Restoring a driver’s license abroad

Vehicles today are an integral method of transportation for citizens because they allow traveling with passengers, transporting various types of goods, and performing other various tasks.

In Ukraine, driving a vehicle requires a driver’s license that confirms the citizen’s appropriate driving skills. However, in practice, problems often arise when individuals lose their driver’s license or it expires and they are abroad at the time.

The question arises, what to do in such a situation? What is the relevance of consideration of the chosen topic?

Therefore, in this article, we will tell you how to restore a driver’s license abroad.

In what cases should the driver’s license be replaced?

The most frequent cases of replacing a driver’s license are:

• the need to obtain a European-style driver’s license if you intend to live permanently abroad;
• physical damage to the certificate, complete or partial failure to read the information displayed on it;
• in case of a change of surname, first name, patronymic, gender, or any other personal data of a person;
• if the temporary driver’s license has expired. In Ukraine, such a term is set at 2 years from the date of issuance of the driver’s license, and therefore, after its expiration, it is necessary to replace the license with a new one.

In which countries can you exchange a driver’s license for a new one?

Today, you can exchange your driver’s license that you received in Ukraine abroad in the following countries:

• Poland – Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw, Gdansk ;
• Czech Republic – Prague;
• Slovakia – Bratislava;
• Turkey – Istanbul;
• Germany – Berlin, Cologne;
• Spain – Valencia.

In the future, this list of countries should be expanded, since today a significant number of refugees from Ukraine are abroad, and this will contribute to the increase of countries where it is possible to exchange an old ID card for a new one.

Is it possible to restore a driver’s license that has been lost or stolen?

The mechanism for renewing a driver’s license abroad at the moment only provides for the renewal of a driver’s license in the following cases: expiration of its validity period, changes in passport data, damage to the license, or if the owner wishes to obtain a modern license.

This means that you need to have an old copy of your ID, albeit damaged, in order to be able to get a renewed one.

In cases of loss of the license or if it was stolen, it will be possible to restore it only on the territory of Ukraine or in the city of Istanbul in Turkey.

Advice! Do you need to renew your driving license abroad? Contacting lawyers from the “Prykhodko and Partners” law firm will help effectively resolve this situation in practice.

What is the procedure for renewing a driver’s license abroad?

If a person wants to restore the certificate, in this case, he must personally contact the open representative office of the state enterprise “Dokument” located abroad with the following package of documents:

• a statement from a person about the desire to replace his certificate with a new one. It must also indicate the reason for replacing the certificate;
• a passport of a citizen of Ukraine or another document confirming your identity (for example, a foreign passport, etc.);
• RNOCPP;
• old certificate to be exchanged;
• a document confirming the change of personal data (if this is the basis for replacing the certificate).

Employees of the state enterprise “Dokument” receive the above-mentioned package of documents and complete the submitted application. It will be reviewed by the administrator of the service center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is located in the territory of Ukraine and will make the final decision on whether to grant the application.

If the decision is positive, a new document (driver’s license) is printed on a special form abroad, and the old one is withdrawn.

Usually, the application is processed within one day, but this is provided that there is no queue at the service center and there are no other force majeure circumstances (for example, shelling of the premises during an air raid in Ukraine).

The cost of exchanging a certificate is from 100 euros (9.5 euros for the services of SE Dokument + 295 UAH for the exchange of a certificate), but it depends on the country where the exchange will be carried out, so the price may vary. In addition, it will be necessary to contact SE “Dokument” not only for personal submission of documents but also for obtaining a new driver’s license.

Importantly! If the driver’s license was issued in Ukraine before 2013, then for the purpose of additional verification of its validity at the place of issue, a confirmation request will be made to the relevant service centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In practice, this can increase the issuance of a driver’s license by up to 5 days.

Is an electronic driver’s license subject to exchange in “Diya” abroad?

In Ukraine, the electronic driver’s license is valid, as it is regulated by the legal provisions of the legislation. However, they are not regulated by international law abroad.

This means that it is invalid on the territory of other states, and in order to be able to drive a vehicle, a person should contact the state enterprise “Dokument”, where the electronic license will be exchanged for a physical (plastic) one.

In this case, it will be recognized by international laws outside of Ukraine and will give the person the right to drive a vehicle.

How can “Prikhodko and partners” help?

The lawyers of our company can replace the driver’s license in Ukraine with the forwarding of the relevant documents to your specified address. It will only take 20 minutes of your time, to make the payment, and everything will be done for you on a turnkey basis.

f you need to renew your driver’s license abroad, but you do not know where to apply and what documents to submit, then in such a situation, be sure to contact qualified lawyers – the Prikhodko and Partners law firm.

Our team understands such cases because it has many years of experience in solving such issues.

In addition, contacting our company guarantees you success, because we work for results for clients. So don’t delay and come for a consultation!