Converting a driving licence under 125cc

@sergefaure

Have you tried using the services of an agent?

Thank you :-)  not yet, and i do not know if I will find one around Lang Son. I also have only 3 months visa (if they renew mine at end of April) : that's maybe the biggest problem ?

Any information, feedback about :  e-ita.org/international-drivers-license-apply-online/   ?

    Thank you :-)  not yet, and i do not know if I will find one around Lang Son. I also have only 3 months visa (if they renew mine at end of April) : that's maybe the biggest problem ?
   
    -@sergefaure

Oh yes, I believe you are correct in that being a problem.

If you are currently here on a tourist visa, you will not be eligible to have a VN license issued to you.

@Aidan in HCMC   : Unfortunately, that's not what our embassy says herehttps://vn.ambafrance.org/Vivre-et-voyager-au-Vietnam   take a look at + Conduite

And below 3 months I would not be fined...

But I should prefer read that for French ngườis in a Vietnamese text :-(

    @Aidan in HCMC   :  Unfortunately, that's not what our embassy says herehttps://vn.ambafrance.org/Vivre-et-voyager-au-Vietnam   take a look at + ConduiteAnd below 3 months I would not be fined...But I should prefer read that for French ngườis in a Vietnamese text :-(        -@sergefaure

"Depuis le 1er décembre 2014, les Français de passage (moins de 3 mois) peuvent présenter leur permis de conduire français accompagné d'un permis international pour conduire au Vietnam."

This means that with a 3 month tourist visa you are permitted to drive provided you hold both a valid driver's license from your home country, and an I.D.P. (Int'l Driver's Permit). The IDP, as I understand it, would have to have been gotten prior to your arrival in VN.

@Aidan in HCMC, Hello, in fact no only for French people,  driver licenses from any country are permitted with these 2 legal conditions:

1.- foreign licenses + International Driver Permit (IDP) always together.

2.- there are 3 international conventions for IDP (1926, 1949 and 1968).  In Vietnam, only those issued under Convention of November 1968 are permitted. You must request the IDP 1968 from your back country. Countries such as Argentina, Canada, India, EE.UU. and others are not into that one.

The other way is to validate (or convert) your own license, only if you are permitted to stay more than 6 months and that is only issued in Da Nang, Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh, and it is personally because, like any other citizen ID, they will take a new photo and you must to put your signature in your new plastic.  Agencies only support you to fill out your forms/papers, and get a preference in the queue of people.

thanks to Aidan and Ajairon :-)

I would like to find the official document in Vietnamese that shows that the "Convention of November 1968" is available in Vietnam, to avoid the 1 million to 2 millions fine for driving without the Viet Licence

And also the document  showing  "Depuis le 1er décembre 2014, les Français de passage (moins de 3 mois) peuvent présenter leur permis de conduire français accompagné d'un permis international pour conduire au Vietnam."

2.- there are 3 international conventions for IDP (1926, 1949 and 1968).  In Vietnam, only those issued under Convention of November 1968 are permitted. You must request the IDP 1968 from your back country. Countries such as Argentina, Canada, India, EE.UU. and others are not into that one.    -@ajairon

I was issued an IDP prior to leaving Canada (Link) from the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) (Link).

In it, Vietnam was listed as a country which accepted an IDP (1949) from Canada. See here, United Nations Treaty Collection, Convention on Road Traffic, Geneva, 19 September 1949 (Link) to which Vietnam and Canada are signatories. To the best of my knowledge, the 1968 convention covering the validity of IDPs did not supersede the previous conventions, rather, it incorporated additional countries to the list of the convention's member states.

Prior to purchasing a new motorcycle in 2017, I went to the local D7, Saigon, office of the CSGT (traffic police) and confirmed my IDP's validity. The absolute last thing I wanted/needed was to be fined (extorted?) or to have my brand spanking new bike confiscated.

I must ask, is the source of your information based on a commercial interest tour agency's info?

(note to casual readers of this thread: an Int'l Driver's License is not the same

as an Int'l Driving Permit. Only an IDP is accepted in VN, in conjunction with

the driver holding a valid foreign driver's license)

     thanks to Aidan and Ajairon :-)I would like to find the official document ...        ... showing  "Depuis le 1er décembre 2014, les Français de passage (moins de 3 mois) peuvent présenter leur permis de conduire français accompagné d'un permis international pour conduire au Vietnam."        -@sergefaure

Have you asked your embassy? If they respond to you, it would be very much appreciated if you would post the information they provide to the forum.

My French language skills are quite rusty (on top of it being Quebecois).

I tried skimming through the search results here, but it made my brain hurt

I'm sorry to not be much help there.

Off topic, but I thought it worth including.

Though the title of the thread mentions converting driving licence "under 125cc" , the license requirements for motorbikes in Vietnam are classed in the following categories...

Under 50cc - no license required

A1 license covers 50cc - 175cc motorcycles

A2 license covers 175cc - unlimited cc

A3 license covers 3 wheel vehicles (and sidecars?)

gov't infographic

(full size, click here)

@Aidan in HCMC It is very hard also for me to find something there... :-(

I found the Vienna Convention on road traffic mentioned there :

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?ti … amp;from=V

Also on Viet language page  no mention :

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?ti … of_Vietnam    at 

Công ước Viên về Giao thông đường bộ

Then I will print that and travel with

I add this link to French consulate in HCM for '' Depuis le 1er décembre 2014, les Français de passage... ''

https://ho-chi-minh-ville.consulfrance. … duire-2841

Not yet found the circular or other source of this new... :-(

I'm from the Netherlands and the 1968 version is explicitly mentioned as being accepted in Vietnam on the website of the organization arranging them.

I've been stopped a few times over the last years. Showing the IDP was never giving any issues for me.

It was frowned upon a bit, but that's just because it looks like a very amateurish piece of paper.

@RCP79  YES  mine is also very, very ...  frowned !

https://vietnamnews.vn/society/1310142/ … olice.html

@sergefaure  if you want to read the law, look in google for:  "Vietnam Circular  29/2015/TT-BGTVT english version".  You will see it starts with "Pursuant to the Convention on Road Traffic 1968; and "LEGALLY" no other convention is accepted regarding international driving permits.  Maybe the confusion for some users and some agents of authorities is because it's a fact Vietnam is in the list of Roads convention of 1949, but it doesn't mean all the articles were accepted, such as Art. 3 of that convention that was objected. Others will tell you that Convention is only to be eligible to convert your IDP-49 into a local driver license , because it is not accepted for less-than-90-days VISA

Anyway, for good some confused agents will accept IDP-49....  For bad, some other malicious will say your IDP-68 is a fake and will try to cheat you. But at least now we now the ultimate law.  REMARK:  IDP's are only issued by your back country when you are inside your country....  any offered in internet are fakes!

Now, about why les Francais peuvent presenter leur permis de conduire avec le IDP-68 depuis le 1er December 2014, well, that is because the Road Convention of 1968 was recently signed by Vietnam in August 2014, and that covers to all the countries in that convention

@ajairon  " Now, about why les Francais peuvent presenter leur permis de conduire avec le IDP-68 depuis le 1er December 2014, well, that is because the Road Convention of 1968 was recently signed by Vietnam in August 2014, and that covers to all the countries in that convention  "   Thank you so much !

NOW everything is clear.  I already asked my insurance if they could send me a green certificate for my Honda 110 :-)   

They do not !  :-(

That means that every advise or link for this problem is welcome : a CHEAP insurance at minima, since that document is also required...

@sergefaure

Bao Hiem Xi 3rd party insurance (Link) will run you only about 60K. It's what most carry here. It is a liability coverage policy, not full coverage, and is the minimum policy required to be shown if (when) stopped by the police.

Bao Hiem insurance is a policy which is assigned to the vehicle. It is transferable to any/all legal drivers of that bike. In effect, the bike is the policy holder. I'm unsure whether the person showing on the blue card is required to be the purchaser of the policy.

    Thank you :-)  not yet, and i do not know if I will find one around Lang Son. I also have only 3 months visa (if they renew mine at end of April) : that's maybe the biggest problem ?Any information, feedback about :  e-ita.org/international-drivers-license-apply-online/   ?        -@sergefaure

@sergefaure  it's a fake!.  First of all, your IDP-68 must be issued by the same national authority of your original driver license.  In some countries there are some Automobile Clubs granted to issue IDP's, but always is for their same citizens.

Another fact: As similar none needs to translate passports.- all driver licenses issued by countries members of the Convention on Road Traffic of Vienna 1968 are already bilingual (with English or French), so you don't need to translate it, that is part of the convention agreement.

Another fact: That convention also guarantee you already know how to drive and to recognize the road/traffic signs, for that reason in any country you are NOT requested to do any exam (talking about homologating your current foreign plastic, obviously)

Another fact:  Thanks to you guys, now I have a doubt about the minimal permanence in Vietnam to be eligible to convert your foreign  driver license, is it more than 3 or more than 6 months??   well, it doesn't matter, the fact is that as a tourist is impossible.

THE ULTIMATE FACT:  Vietnam is the only country on where I have seen its local Traffic Law rules the preference of route according to the vehicle: 1: Motorbikes, 2: Cars, 3: Buses, 4: Trucks ...     That means, by example,  if you are close to enter into a roundabout, the preference is not of the one already inside.   That explains why motorbikers always cross your path even you are stopping a bus