Drivers licence

[Cloudberry]

I've just been looking at the http://www.poliisi.fi/poliisi/home.nsf/ ... endocument page regarding the exchanging of a foreign drivers licence. I'm wondering if you have to have lived here for 6mths before you are eligible to do the exchange? It's not entirely clear by the wording.

[Upphew]

Wording in Finnish seems to indicate that it is "living permanently" or "studied at least 6 months". Not 100% clear in original language either...

[Rip]

I think the wording is pretty clear (I assume based on the little flags you're using we are talking about exchanging a non-EU driving licence:

a document stating that the applicant has been driving a car in Finland for at least six months

http://www.poliisi.fi/poliisi/home.nsf/ ... endocument

At least a year ago they had a form at Helsinki Police station - to be signed by two other persons confirming that the applicant had been using car in Finland for a six month period.

In case you're wondering if a previous staying as a tourist in this country would be accepted - No, I really don't think so. On personal experience, it took some effort to convince the police even that for a family member of a Finnish citizen applying for a residence permit in Finland, the six months time starts on the day when the applicant moved in to Finland, and not the (significantly later) date when the residence permit was finally issued.

[Jazqas]

But the good news is that you can use an Australian license for 12 months, so really you get six months to change it over. Well worth it too, as you don't have to renew it every 10 years

Jazqas.

[Keplerinvaimo]

But the good news is that you can use an Australian license for 12 months, so really you get six months to change it over. Well worth it too, as you don't have to renew it every 10 years

Jazqas.

Small drag that you have to go to Punavuori and not your local police station ... Nice not to have to worry about that for the next... 30 years in my case

Cheers
Heather

[Pursuivant]

Punavuori? I renewed my ID at the library chrissakes.

[Keplerinvaimo]

Punavuori? I renewed my ID at the library chrissakes.

I don't about that, however I do know that if you want to swap foreign DL for Finnish DL, you go to Punavuori. I tried to do it at Itäkeskus, no go...

So at Punavuori there must be a big box out the back full of foreign licences! Would be interesting to know how many people actually swap them back. My old one (that I swapped) has expired already. Why would I want to get it back?!

Food for thought.