Just to add that CPLP countries are also exempt from the licence exchange requirements.
But if the driver is 60 or older they’d still need to exchange regardless of country.
The rules on staying in Portugal have not changed, although the timings of renewal have changed since 2020. For the rules, which can be very strictly applied, see: The end of Portugal's Golden Visa—for real this time? - #1362 by Onward. To make it one trip 14 days you could have 7 days on the end of your 1st year and 7 days at the beginning of the 2nd year GV, if you want to make it a single trip. Portugal is not exactly a hardship destination. But I wouldnt be tempted to test/push the SEF bureaucracy on this one…
For proofs see: 14-Day Requirements: Proofs.
With online renewals they do not seem to require documentation this year- see: HOW-TO: GV Automatic Online Renewal Procedure (Jan 2023→). But nobody knows whether the online procedure will continue. We live in hope!!
There are several pieces of documentation to exchange a Singaporean driving licence for a Portuguese one (The search function gave me your location) . You will need
Proof of residence (GV)
Medical exam (perfunctory -vision and ease of movement, and this can be done at any Automobile Club de Lisboa) - the doctor fills out the form and sends it to IMT
Numero de utente (health service number)
Valid existing driving licence & certificate of authenticity of licence. The certificate of authenticity can often be obtained online, but Im not familiar with the Singapore situation. See here:Exchange a foreign driving licence for a Portuguese driving licence - ePortugal.gov.pt and Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes, IP
A caution: Do not believe that you will get the new Portuguese licence within 60 days (as in the FAQs). Plan on the assumption that you will not. If you are in Portugal for more than 2 months, you will get a “Guia” which authorises you to drive in Portugal for the 2 months of the guia. The Guia can be renewed, but the Guia is not valid outside Portugal. I had to apply for a Portuguese licence twice, the first time exchanging an EU Driving licence to Portugal DL. It took almost a year (I spoke to the head of IMT Lisbon & asked for my EU original back so that I could drive in France -which prompted IMT/Lisbon to issue the PT licence promptly). The renewal was done within 90 days not 60 days (so I had to get an international driving licence to cover me for a trip outside, and fly back to obtain the renewal!).
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Hi @Onward, could you enlight how to find the exchange of Singaporean driving licence story, as I can not find it in NomadGate using seach key word: Singaporean driving license or Singapore driving licence. Muito obrigado.
I only searched where @munkunds was from in case he stated it somewhere in one of his posts (within the search function on nomadgate) in order to be more precise in my response to him.
The link for Singapore is the link I posted: Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes, IP
It takes you to a page (in portuguese) where you can choose the country. =Escolha o Pais=
Just choose the country, in this case SINGAPURA. And then choose the rest:
Hello Roger, for Singapore it is not a difficult task to exchange but have to follow some steps:
- Apply for a “Extract of Driving License Records”. by visiting the Singapore Traffic Police at Ubi Avenue office
- Get an apostille
- Medical Certificate from a Portuguese Doctor
Apply and Voila, you shall have the temporary permit during the biometrics
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how long did your “awaiting payment” status last? i have paid two days ago, but still “awating payment”! do i need to upload transcation receipt to prove my payment?
it’s been 7 days for me since the payment has been made and the status haven’t been updated yet.
do we need to upload anything? the deadline is 9 days i think?
Our deadline for payment was yesterday and the system still says Awaiting Payment, Sent several emails without any response, tried calling without success. Online Multibanco payment system doesn’t need any payment receipts to be uploaded. Just the SEF website is below par and the developers aren’t good enough to handle the Multibanco SDK integration.
any changes today on your status? SEF wont be silly enough to void our application after we paid right?
I wouldn’t worry about this as long as the Payment reference and the amount is correct and it was paid within the deadline, it is the fiduciary duty for the State to issue an internal payment notification to SEF. The online SEF system you are looking at might take sometime to update like everything else in Portugal Extended processing times.
thank you for your reply, this somewhat reassuring
sometimes i wander is the disbanding of SEF really for efficiency or just a political maneuver to easy the tension… would the new arrangement really inject efficiency into the system?
SEF restructuring is the consequence of the event happened more than 3 years ago when SEF security personnel beat, brutally tortured and finally killed the Ukrainian guy in the airport. The main purpose is to spin off their security personnel and move those authorities to police or special agency. It has nothing to do with all administrative staff who does our permits or their efficiency. That part is just renamed
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Mine just turned to “application being processed”, hope yours have also changed in status, good luck
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My wife and I current auto renewal status is “Completed” that is very quick
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you are better off, our applications have been cancelled without any updates… I have a conference coming up soon and unable to exit with expired permits… It sucks as a keynote speaker to miss…
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Oh… Did they say why you were turned down? i thought auto renewal, if give the option to go ahead, cannot fail once paid?