE driving licences to Portuguese ones .... how hard is the driving test?


Hi SpiggyTopes, where did you get this info? Working on converting a UAE license here now and the IMT accepted the documents without any hassle.


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## dstump

SpiggyTopes said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I can close this now.
> 
> Only UAE citizens are allowed to convert their UAE driving licences to Portuguese ones .... how hard is the driving test?


SpiggyTopes,

Not sure where you got this info from but it is WRONG, my husband and I have both successfully and painlessly exchanged our UAE licenses last year. BTW, I think my previous link to the IMTT web site comes up with a error message, because the English version of the site is under construction. Here is a working link, in Portuguese, so use Chrome and right click on the site and select 'Translate'.

Outras Situações


I have translated the relevant paragraph from the site to make it easier.


_"The exchange of a foreign license by Portuguese, without requiring any evidence of driving test, but requiring drivers to request the exchange 90 days after obtaining residence in the National Territory , can be requested in the following situations:

Countries with which Portugal has entered into a Bilateral Agreement or maintain reciprocity (Brazil, Switzerland, Morocco, Andorra, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, the *United Arab Emirates* and Angola);
Countries adhering to the International Road Traffic Conventions - Holders of driving licenses issued by foreign countries in accordance with Annex 9 of the Geneva International Convention of 19 September 1949 on Road Traffic or with Annex n (6) of the Vienna International Convention of 8 November 1968 on road traffic;
Driving licenses issued by the Portuguese Administration in Macao or by the Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao SAR).
Note: Holders of the above driving licenses are authorized to drive motor vehicles in Portugal for the first 185 days after entry into the country, provided they are not residents."_


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## liksah

dstump said:


> SpiggyTopes,
> 
> Not sure where you got this info from but it is WRONG, my husband and I have both successfully and painlessly exchanged our UAE licenses last year. BTW, I think my previous link to the IMTT web site comes up with a error message, because the English version of the site is under construction. Here is a working link, in Portuguese, so use Chrome and right click on the site and select 'Translate'.
> 
> Outras Situações
> 
> 
> I have translated the relevant paragraph from the site to make it easier.
> 
> 
> _"The exchange of a foreign license by Portuguese, without requiring any evidence of driving test, but requiring drivers to request the exchange 90 days after obtaining residence in the National Territory , can be requested in the following situations:
> 
> Countries with which Portugal has entered into a Bilateral Agreement or maintain reciprocity (Brazil, Switzerland, Morocco, Andorra, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, the *United Arab Emirates* and Angola);
> Countries adhering to the International Road Traffic Conventions - Holders of driving licenses issued by foreign countries in accordance with Annex 9 of the Geneva International Convention of 19 September 1949 on Road Traffic or with Annex n (6) of the Vienna International Convention of 8 November 1968 on road traffic;
> Driving licenses issued by the Portuguese Administration in Macao or by the Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao SAR).
> Note: Holders of the above driving licenses are authorized to drive motor vehicles in Portugal for the first 185 days after entry into the country, provided they are not residents."_


Thanks for the helpful information @dstump

Could you please tell me how long the exchange took for you? I applied two months ago and just renewed my provisional license because they say they haven't received any response from Dubai yet. Also were you're licenses from Dubai or another emirate?


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## azoreseuropa

In America, if you exchange here.. You just need eyes test at DMV (Department of Motor vehicles) and thats it. 

Younger or older.. doesn't matter. No doctors visited at all. Just eyes test requirement.

In Europe, you have to have blood pressure, eyes test and physical check ?? Really ? Seriously ?


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## dstump

Liksah, our UAE licenses were issued in DBX and the process took three and half months for the PT licenses to arrive, to be precise we submitted the paperwork at the IMTT in Leiria 24 September and the licenses were delivered 11 January. We did have to get the temp paper license stamped once in between. I don't know if the processing time varies by region, we are in the Leiria region. Plus I'm not sure if the fact that we had our licenses certified by the PT Embassy in Abu Dhabi before we left had anything to do with processing time.


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## liksah

Thanks a lot for that info @dstump. I got worried when I read this thread (about only UAE nationals being able to do this..) but this is reassuring. Fingers crossed I will get my PT license soon. I'll post an update here once that happens so that the approximate timeline for Lisbon is also known. I didn't get my license attested by the PT embassy in Abu Dhabi but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE did put a stamp on it and this was enough for the IMT so I think it should be okay.


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## inconnu

SpiggyTopes said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I can close this now.
> 
> Only UAE citizens are allowed to convert their UAE driving licences to Portuguese ones .... how hard is the driving test?


*
A word to the wise.

Approach a driving school re an exchange; it might just go straight through.*


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## dstump

FYI, when we went to all of the driving schools in Caldas da Rainha (18 months ago) they had the same reply, they do not provide the service anymore, because the IMTT want to see the individual in person. They said they used to provide the service, but the ministry had stopped it. However, this is PT and it may well be different in other regions.


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## liksah

dstump said:


> FYI, when we went to all of the driving schools in Caldas da Rainha (18 months ago) they had the same reply, they do not provide the service anymore, because the IMTT want to see the individual in person. They said they used to provide the service, but the ministry had stopped it. However, this is PT and it may well be different in other regions.




Had the same experience in Lisbon. The driving schools said that they could handle it but the person would still need to go with their liaison guy to the IMT and then the IMT would just do the regular process. So basically it'd be more like a translator/concierge service than anything else.


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## liksah

Just an update. Got the license on Thursday (13th July) so all in it didn't take a lot longer than 2 months (had applied around 4th May). It came by registered post so the postman rang the bell and took a signature. Dubai license successfully exchanged with a license certificate from the RTA and a stamp from the ministry of foreign affairs in the UAE on it.


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## dstump

So pleased it went well.


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## martinmc

dstump said:


> Just found the relevant information, which you can find in the following web site, (as per TM’s steer).
> 
> Make sure you open the link in Google Chrome and get it auto translated.
> 
> The crux is that you can exchange your UAE license within 185 days after becoming a resident and you meet the following criteria:
> 
> •	You meet the minimum age.
> •	You are physically and mentally fit to drive.
> •	You live in PT.
> •	You are not disqualified from driving.
> 
> The process looks quite straight forward and standard for most nationalities of license:
> 
> 
> present your existing license,
> a photo (presumably a passport photo rather than a selfie on the beach),
> a doctor’s and psychologist's examination report,
> *a certification that the driving license is authentic – this is where you will need to get the guys in Abu Dhabi Embassy to certify it,*
> fill out form Model 1 IMT
> € 30


HI all we are in a similar situation here and would like some advice if you can help. We have moved to ALgarve now and got our residency my wife (brazillian) has a U.A.E. Automatic driving licence that we want to change over so she can drive here. Can you tell me what embassy or who we would need to contact in U.A.E to get the certification that the licence is authentic please?

Thank you so much in advance


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## liksah

martinmc said:


> HI all we are in a similar situation here and would like some advice if you can help. We have moved to ALgarve now and got our residency my wife (brazillian) has a U.A.E. Automatic driving licence that we want to change over so she can drive here. Can you tell me what embassy or who we would need to contact in U.A.E to get the certification that the licence is authentic please?
> 
> Thank you so much in advance


You need a driver's license history certificate - this can be printed from the RTA website. You need to register at the site (the registration part is free).

Now, the complicated part is that they want to see *some* stamp on it. So someone needs to get this stamped by the Dubai RTA. I got a stamp on it from the RTA + Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE. I believe the 2nd stamp was unnecessary because the authorities in PT did not care about it. (also the foreign affairs stamp cost AED 150 ~ USD 40) They just wanted to see some kind of stamp on it.


You didn't say if the license is from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or another emirate though..


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## martinmc

liksah said:


> You need a driver's license history certificate - this can be printed from the RTA website. You need to register at the site (the registration part is free).
> 
> Now, the complicated part is that they want to see *some* stamp on it. So someone needs to get this stamped by the Dubai RTA. I got a stamp on it from the RTA + Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE. I believe the 2nd stamp was unnecessary because the authorities in PT did not care about it. (also the foreign affairs stamp cost AED 150 ~ USD 40) They just wanted to see some kind of stamp on it.
> 
> 
> You didn't say if the license is from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or another emirate though..


Hi Liksah thank you so much for the reply. So I assume its possible to set up the RTA website registration for the first time here in Portugal?

Then we need to get a friend to print this list, take it to RTA the


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## martinmc

martinmc said:


> Hi Liksah thank you so much for the reply. So I assume its possible to set up the RTA website registration for the first time here in Portugal?
> 
> Then we need to get a friend to print this list, take it to RTA the


... then get them to post it here to us?


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## liksah

Yes, you can register from Portugal. You need the driver's license file number though. The newer licenses have them printed on the license. If you have an old license, there is an RTA number you can call and they can give it to you over the phone so you'll need to do that additional step.

Then, once you have the document (it's a PDF anyway), ask your friend to print it, get it stamped at the RTA and mail it to you. That should be good enough. Beware that the document comes with an expiry date of 2 months so you'll need to submit it to the IMTT in Portugal within that timeframe after generating it.

By the way, this whole process is for Dubai so I hope that's where the license is from. The other emirates have different procedures.


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## thaddeus.fernandes

dstump said:


> Just found the relevant information, which you can find in the following web site, (as per TM’s steer).
> 
> Outras Situações
> 
> Make sure you open the link in Google Chrome and get it auto translated.
> 
> The crux is that you can exchange your UAE license within 185 days after becoming a resident and you meet the following criteria:
> 
> •	You meet the minimum age.
> •	You are physically and mentally fit to drive.
> •	You live in PT.
> •	You are not disqualified from driving.
> 
> The process looks quite straight forward and standard for most nationalities of license:
> 
> 
> present your existing license,
> a photo (presumably a passport photo rather than a selfie on the beach),
> a doctor’s and psychologist's examination report,
> a certification that the driving license is authentic – this is where you will need to get the guys in Abu Dhabi Embassy to certify it,
> fill out form Model 1 IMT
> € 30


HI i'm in germany - portuguse by nationality - i have a dubai driving license.

I want to convert it to portuguese.

can i do it from germany itself.


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## dstump

Sorry I don't know - we did ours in Portugal.


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## Shumayal

Can you please advise what is the RTA stamp called? My license was issued in Abu Dhabi and I have already arrived in Portugal.
Can the embassy in Abu Dhabi do it over the email?

I am lost. 
Also do they keep the original license in Portugal or you can get it back?


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