# Local Driving License procedure ?



## Rova

With regards to obtaining a local driving license in Cairo :

(a) Can anybody please advise on the procedure ? Where to go / apply ? How much time it takes ? 

(b) Can a tourist visa holder get a local driving license ?

Many thanks !

P.s. Kindly consider a novice case here ( i.e. no brother-in-law relative of the minister, etc )


----------



## Sam

Rova said:


> With regards to obtaining a local driving license in Cairo :
> 
> (a) Can anybody please advise on the procedure ? Where to go / apply ? How much time it takes ?
> 
> (b) Can a tourist visa holder get a local driving license ?
> 
> Many thanks !
> 
> P.s. Kindly consider a novice case here ( i.e. no brother-in-law relative of the minister, etc )


Hi,

I have recently got the driving license from Sharm/El Tor. I am sorry I am not sure about the rules in Cairo, also I am not sure about the whole tourist visa thing as I have a residence visa. But I can tell you what I had to do here in Sharm and the same info can probably be transferred to Cairo:

1. Go to tourist police with a copy of my passport, copy of my visa, copy of my UK license and contract from my apartment (can be a rental contract if you are renting but need proof of residential address here). Filled out a form and got signed off by police chief (or someone important). This for me took about 2 months as I was always being told "come back after one hour, come back tomorrow, etc etc"... you know the way they do here.

2. Go to traffic police to get something else signed.

3. Go to the hospital to pass their medical checks (you need 2 photos here to attach the the forms they give you, then various signatures and stamps from around the hospital - and it has to be the government hospital, not a private one).

4. Go to the security police. Not really sure what they do, but need to take all the paperwork again and something gets signed?! This also took a few weeks and a lot of waiting around and wasted time

5. (Finally) Go to the traffic police (for me in El Tor, a different station to previously) where they do the tests. Then had to have another BIG bunch of signatures and stamps from several different officers (each one seems to point you in the direction of who has to sign next) then finally onto the test!

6. The Theory Test - 20 multiple choice questions on the computer, about road signs and driving situations. I'd love to tell you more about it but the whole thing was in Arabic language and I didn't have a translator and the head of police didn't speak English - needless to say I got 100% :tongue1: (enough said, lol)

7. The Practical Test - Get your car (not sure if they provide one if you don't have one, but better to take your own or a friend's). There are 6 cones laid out in the car park, drive through the cones forwards, then reverse the same path without hitting a cone. PASS 

8. The two tests were done in the same day, but after all the waiting around all day by the time the tests were done (about 12 people were there the same time as me testing) they had closed the centre to finish the license so had to go back the next day. Then just you go back, get a bunch more signatures and stamps, they take your photo and then you take your license. 

All in all the process took me about 3 months with a lot of waiting around, as can be expected when you don't have relatives in high power as you said.

Good luck with it all, and just remember to be patient :clap2:


----------



## MaidenScotland

LOL LOVE IT

Go to the security police. Not really sure what they do, but need to take all the paperwork again and something gets signed?! This also took a few weeks and a lot of waiting around and wasted time


----------



## Rova

Many Thanks Sam. Patience ? Noted Sir ! Yes Sir !:amen:

But I guess MaidenScotland pointed out the hidden lesson here : the touch of humour which is absolutely necessary to survive the idiosyncrasies of the whole system. You just made it all sound almost like ... entertainment !:dance:
( Who want to go skying in the alps ? No !!! Let's go instead for a local driving license test in Egypt ! It's so much more fun !!! :clap2: )

But seriously : Many thanks for such a thorough response :thumb:, and the deeply appreciated encouragement !


----------



## Sam

Rova said:


> Many Thanks Sam. Patience ? Noted Sir ! Yes Sir !:amen:
> 
> But I guess MaidenScotland pointed out the hidden lesson here : the touch of humour which is absolutely necessary to survive the idiosyncrasies of the whole system. You just made it all sound almost like ... entertainment !:dance:
> ( Who want to go skying in the alps ? No !!! Let's go instead for a local driving license test in Egypt ! It's so much more fun !!! :clap2: )
> 
> But seriously : Many thanks for such a thorough response :thumb:, and the deeply appreciated encouragement !


You're welcome 

Unfortunately you have to have a sense of humour with everything here, you'll go mad if you don't!

I always think if you don't just smile and laugh about it all you'll end up crying, so smile it is


----------

