Ukrainian driver's license in the EU. What has changed?
The European Union maintains a high level of road safety in each of its member countries. At the same time, all countries of the continent faced an unprecedented flow of migrants from Ukraine in connection with the military actions that Russia has unleashed on our territory. Millions of people were forced to leave Ukraine and ask for protection and are still in Europe. Most of them are drivers and want to have legal grounds to be road users.
The EU shows its support for Ukraine. We remind you that at the end of July, the Regulation on the use of Ukrainian national driver's licenses in the EU countries came into force. The changes apply only to persons enjoying temporary or appropriate protection in EU countries.
This document establishes special rules for expired, lost or stolen Ukrainian driver's licenses. All in order to reduce administrative pressure.
So, from the end of July in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovakia, Slovakia, Slovakia Hungary, Finland, France, Croatia, Sweden, Czech Republic — you can:
use a Ukrainian driver's license without the need to exchange it during the entire period of protection, and not only for 6 months;
use an old-style Ukrainian driver's license, which is issued only in Cyrillic and has no validity, without the need to have an additional certified translation or an international driver's license; use a Ukrainian license driver's license even if it expires in 2022 (this is relevant for licenses issued for the first time with a validity of 2 years); get a temporary
(for the period of stay under protection) an EU model driver's license in case of loss or theft of a Ukrainian driver's license without passing exams — it is sufficient for the EU country to check the validity of the right to drive obtained in Ukraine, as well as to check compliance with the standards of physical and mental fitness for driving.
Consider several life situations.
For example, a person went to Poland during the war and received temporary protection. At the moment, her driver's license, which was issued for the first time, has expired. Such a certificate is valid for 2 years and then subject to exchange. In Ukraine, for the duration of martial law, such provisional driver's licenses are considered valid. From now on, on the territory of the EU member states, such driver's licenses are also considered valid. No need to waste your time getting a Polish driver's license or going to Ukraine for exchange.
It is important that if the validity of a driver's license issued in Ukraine expired before the beginning of 2022, then it still needs to be exchanged. Since before the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, individuals had the opportunity to worry about the proper condition of their documents.
Another example. The man left by train to Hungary and had with him an old-style Ukrainian driver's license - issued only in Cyrillic and without specifying the validity period. The person has received temporary protection and wishes to drive a vehicle in Hungary. Since July, according to the new Regulation, it can only use a certificate issued in Cyrillic in the EU. There is no longer a requirement to carry a certified translation or book-sized application — an international driver's license. It is enough to have an identity document.
Main service center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
