大咖福利影院

momotaro wrote:

Koszonom szocske,

I have checked further. The IDP (international driving permit) can be used for the first year. Although the IDP is renewable for another year but seems like I will still have to take the Hungarian licence after that if I want to continue driving here.

Can anyone confirm this?

I cannot confirm the information but I know some info which might be helpful. I am not sure which country you are from but you might be able to exchange your licence without taking the test. It depends on which country you are from.

I know in the UK that licences from say, Canada, South Africa and Japan can be exchanged without taking a test. It might be the same for your country and would probably depend on bilateral or UN agreements.

It says on the UK government web sites the following (and there might be similar info for your country and Hungary)....

GB has reciprocal exchange agreements with Gibraltar and 15 designated countries.

The designated countries are:

Australia, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands*, Hong Kong, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Republic of Korea*, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland and Zimbabwe.

*Motorcycle entitlement from the Republic of Korea and Faroe Islands is not exchangeable.

coulibaly issa wrote:

...i dont know if my driving licence is permit to drive in hungary.and if its permit to drive in hungary.what about igf i wants to change my liberia driving licence to hungary driving licence...

Just get an Austrian license. There's no difference between an Austrian license and a Hungarian one.

borschelrh wrote:

Now it is 2013 and my US license is expiign and I can only renew it in person which is out of the question.

For what it is worth, your US license is only valid for 12 months in Hungary. When the US license expires is not relevant, even if you have an International license attachment. If you have been in Hungary for more than 12 months, renewing your US license would not change the fact you need to get a Hungarian license before that time frame expires.

If your US license was still valid, then the local police "hold" your US license for you as long as you live in Hungary.

borschelrh wrote:

Unless you ae leaving Hungary/EU every 90 days then you are okay.

If you are not registered as a resident in Hungary, then this is true. But I find it interesting that you could apply for a Hungarian license without being a resident.

borschelrh wrote:

Slovakia for not driving with my headlights on which is apparently a requirement there

Daytime running lights are also required in Hungary on many roads. Which is why I really have no problem with Americans being required to take the local driving tests, many things are different here.

borschelrh wrote:

They also explained that US license holders have to do this because the US is not a participant in some International treay.

The Swiss exchanged my US license on the spot. No test required. The US does have agreements with some countries, just not with Hungary in this case. Same with Social Security - There is a SS treaty with the Swiss, but not with Hungary.

And I did the same process you did a few years ago, but could do all the paperwork in my local office.

The more likely *real* reason for having to go to Budapest now is more about home grown Hungarian politics. Local offices are often staffed by people essentially "appointed" by the local powers that be (whichever party that is in power at the time they were hired). And many local offices were created and staffed during a period when the current opposition party was in power. So to "cut out" the powers and authority of the local offices (staffed by opposition party supporters), the current party is consolidating everything in Budapest. It is not just for Americans, but also a lot that must be done by average Hungarians has to now go over some Budapest office (and since the office is new, you can guess which party supporters get the jobs). This is not saying one party is better or worse than another, since they both pull these tricks in one way or another. And the average people just become ping-pong balls in the political games.

Even in the US: think of when it comes time to redraw congressional districts. Oh, yeah, like that is fair and politics free.

borschelrh wrote:

.... The US makes EVERY foreigner go through this so it is tit for tat. I don't mind all that much. I am more frustrated that my wife got her ancient Soviet license accepted without question. C'est la vie.

The USA has not signed up to the conventions for driving licenses, so it's not tit-for-tat as such, simply bureaucracy because USA is not a contracting state (with Hungary).

There are (at least) four conventions all with different dates going back to 1926 (the 1926 one is the most obscure).

The Russian Federation and Hungary both signed and ratified the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic and therefore recognise each others licenses. This is why your wife's license was swapped without discussion.

My own country, UK, accepts licenses exchanges from odd range of countries including amongst others Monaco and Korea, but not the USA.

NewCurly1 wrote:

Citizens from following countries can drive in Hungary

This is more about license exchange for declared foreign residents, not the general ability to drive or not. If you have a license from a country signatory with the International Driving Permit convention, you can still drive in Hungary if you follow the appropriate rules and requirements of this convention.

Americans, for example, can also drive in Hungary with their US license anytime when accompanied with an (1) international driving permit (IDP) (simple and cheap to get in the US) and (2) their passport. For example, an American tourist with an IDP can rent a car in Hungary and drive around completely legally.

However, because the US is not a signatory of a license exchange agreement with Hungary, US citizens that take up residence in Hungary can only continue to use their license for up to 12 months (to give them time to take the necessary tests to get the Hungarian license).

klsallee wrote:

....
Americans, for example, can also drive in Hungary with their US license anytime when accompanied with an (1) international driving permit (IDP) (simple and cheap to get in the US) and (2) their passport. For example, an American tourist with an IDP can rent a car in Hungary and drive around completely legally. ..

Yes, this is all correct. However, when I used to have an IDP (way back when), you had to declare which countries you were going to in order to have the right version of the IDP.

I was planning one time a long trip across Russia to Asia and that was one of the difficulties - working out which country belonged to which treaty and there can be situations where one needs two IDPs.聽

The IDP also has to have the right (officially accepted) translations in it for all the bureaucrats along the route.

fluffy2560 wrote:

bureaucrats