Changing driving licence

    I'm having a terrible time trying to change my driving licence.  I just get sent round in circles. Please can someone HELP ?        -@quickmessage

Have a read this post > https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1015822

@quickmessage  The IMT who issue change of driving licences are run by inept, incompetent fools. It is known to be the slowest inefficient change service in the E.U..  I tried to change mine but they lost the application four times then gave me the run-a-round also. I contacted the E.U. in Brussels and was told that the E.U. set a limit of 6 weeks maximum for change of licence but even thugh all other member states comply with this, Portugal did not comply with the directive. I had letters sent from the E.U. to IMT and the E.U. were flabbergasted by the stupidity of IMT. The average time to have the licence changed is about two years. It took them 2 and a half years to process mine and then they left one catagory off and spelt my name wrong. I spoke to my solicitor about it and he advised me not to go back to get it changed as it could take another two years. He said if it is wrong just to keep the original application with the correct catagories and correct spelling with the licence and if stopped by the police show all to the police, explaining that IMT are fools.

Yes, it is such a worry. I went all the way to IMT in Faro. It was heaving and I waited over an hour, I get to the desk and the surly woman did not like the fact I could not speak Portuguese. She looked at me and told me to do it online!   I have tried to, many times and thought I had done it but I have heard nothing, so have been trying again but for some reason cannot download my information. Maybe its me being a a dizzy old lady that does not understand much about computers!  I am losing the will to live as my UK licence runs out next month. I am told there is a guy in Tavira that can do it, but charges a 150 euros. That seems a rip off?  However I think I will be forced to use his service.

    Yes, it is such a worry. I went all the way to IMT in Faro. It was heaving and I waited over an hour, I get to the desk and the surly woman did not like the fact I could not speak Portuguese. She looked at me and told me to do it online!   I have tried to, many times and thought I had done it but I have heard nothing, so have been trying again but for some reason cannot download my information. Maybe its me being a a dizzy old lady that does not understand much about computers!  I am losing the will to live as my UK licence runs out next month. I am told there is a guy in Tavira that can do it, but charges a 150 euros. That seems a rip off?  However I think I will be forced to use his service.
   

    -@quickmessage

Do you know anyone who speaks Portuguese to help you?

If i am not mistaken there was an article in the portugal news saying that you no longer had to exchange your driving license, we only ever registered ours at the IMT in faro in 2018 & have never had a problem with the authorities when having to show our drivers licence.

i agree the staff at the IMT faro are horrible rude very unhelpful & a 20 minute slot cost a full day waiting in faro.

we got stopped today by the police doing random checks on vehicles we showed our licences which have been renewed in the uk since we have been here no problems.

You can drive with a foreign licence in Portugal:

1. If your driving licence was issued by a country that is a member of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) or the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries).

Some countries that are part of this regime are: Angola, Australia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Canada, Chile, United States of America, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Mozambique, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Switzerland and Turkey. But be aware that in order not to have to exchange your foreign driving licence for a Portuguese one, you must meet certain requirements*. We suggest you check them out in detail on the IMT online portal:

http://www.imtonline.pt/index.php/troca … -ocde-cplp

*The driver must be under 60 years old

___

2. If your driving licence is from a country that is a member of the European Union or the European Economic Area (EEA - Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, etc.),

Only until your driving licence expires. After that, you'll have to exchange it for a Portuguese driving licence. However, if you live in the country, you have 60 days from the start of your residence to register your address with the Institute of Mobility and Transport (IMT). This is a mandatory requirement, but the registration process is free and can be done conveniently online.

If you want to change your foreign driving licence, you must:

1. Have a medical assessment and your medical certificate must be made available by your doctor on the electronic medical certificate platform. It is not necessary to send to IMT a copy of the electronic medical certificate. Once it has been issued by the doctor, the certificate is sent electronically to IMT.

2. Click here, fill in the form :

https://www.cognitoforms.com/IMT6/TROCA … ANGEIROS30

3. and submit it with the following documentation: 

- Residence permit;

- Copy of passport (the passport number must correspond to the one on the certificate);

- Tax residence certificate issued through the Tax Office Portal;

- Your Valid driving licence;

- Psychological assessment certificate, if you have categories C/D/E;

- Certificate of authenticity of the driving licence, issued by the issuing authority or consular office, indicating the categories obtained by examination (and what type of test) and the categories obtained by equivalence;

- Certified translation of the driving licence by the consular service of Portugal or another member state in the respective country, when its content is not in Portuguese, French, English or Spanish;

It is not necessary to send to IMT a copy of the electronic medical certificate. Once it has been issued by the doctor, the certificate is sent electronically to IMT, I.P.

After submitting the request, you must wait for a communication from the services indicating that you need to go to the IMT service desk.

Hi guys,

I was at the IMT office in Lisbon, Marvila today and handed in my old drivers license for the temporary paper license, thinking that it would only take a couple of weeks to receive the official license. I have now done some research and seen that some people wait up to 2 years to receive their official license.

I have also found out that this paper license is only valid in Portugal, but as I don‘t have a car here and travel a lot, I mainly need my license outside of Portugal, so the paper license is of no use to me. Do you think it would be possible to go back to that IMT office and request my old license back until I receive the new one?

@domme91,

For Portuguese citizens:

When applying via the internet, the driving license is sent within 10 days by mail. If you apply at an IMT office, it only takes 8 days. At the other service points, you may have to wait up to 25 days to receive your new driving licence

For non-nationals:

It's likely to take another week or two. But 2 years?!!!  Find out from IMT, and avoid reading posts by some people that aren't true !

@JohnnyPT Thank you so much for responding to my questions! I was trying to get the info from IMT, but the lady at the IMT office in Marvila didn‘t speak a single word of english unfortunately. I was referring to what other people were saying here about how long it took them to receive their drivers license: https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1015822But if you say it is much faster, I hope and want to believe that!

    @domme91,
For Portuguese citizens:
When applying via the internet, the driving license is sent within 10 days by mail. If you apply at an IMT office, it only takes 8 days. At the other service points, you may have to wait up to 25 days to receive your new driving licence

For non-nationals:
It's likely to take another week or two. But 2 years?!!!  Find out from IMT, and avoid reading posts by some people that aren't true !
   

    -@JohnnyPT

As I have said in past posts/threads exchanging the license. The old one is sent to to Embassy of your country then sent back to your home country. The whole process can take a couple of months. By no means it can take 2 years.

@SimCityAT

Thank you so much for replying, that info helps a lot and is much appreciated

Official gov website:

Replace the driving license

https://eportugal.gov.pt/en/servicos/su … e-conducao

Does imt send email went lisence is ready or being posted??? please reply guys

@SimCityAT  ****

   ***     -@Hairyhippy

Dont tell me things are rubbish when they are NOT! More fool your friends if they waited 2 years.

@Hairyhippy Thank you for the info, much appreciated! So at least I know I can use the paper license along with photos of my old license without needing to worry about it, appreciate the info!

@Hairyhippy Do you know someone I could contact that could get it to me sooner?

@SimCityAT    No, I don't.

    @SimCityAT    No, I don't.
   

    -@quickmessage

You can contact the Embassy to assist you.

Really ?   In Lisbon?