# Australian driving license in Spain



## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

How to rent a car in Spain with an Australian driving license when i am already in the country and don't have an international license??

And is there generally a problem with police/law for driving a car with a non Européen license?

Thanks for help


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Gipsy said:


> How to rent a car in Spain with an Australian driving license when i am already in the country and don't have an international license??
> 
> And is there generally a problem with police/law for driving a car with a non Européen license?
> 
> Thanks for help


As a tourist, you can drive with an Oz licence for 90 days ( I think that coincides with the max duration of the tourist visa?)

As a resident, you can use your Oz licence for 6 months after arrival.

For both of these cases you need the "international permit" issued by the same state that issued your licence. I would imagine that you can request that from Spain? Or do you have to go in person?

After the 6 mth period you have to get a Spanish licence.

And yes, driving without a valid licence is a criminal offence in Spain and it is enforced. It will also invalidate insurance cover.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

I know someone who had to call for a family member to pick him up from the motorway. He was on holiday here, visiting his parents who are resident.

He had somehow managed to hire a car here with his Australian licence but no International permit. He was stopped by the police for speeding. They confiscated the car & took him to a service station to wait to be collected. Somewhere the other side of Barcelona, so a good 5 hour drive away. 

And he was fined - quite a lot iirc. Not just for speeding, but also for driving without a valid licence & no insurance.


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## Juan C (Sep 4, 2017)

post No, 3 is confirmed here 

: Driving in Spain

This is an extract:- 

_Driving in Spain as a tourist 

Under Spanish law, Australians on a 90 day ‘Schengen Visa’ may drive a vehicle in Spain if they hold a valid Australian State or Territory Driving Licence and a valid International Driver's Licence. 

Note: In Spain, as of 01 May 2008, driving without a licence is a *criminal offence*, and punishable with imprisonment. Furthermore, driving without a licence could render your vehicle insurance, including compulsory third party insurance, null and void._


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## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

Overandout said:


> As a tourist, you can drive with an Oz licence for 90 days ( I think that coincides with the max duration of the tourist visa?)
> 
> As a resident, you can use your Oz licence for 6 months after arrival.
> 
> ...


Thanks Overandout...
so no way around the international license... mm


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## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

xabiachica said:


> I know someone who had to call for a family member to pick him up from the motorway. He was on holiday here, visiting his parents who are resident.
> 
> He had somehow managed to hire a car here with his Australian licence but no International permit. He was stopped by the police for speeding. They confiscated the car & took him to a service station to wait to be collected. Somewhere the other side of Barcelona, so a good 5 hour drive away.
> 
> And he was fined - quite a lot iirc. Not just for speeding, but also for driving without a valid licence & no insurance.


Thanks Xabiachica...
again.. no joking with international license


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## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

Juan C said:


> post No, 3 is confirmed here
> 
> : Driving in Spain
> 
> ...


Thanks Juan


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## Gipsy (Nov 20, 2017)

The good news is I was able to find a direct link to AAA international in Victoria, they are able to send me an international license from Australia to Spain.


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## angkag (Oct 29, 2013)

Oh well....could be worse.

I was in Costa Rica when it was allied to Taiwan and trying to drive on a Hong Kong licence. The Hong Kong licence is in both Chinese and English.

CR: 'It needs to be translated from Chinese to Spanish'
Me: 'but its in English too, you don't need US and Canadian ones translated from English, why this one ?'
CR: 'its not a US or Canadian one'
Me: 'ok, can I get the English translated to Spanish then?'
CR: 'no, you have to get the Chinese translated to Spanish at the Chinese Embassy'
Me: 'you don't have a Chinese embassy here as you have relations with Taiwan'
CR: 'there's one in New York'

I'm assuming the Chinese Embassy would have had no problem translating the complex script as used in HK which differs from the simplified script used elsewhere in China, but didn't bother......


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