Thatās awesome. I wonder if I still need to register my PT residence address with IMT? Even though I am not exchanging the licence?
Anyone can eleborate on the āexchangeā of driving licence. Do I need to surrend my original licene to IMT in order to get a PT one?
Interesting question. The requirement to declare to the authorities (āYou must still register the details of your residence in Portugal with IMTā) appears only in the EU link above, but not as far as I can see on the OECD/CPLP countries.
The blurb for eurofinesco.com - seems to have been written in 2018. I wonder whether it has been outdated by the IMT link you provided (2021)? I will try to dig a little furtherā¦
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Depends on the issuing country of your licence.
Check the IMT link I posted above for requirements.
As for the actual exhange procedure - yes, youād surrender your original licence and get a new PT one. Your original is then sent by IMT to your original countryās issuing organization (eg DVLA in the UK)
My driving licence belong to 3rd Cat per IMT website. Is there a way to keep my original driving license, as I need to drive in my home country as well.
Iāll pm you on this.
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Hi Tsiksssooo,
My wife and I are in the process of purchasing property on the Silver Coast and have already had out Biometrics appointment and awaiting our residency cards.
We will need to get a car and are exploring options, having eliminated bringing a car from the US because of warnings by many regarding potential emissions conversion costs etc. I understand cars are more expensive in Portugal than other European countries. I would appreciate any guidance you can provide regarding:
Car pricing differences in Spain vs. Portugal, and the logistics of driving/importing a car from Spain to Portugal (how to obtain registration and insurance to drive home to Portugal).
Thanks
Roger
What do you mean by emission conversion costs? The annual tax after the registration or the initial tax? The initial one (ISV) you can get exemption if you prove transfer of residence to PT.
Otherwise ISV is indeed high for high emissions.
Hello Roger,
I have bought a car in Spain and āimportedā and registered it in Portugal. It is a rather involved process, though it was worth it for me at the end as the type of car I wanted is hard to find in Portugal. If you would like, I can DM you with the steps.
Cheers,
Roman
Does this law make it possible in any way for an applicant without the residency card to start the 5 year clock for citizenship?
@Vichy that would be a PT-lawyer level question.
On the surface I donāt see how this can be easily done.
Just to report back that in practice it appears the same āEUā process applies to the OECD/CPLP driving licence holders. Meaning there is no requirement to exchange your licence if you meet certain conditions, but there is a need to register your PT residence address at IMT.
I have just had my own OECD āforeignā licence registered with my PT address, and got a piece of paper as confirmation. The paperās title says āEU/EEAā but it does not matter.
Thanks very much for reporting back on this! Useful to know.
Sure, and just to clarify, this was done for me at an in-person appointment, so I cannot say how it works online.
Wow, thatās big news! I was under impression that I would need to exchange my U.S. CA DL for the Portuguese one.
BTW, Tommy, which branch did you register your PT address? Loja de CidadĆ£o (my closest one in Mercado 31 de janeiro) or ?
Thank you.
This has now been proven in practice, meaning that I got my Portuguese license plate on the car, while still waiting for my first GV permit card.
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Car insurance also can be obtained without a residence card in hand. It can even be obtained for a foreign licensed car.