Good afternoon, dear reader.
This article will talk about an international driver's license, which may be required when driving vehicles abroad, and the features of obtaining them.
Any driver who is about to go on a trip abroad or a business trip and plans to get behind the wheel of a car in a foreign country has many questions about obtaining an international driver's license.
Therefore, today we will talk about how to obtain an international driving license in 2021 and what should be done for this.
International Driving License 2021
To begin with, I propose to find out what an international driver’s license (2021) and in what cases they may be useful to a domestic motorist.
Let's look at the territory of which world states you can use a Russian international driver's license. Of course, the first thing worth mentioning is the document that is the legal basis of the international movement - the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, which was signed by a number of countries in 1968.
The Convention was adopted by 90 states: Austria, Azerbaijan, Albania, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Vatican City, Great Britain, Hungary, Venezuela, Vietnam, Guyana, Ghana, Germany, Greece, Georgia, Denmark , Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Israel, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Spain, Italy, Cape Verde, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Liberia , Luxembourg, Macedonia, Morocco, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, UAE, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Uruguay, Philippines, Finland, France, Croatia, Central African Republic, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Chile, Switzerland, Sweden, Ecuador, Estonia, SOUTH AFRICA.
When driving a car in the territory of these states, unlike countries not included in the list, a minimal number of problems may arise.
Let's look at what documents allow you to drive a car in the territory of another state. Paragraph 41 of the Vienna Convention:
Article 41 Validity of driving licenses
1. The contracting parties will acknowledge:
a) any national driving license drawn up in their national language or one of their national languages or, if not drawn up in such a language, accompanied by a certified translation;
b) any national driving license complying with the requirements of Annex 6 to this Convention, and
c) any international driving license complying with the requirements of Annex 7 to this Convention,
valid in their territory for driving a vehicle corresponding to the category of vehicles for which the license is issued, provided that the said license is valid and that it was issued by another Contracting Party or one of its territorial subdivisions, or an association authorized to do so by that Contracting Party or one of its territorial divisions. The provisions of this paragraph do not apply to a learner driver's license.
1. You can drive a car abroad if you have a certified translation of your Russian driver's license into the local language. Please note that this paragraph refers to Russian driver’s licenses that were issued before March 1, 2011.
Obviously, you can only certify the translation on the territory of the state where you are going to drive the car. However, in an unfamiliar country it may be difficult to find a notary. Especially if you are not staying abroad for a very long time (for example, you are on vacation for one or two weeks). Therefore, this option cannot be considered as the main one.
2. You can drive a car on the basis of a national driver's license , i.e. Russian, and at present this option should be considered as optimal.
The new driving licenses, which are issued in 2021, fully comply with the requirements of Annex 6 of the convention, and therefore the new licenses can also be used when driving a car abroad.
If your driver’s license was received before March 1, 2011, then you should turn to option 3.
3. You can drive a car abroad if the driver has an international driving license .
For Russians who have old-style national licenses, this option is the most suitable, so we’ll look at getting an international driver’s license step by step.
Documents for an international driver's license
Let's look at how to get an international driver's license in 2021.
So, to obtain an international license, you need to provide the same documents to the traffic police department as to obtain a national driver's license with one exception.
According to paragraph 34 of the rules for conducting examinations for the right to drive vehicles and issuing driver’s licenses:
34. To issue an international driver's license, the applicant submits the following documents to the State Traffic Inspectorate:
a) statement; b) passport or other identity document; d) Russian national driver's license; e) photograph measuring 35 x 45 mm, made in black and white or color on matte paper; f) a document confirming the availability of a benefit for paying state duty - for persons who, in accordance with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, have a benefit for paying state duty.
Attention! From February 16, 2021, a medical certificate is no longer required when obtaining an international license. You can find out more about this in the article “Cancellation of a medical certificate when replacing rights.”
The peculiarity is that to obtain an international driver's license you need to provide the traffic police with a photograph measuring 35 by 45 mm on matte paper. Unlike obtaining a national driver's license, in this case it will not be possible to take a photo at the traffic police department. You will have to take a photograph in a specialized company or make it yourself.
Thus, to obtain an IDP you will need:
- Passport.
- National driving license.
- Photo.
The application can be filled out directly at the traffic police; it is not necessary to prepare it in advance.
Note. Benefits for paying state taxes are available to people associated with the Great Patriotic War (veterans, disabled people, concentration camp prisoners, prisoners of war). These drivers do not have to pay the fee. Instead, a document confirming the right to the benefit is provided.
Statement
Before submitting an application, you must visit the Migration Service website and familiarize yourself with the requirements for filling out the application form. You can issue one of the types - old sample or new. The first is issued for 5 years, the second – for 10. The form can be downloaded on the official website or taken from FMS employees.
The following requirements are put forward for filling out the application:
- fill out by hand or in electronic format, in capital letters only;
- when filling out passport data, indicate the department code;
- printed in 2 copies on A4 format on both sides;
- the signature must not go beyond the form, otherwise the application will not be accepted.
Documentation
To obtain a foreign passport, you will need to present the following documentation to the Migration Service:
- passport of a resident of the Russian Federation;
- application – 2 copies;
- children's birth certificates (and photocopies);
- receipt of payment of duty to the power;
- old passport (if available);
- 2 color or black and white photos (the face must be clearly visible, from the front, matte paper).
Where can I get an international driving license?
With the documents listed above, you can go to any convenient traffic police department (in any region, regardless of your registration):
3. Conducting examinations for persons permanently or temporarily residing or temporarily staying on the territory of the Russian Federation, issuing Russian national and international driver's licenses and exchanging foreign driver's licenses are carried out in the departments of the State Traffic Inspectorate at the place of application of these persons.
I would like to note that not every traffic police department is involved in issuing international driver’s licenses, so I recommend calling in advance and clarifying this information. And if the police department closest to your home does not issue international identification cards, you will have to contact another one.
Filling out a form for a passport
How to fill out an application form for a new international passport? The instructions below will help you fill out the form correctly and accurately and save your time. Adobe Reader is used to open and fill out a form for issuing or replacing a foreign passport. If you are unable to complete the PDF application form, please update your version of Adobe Reader. It is also allowed to fill out the application form by hand in legible block letters in black or blue ink. It is not allowed to correct errors in the form by crossing out or using corrective means.
How much does it cost to get an international license?
Currently, the state fee for issuing an international driver's license is 1,600 rubles .
It is described in Article 333.33 of Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation:
Section 333.33. The amount of the state fee for state registration, as well as for performing other legally significant actions... 44) for issuing an international driver’s license, including replacing a lost one or one that has become unusable, is 1,600 rubles;
Attention! When obtaining an international license through the government services portal, you can receive a 30 percent discount on the state fee. Those. issuing a driver's license in this case will cost 1,120 rubles . The discount is valid from January 1, 2021 to January 1, 2023. You can find out more about it in this article.
Price
The main payment is the state duty.
In 2021 its size is:
- to obtain an old-style international passport for persons over 14 years old - 2 thousand rubles ;
- for a biometric passport – 3500 rubles ;
- for a regular child’s – 1 thousand rubles ;
- for a biometric passport for minors – 1500 rubles .
Registration through intermediaries is not regulated by law, so the fees for their services may vary.
Validity period of an international driver's license
The validity period of an international driver's license is regulated by paragraph 33 of the rules for conducting examinations for the right to drive vehicles and issuing driver's licenses:
An international driver's license is issued for 3 years, but not more than for the period of validity of the Russian national driver's license on the basis of which it was issued.
Thus, at best, the certificate will be issued for 3 years . This will happen if your license is valid for, for example, another 5 years.
If the remaining service life of the national certificate is, for example, 1 year, then the international license will also be issued for only 1 year.
Refusal is possible
The issuance of a foreign passport may be refused in the following cases:
- the person evades military service;
- the person has been convicted or under investigation, if the term has been served, provide a certificate of deregistration;
- evasion of obligations established by the court;
- the person has access to state secrets.
The exact reason for the refusal must be announced to the Migration Service.
Is it possible to drive abroad without a national driving license?
International driving licenses are issued on the basis of national ones, so you won’t be able to drive abroad without a national license.
Thus, if a driver’s license is revoked in Russia, the driver will not be able to drive a car abroad. In this case, international rights are not withdrawn, but without a national ID they are invalid.
Biometric passport
The new type of identification document is a red booklet in A6 format, which contains information about its owner, and also contains a built-in microcircuit with the holder’s personal data and photo. According to the law (phrase No. 1), the following information is also added to the biometric passport - photographs of the papillary patterns of the two index fingers.
Fingerprints are taken using a special scanner that reads a unique pattern. Scanning is carried out twice - the first time when submitting documents, and the second time when issuing a document to identify the owner. This type of passport can be issued to citizens of the Russian Federation who have reached the age of twelve. Children under twelve are issued an old-style identification document for traveling abroad.
Is it possible to drive around Russia with an international license?
Driving around Russia with an international license is only possible if the driver also has a national ID. Moreover, you should not show your IDP to traffic police officers.
For driving a car only with an international license, a fine of 500 rubles may be imposed (Part 2 of Article 12.3 of the Administrative Code). You can view the full list of fines using the traffic police fines table for 2021.
In conclusion, I would like to note that if you are going to drive a car abroad, be sure to familiarize yourself with the local traffic rules before your trip. They can differ significantly from Russian ones, and violations can lead to significant fines.
Good luck on the roads!
