Obtaining A Driving License In Finland

[rinso]

Your former lessons might give you experience but they will not give you reduction from the demands. I.i.r.c you need at least a fixed number of lessons before you are allowed to do the test. I don't think you'll get reduction from that number because you say you have had lessons before. On top of that you have to follow a course for riding in icy conditions.
I think the package you're looking at cost at least €2500,-.

[Flossy1978]

And you drive on the other side of there. As well as having some different rules and often different road conditions. For a new driver, it's best you start from scratch in Finland and take advantage of the good driving skills you'd learn

[HarrietBeaumont]

Go back to England and get it there, it will be a WHOLE lot cheaper. Seriously some of the replies you would think these people are made of money -_- Well maybe you are, I don't know but a British liscense is valid in Finland and very cheap and I have been using it here for years

[dsenator1]

Go back to England and get it there, it will be a WHOLE lot cheaper. Seriously some of the replies you would think these people are made of money -_- Well maybe you are, I don't know but a British liscense is valid in Finland and very cheap and I have been using it here for years

best reply u'd get. spend some time in England and just get it done there. You will be saving a lot in Euros. A full British license is as good as a Finnish license thanks to the EU-wide drivers license harmonization. I once had a Full foreign license outside the EU but was not accepted in Finland. But the police were kind enough to allow me write the theory test and the practical test, though I opted for few driving practices on my own just to be sure of what I needed to do during the actual driving test. All-in-all, I spend close to 500 euros to get a new Finnish driver's license. In your own case, I doubt if this will be possible as you do not have a full license yet.

[Rip]

And by law if you are a resident here you were supposed to change it to a Finnish one within two years of becoming a resident here. If you've been here longer than two years you are currently driving illegally.

Which is still cheaper than getting it over here from scratch yes, but I suggest you do it before you get pulled over one day and they realise you're a Finnish resident still driving around on a UK license.

https://www.poliisi.fi/driving_licence/ ... g_licences

Reread your link. One may changed an EU license to Finnish one. There is no obligation to do so.

[irnbru]

I did my licence in the UK. Got it revoked under the new driver law then did it again in Finland. In Finland it cost me about 1800€ had to attend lectures, take a theory test, have lessons, go to the slippery track (twice) and take a practical test.

[riku2]

And you drive on the other side of there. As well as having some different rules and often different road conditions. For a new driver, it's best you start from scratch in Finland and take advantage of the good driving skills you'd learn

I would go back to england and take the test there. You learn how to drive on roads with a reasonable amount of traffic, how to use a roundabout, how to drive with consideration to other drivers, how to drive around bends and stay on your side of the road. All these things seem missing in Finland (based on what I see from drivers on the road here). The main thing you will not learn in England is how to handle junctions where the priority is not marked (the junction becomes somewhat of a free for all), the same for roads without lane markings where some drivers decide there are two lanes in the same direction and some will decide there is only one lane. These skills are not taught in england since some spoil sport puts up signs and lane markings and everybody ends up driving the same way (and to no surprise have fewer accidents than in Finland).

this document lists the main differences http://www.expat-finland.com/pdf/driving_in_finland.pd
I think it's a little out of date with regards to bicycles using pedestrian crossings since there are actually two different kinds of crossing. In typical finnish road planning, the two kinds had the same signs and markings and only by 2017 will all markings be changed over to differentiate the two.

[Rip]

"A foreign driving licence as referred to above shall be valid in Finland for two years from when its holder takes up permanent residence in Finland"

So explain to me how it's not obligatory, if Finland only considers it valid for two years?

"As referred to above" refers to that chapter ((non EU) Geneva/Wienna convention countries, not the previous one about EU (EEA) countries.

I guess it could have been written clearer, though I think it still pretty OK (especially if you read the pages about changing various licenses). You may of course consult the actual law, if you wish:
https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/ ... 0386#L6P59

[Rosamunda]

And anyway the English translations are not "legal". They serve only to give an indication of the Finnish laws.

[Rosamunda]

UK licence expires on your 70th birthday. A French licence is valid to infinity and beyond; no expiry date on the old ones (at least mine didn't have one).

In 2006 the EU decided to introduce a European Driving Licence and they were introduced in 2013 and are valid for 15 years. However, EU countries have until 2033 to roll out European licences.

[HarrietBeaumont]

So... the law says that, you are correct Rip, thank you. EU/EEA don't have to change theirs over to Finnish licences. However, when those licenses expire, since they are no longer living in that country, that is the point they technically should be changing to Finnish licences.

I suppose anyone travelling back to the UK to renew for example is lying to the UK government about their home address, for a start. Don't know how that would go down in the case of a serious traffic infringement where the licence has clearly been obtained in the UK while they were permanent residents in Finland.

Just curious, how long are they valid for there? Is it a 50 year thing like some of the old Finnish ones?

Not a chance I am changing mine And yeh its perfectly legal, checked with the DVLA and since the address is my family home where my retired parents live and probably will for the rest of their lives there is nothing illegal about having that address