License centre

Panda7,

Just write this down and give it to any Vietnamese male with a motorbike, "Phong Giao Thong Van Tai".  You should never ask a Vietnamese female for direction because she might be a housewife and knows only the way to the market; and you might not want to ask the guy on a bicycle for direction to the motor vehicle licensing place, he might have never been there himself.

thanks much appreciated

Well I found the license centre (cnr of Han Thuyen and Phan Chu Trinh) and went there several times (to obtain a temporary foreigner drivers permit for my scooter). The first time my Australian license was due to expire within 3 months (no good) so I had to get another one sent out from Australia. Went back with an updated license a month later and he gave me a whole heap of forms to fill out and places I needed to go to (the guy cant speak english btw). You need to get your drivers license translated into Vietnamese at 11 Tran Hung Dao st. This costs 90,000 and takes 24 hours. You then need to go to 51 Le Thanh Ton and get photos taken. Tell them for drivers license with blue background. Cost 40,000.

The final step (and where I failed) is to get the registration of stay form stamped by the police. I went to the police station (Le Thanh Ton St just before the big round about) and they tell me it is the hotel owners or managers responsibility to bring the form in. So I give the form to the hotel manager (of where I'm staying) and ask him if he could please take the form to the police station and get it stamped for me. He sais no problem. He takes the form to them and they tell him he needs to write a letter about my details to accompany the form. He then does this and goes back. They then tell him that he has the wrong form (supplied by the transportation department) and to go back to the transportation department and get the right one.

This is where I gave up as the guy at the transportation department starting yelling at me the last time I went in...the conclusion is it is almost impossible for a foreigner to obtain a temporary drivers permit (in Nha Trang anyway).

The main reason I wanted the permit is so my travel insurance is viable when riding a scooter. Now I can only hope that in time Vietnam becomes a recognised country on the international drivers permit...

panda, previous posts already #10 Nguyễn Thiện Thuật Str. (they almost do nothing else, than sorting papers)
Move your butt to there, to get your papers sorted. You will run in vicious circles, if you do papers on your own, and never have them

ok thanks, I will try that.

panda7 wrote:

Hi, just wondering if anyone knows where the license centre is in Nha Trang. Apparently you can take in your foreign drivers license and they will transfer it to a temporary one depending on the length of your visa...

Thanks

http://alien-consulting.vn/blog/contact-us/

it's about there, glass front, loads of yellow lettering, next to a Vietnamese pizza thingens

ok I see, a fare way down...I will have a look for it, thanks

well I ended up going to #10 Nguyễn Thiện Thuật Str. They were very good and I got my license sorted no problem. It cost $75 and took about 7 business days. It was a foreign license transfer into Vietnamese license. Some on this forum have said that it is only valid for the length of your visa. This is not true. It is valid until my foreign drivers license expiry which is 2017. So if I leave the country and come back it will still be valid.

Hello panda7,

Did you have to go with the hotel manager when you got the stamp at the police station? I am just curious.

panda7 wrote:

Some on this forum have said that it is only valid for the length of your visa. This is not true.

Unfortunately, different places, different experiences - that's VN bureaucracy and bribery at work.

Well first I went to the police station by myself with my Viet friend. They wouldn't stamp it. They said it is the hotel owners responsibility. So I ask the owner / manager. He takes the form down and they tell him he needs to write a letter. He then writes a letter but still they wouldn't stamp it as they say it is the wrong form ! That is where I gave up trying to do it by myself.

If you go to #10 Nguyễn Thiện Thuật St they do it all for you for $75 which saves you a lot of hassle. You will still need to supply the blue background photos, passport and drivers license.

panda7 wrote:

... they do it all for you for $75 which saves you a lot of hassle. ...

Seems more like a racket, and a high priced one at that.

Much simpler in the big cities. Cheaper, too.

It took you a long time to get started, but at least it worked out.

Wild_1 wrote:

Panda7,

Just write this down and give it to any Vietnamese male with a motorbike, "Phong Giao Thong Van Tai".  You should never ask a Vietnamese female for direction because she might be a housewife and knows only the way to the market; and you might not want to ask the guy on a bicycle for direction to the motor vehicle licensing place, he might have never been there himself.

i wonder how u can come on earth without your mother?

peythonvb1, good question. Here's another one. Does your Mom know where the motor vehicle licensing place is?

I am sure, he also knows where it is. The issue in NT ( I assume Panda is NT) is, that a foreigner simply can not register a bike.

You stay outside and they pick, who they do/when. No-one will pick a foreigner.

You want to complain? Please find a one in charge.

That is for those, who knowing it better.

if you check with the place I mentioned in this thread, they can register a bike in your name now...i.e the blue card will have your name on it. doesn't matter if you are a foreigner. Costs about $100 from memory. this applies to new bikes and transfer of ownership.

I'm still not sure what constitutes a street legal scooter/motorbike in terms of registration and written law. The general rule of thumb from what I can gather is if you have the blue card and proof of purchase this keeps the police happy (+ insurance papers + license).

But under Vietnamese law is there a system in place where you physically have to keep your registration up to date or transfer the registration into your name ? once registered in your name do you have to update the registration every few years ? is there any written law regarding regarding this, for example say you buy a bike is there a law that sais you must transfer into your name and what happens after that ?

update the registration? - That is actually only needed, if chnges to the owner happen. Otherwise nothing needed.
Now or in near future, there comes somehow a kind of road tax. It is apparently already active (as law), but here in NT, it is still not possible.

so is it law that you have to update the registration on change of ownership ? most people seem to think it is not and if you have the original blue card from first registration it is ok.

Budman1 wrote:

peythonvb1, good question. Here's another one. Does your Mom know where the motor vehicle licensing place is?

yes she does. and im strongly sure that your mother also know that, but u

Don't-Really-Care-What-The-Name-Was,

I was brought into this world by a fine woman, and raised by an amazing lady.  Therefore, now an adult, I would never want to subject her to such scrutiny.  I wish you would treat your mom the same, especially in this environment.  Do you know what it is???