# Convert Zim licence to SA licence under PR?



## ZimGirl (Aug 5, 2015)

Hi all,

I recently got PR and SA ID document, and I am now looking to get an SA drivers licence. I have a Zimbabwean drivers licence, and would like to go the conversion route.

I understand that I need a letter from the Zimbabwean embassy stating that my drivers licence is valid, and the class of vehicle for which it is valid.

Unfortunately, when I phoned the embassy, the told me the only way to get such a letter is to go to the Central registry office in Harare. Is this really the case? :confused2:

Are there any Zimbabweans that have experience with drivers licence conversion that can offer some advice?

Obviously, the alternative is to apply for SA learners and drivers licence from scratch, but I'm loath to go through those tests again, especially given the long waiting times for test dates.


----------



## Time Running Out (Oct 21, 2014)

Hi

My wife has just gone through this. You need to get a letter from CVR . My sister in-law went to CVR for her and got the letter. ( just send her a copy of your Zim drivers License). You will have to pay $5 for this. You then take this letter to the embassy and the embassy issues you with another letter ( she does not recall how much she paid here but its in Rands). You will have to take the two letters, proof of Residence(bill or lease agreement), Your PR Certificate, Your ID if you have one and your Zim drivers license. You take that to your local Testing Centre and they will give you a date to come. We live In Fourways so we went to Randburg and they only handle conversions on Monday's and Tuesday's. My wife waited 2 months for a test(they call it assesment). You have to understand the K53 handbook and go for driving lessons or else you will fail. You have to do the whole test from 3 point turns parallel parking, alley docking and hill start etc. I hope this helps. If you have any questions drop me a line and I will ask her for more info or she can respond to you. 


regards


----------



## ZimGirl (Aug 5, 2015)

Time Running Out said:


> Hi
> 
> My wife has just gone through this. You need to get a letter from CVR . My sister in-law went to CVR for her and got the letter. ( just send her a copy of your Zim drivers License). You will have to pay $5 for this. You then take this letter to the embassy and the embassy issues you with another letter ( she does not recall how much she paid here but its in Rands). You will have to take the two letters, proof of Residence(bill or lease agreement), Your PR Certificate, Your ID if you have one and your Zim drivers license. You take that to your local Testing Centre and they will give you a date to come. We live In Fourways so we went to Randburg and they only handle conversions on Monday's and Tuesday's. My wife waited 2 months for a test(they call it assesment). You have to understand the K53 handbook and go for driving lessons or else you will fail. You have to do the whole test from 3 point turns parallel parking, alley docking and hill start etc. I hope this helps. If you have any questions drop me a line and I will ask her for more info or she can respond to you.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much for this information! 

It seems rather silly that one can fail to achieve a licence conversion - especially when one is permitted to drive with that same foreign licence prior to receiving PR. I wonder when they started assessments for conversion. The onerous requirements in this country never cease to amaze me hwell:


----------



## joe117 (Sep 10, 2012)

Exactly my thoughts as well..why bother to go and do a road test which you may well fail if they allow you to use an International licence in the first place.
I will just keep on using my International drivers licence then.


----------



## Time Running Out (Oct 21, 2014)

It silly. I use my international permit and will not go for assessment. In Portugal we just had to do a switch, no mess no fussy.


----------



## HighlyFavoured (Apr 20, 2015)

So this is just as good as getting a new licence really. Just curious, so which date will be on your licence when you pass the conversion? Is it same day when i pass the conversion. I am thinking in terms of insurance.


----------



## Time Running Out (Oct 21, 2014)

My wife says its from the day you went to the test but it says issued in ZW. i am not sure if this posses a problem with the Insurance.


----------



## MNZ (Feb 20, 2017)

Hey Guys

I am also trying to convert my Zim license in Johannesburg and have been told to go through K53. They advised that i go to a driving school to be taught the basics. So my question is on the day of the Test does the Licensing Department provide you a car that you are gonna be tested on or you need to arrange your own with your driving school?


----------



## IamT (Aug 4, 2014)

Time Running Out said:


> It silly. I use my international permit and will not go for assessment. In Portugal we just had to do a switch, no mess no fussy.


It is not as simple as that. 

As far as I know, once you get your PR, SA law requires you to convert any foreign driver's licence you have to an SA one and you have 12 months to do this conversion. Failure to convert any sort of non SA drivers licence in your possession before 12 months will result in that licence being invalid irrespective of its expiry date. 

Now, if that licence now becomes invalid after 12 months, if you get involved in a vehicle accident while driving with that invalid licence, you will be treated as someone who got involved in a vehicle accident without a valid driver's licence-consequences of which you can deduce. Your car insurance will also automatically decline any claim you file using an invalid driver's licence.

Regards,


----------



## IamT (Aug 4, 2014)

MNZ said:


> Hey Guys
> 
> I am also trying to convert my Zim license in Johannesburg and have been told to go through K53. They advised that i go to a driving school to be taught the basics. So my question is on the day of the Test does the Licensing Department provide you a car that you are gonna be tested on or you need to arrange your own with your driving school?


I did my conversion in Durban (I got my PR in KZN) and they NEVER adsked me to do drivers tests. The only tests I did was eye tests. Not too sure if its a KZN thing only or if they made an error on my conversion.


----------



## Bondnote (Dec 10, 2016)

MNZ said:


> Hey Guys
> 
> I am also trying to convert my Zim license in Johannesburg and have been told to go through K53. They advised that i go to a driving school to be taught the basics. So my question is on the day of the Test does the Licensing Department provide you a car that you are gonna be tested on or you need to arrange your own with your driving school?


Have you had your Permanent Residence for more than 12 months? I thought within 12 months you can convert your foreign licence without having to go for testing.


----------



## jingleson (May 26, 2016)

Have to convert with 12 months of getting SA ID.
DL must have been obtained before getting PR.
Letter from Consulate has to be dated less than 3 months.
Will have to do the whole test got 4 chances on separate dates. Watch out for rolling back (automatic fail).
If you own car and use Traffic Register. One has to merge records under Traffic register and ID number so that only ID is used.
And they take your foreign DL when you successfully convert, YES they do.


----------



## teegombaz (Jul 19, 2017)

IamT said:


> I did my conversion in Durban (I got my PR in KZN) and they NEVER adsked me to do drivers tests. The only tests I did was eye tests. Not too sure if its a KZN thing only or if they made an error on my conversion.


Wow IamT! That sounds too good to be true...so when exactly did you get your PR and then started the conversion process? Which testing station in KZN?

I too have a PR from 2014 but I was only able to collect it in 2016 as the permit/visa process was being handed over to VFS hence the delays. So as you can imagine I'm rather late to convert in the 1st 12 months of getting the PR as the law requires.

Now after reading various threads/posts I lost all hope that any conversion is possible, there's much talk about fake drivers' licenses from foreign countries and therefore the conversion process had been canned for good.


----------



## teegombaz (Jul 19, 2017)

jingleson said:


> Have to convert with 12 months of getting SA ID.
> DL must have been obtained before getting PR.
> Letter from Consulate has to be dated less than 3 months.
> Will have to do the whole test got 4 chances on separate dates. Watch out for rolling back (automatic fail).
> ...


Jingleson, so to confirm it's within 12 months of getting your ID not PR?

So what letter exactly do you need from the consulate, how long does this take and costs?

After getting the letter does one just walk into any testing station and insist they convert the license, what are the costs and time frames?

Can you use an automatic vehicle that's what I have?


----------



## jingleson (May 26, 2016)

teegombaz said:


> Jingleson, so to confirm it's within 12 months of getting your ID not PR?
> 
> So what letter exactly do you need from the consulate, how long does this take and costs?
> 
> ...



Yes ID not PR; ID Number is required to register you on the systems.
Letter from consulate is to Authenticate the letter from CVR which they no longer take, because its has been forged numerous times. (You will find that most papers from Zim e.g Police clearances are now being authenticated at the Consulate because of forgery). The letter takes about 10 working days and cost R250.00.
Some testing centres will refer you elsewhere, have to take your chances. Test centre will make sure you got all the requirements and give you date for assessment.
Yes you can use AUTO, Dl will have restriction; you can t drive Manual car with it.


----------



## papermania (Feb 3, 2017)

As per the new Law the time limit is stretched to 5 Years. You can now convert your drivers within 5 years as opposed to earlier 12 months. 

If anyone has doubt please visit any Traffic Department in western cape.


----------



## teegombaz (Jul 19, 2017)

papermania said:


> As per the new Law the time limit is stretched to 5 Years. You can now convert your drivers within 5 years as opposed to earlier 12 months.
> 
> If anyone has doubt please visit any Traffic Department in western cape.


@Papermania

That's fantastic news!

Do you mind sharing your source of the new regulations, I can't find any link or government gazette.

I would like to print a hard copy for when I'm ready to do the conversion, to take it together with the rest of the required documents.


----------



## papermania (Feb 3, 2017)

teegombaz said:


> @Papermania
> 
> That's fantastic news!
> 
> ...



Are you in Cape Town? If yes go to Gallows Hills testing center. At the inquiry counter the lady herself will give you the printed one page document of above. ( She was apparently proud of having new rules implemented by western cape traffic department).


----------



## teegombaz (Jul 19, 2017)

jingleson said:


> Yes ID not PR; ID Number is required to register you on the systems.
> Letter from consulate is to Authenticate the letter from CVR which they no longer take, because its has been forged numerous times. (You will find that most papers from Zim e.g Police clearances are now being authenticated at the Consulate because of forgery). The letter takes about 10 working days and cost R250.00.
> Some testing centres will refer you elsewhere, have to take your chances. Test centre will make sure you got all the requirements and give you date for assessment.
> Yes you can use AUTO, Dl will have restriction; you can t drive Manual car with it.


@Papermania

Thanks for the feedback - much appreciated!

So to confirm you pay R250 then the consulate will check the authenticity/validity of the drivers license with CVR then issue you with a confirmation letter after 10 days?

I read somewhere that foreign drivers licenses generally require a written translation from your consulate/embassy to confirm the class of vehicle you are authorized to drive based on the weight of the vehicle e.g. +3500kgs


----------



## papermania (Feb 3, 2017)

teegombaz said:


> @Papermania
> 
> Thanks for the feedback - much appreciated!
> 
> ...


Please read what I wrote carefully, Dont want to repeat myself.


----------



## papermania (Feb 3, 2017)

papermania said:


> Please read what I wrote carefully, Dont want to repeat myself.


( iN DRIVERS LICENCE CONVERSION THREAD)


----------



## IamT (Aug 4, 2014)

teegombaz said:


> Wow IamT! That sounds too good to be true...so when exactly did you get your PR and then started the conversion process? Which testing station in KZN?
> 
> I too have a PR from 2014 but I was only able to collect it in 2016 as the permit/visa process was being handed over to VFS hence the delays. So as you can imagine I'm rather late to convert in the 1st 12 months of getting the PR as the law requires.
> 
> Now after reading various threads/posts I lost all hope that any conversion is possible, there's much talk about fake drivers' licenses from foreign countries and therefore the conversion process had been canned for good.


Sorry, been offline for tooooo long. I got my PR In 2016 April, got my SA ID in June 2016 and got my SA Licence in Sept 2016. I went to Rossbrough Testing Centre in Durban and from application to receiving the SA Drivers licence took me 1.5 mnths


----------



## ravi0917 (May 22, 2015)

*Drivers Licence in Durban*

Hi Guys,
If you need to get the licence contact KD driving school. They got good contacts inside the driving licence test centre. You will receive the Learners, booking and SA licence in a month. He will make sure everything works in favour to you during the process and pass the Test. Complete process takes about a month.
contact: KD driving school
Danny - 0845520071 

Best wishes


----------

