Hmm, I suppose the problem here is that ignoring a traffic law is not down to an individual's assessment of the circumstances. In the UK, if a driver takes no notice (for instance) of a "no right turn" sign because there aren't any other road users around, a watching police officer will almost certainly stop the vehicle and issue a fixed penalty notice. On the other hand, the chances of this happening is highly unlikely as there just aren't enough police officers to check that all the laws are being obeyed all the time - so in most cases offenders will not be punished. The majority will probably be glad of this as we hope the police are out there catching the real villains! Also, I imagine all of us would prefer a ticking off if we do get caught, but I imagine this will depend on how benevolent the police officer is feeling at the time.
I suspect Portugal and the UK are pretty similar in this respect, but in many places in London cameras are watching us 24 hours a day, so stopping your car in a bus layby to drop off passengers (which seems the sensible thing to do) automatically attracts a fixed penalty fine - how do I know? Guess!

Was it GNR? If so, did he salute you on greeting or do they dispense with that for a ticking-off? I love the salute - makes me feel like a VIP.

I almost burst out laughing the first time one of them done that, I thought he was taking the piss! Don't think he did salute me though, was Brigado Transito... but they are GNR too, no?!

Hi Ged. If you ever get your licence back and still want to exchange it for a Portuguese one, I can now inform you that in my case it took just under 8 weeks. I lodged the application and handed in my UK licence on May 22nd and received the Portuguese licence this morning - in the meantime I had a piece of paper from IMTT authorising me to drive in Portugal but of no use outside the country.

I've been stopped on several occasions but never been saluted........ how dare they! LOL

And the last time I was stopped, I think the officer's parting words were the PT equivalent of f#*k off and leave me alone.

May I ask which IMTT office handled your application?

Blimey! How did your end of the conversation go up until that point? Mine's usually along the lines of "Good afternoon, Sr Guarda.....yes Sir, No Sir, three bags full Sir..... I thank you Sir.. until next time / have a good weekend/ rest of the day" or somesuch. Seems to work OK for me.



Yes - it was Viana do Castelo.

GEEZ gedscottish...you've just put the fear deep in me. I think I overlooked the change of Drivers Licence....SHOOOOT! Will do this tomorrow. Have you the link to the application form? Deb

If you just want to register your current licence here, it's this:
http://www.imtt.pt/sites/IMTT/Portug...s/Mod13IMT.pdf

If you want to change its best get the document there and then as they are a bit fussy about poor copies.

Hi All

Can't see the point of the link as when i changed my licence i first went to see my Doctor to get a form filled in that the Doctor supplied. The Doctor said that anything other than B, BE, on the UK licence would involve further tests. All i supplied was Photos and i then took the form and Photos to the IMTT in Coimbra. I was then given an A4 size letter type form that said i could drive until my new licence arrive.

All the above was how things happened for another Brit in my village and neither of use had to provide any other forms. My friend received his new Portuguese after 11 months.

Peter

Peter

think they are referring to the form to register there uk licence not change it peter

I'm lost, (so easy in these early-elderly days)
We are both Portuguese residents as of March this year
MePat has an Irish Drivers Licence
I have a New Zealand Drivers Licence.
We drive a French car...but that's another thing.
What must we do to be legal drivers here. We will travel internationally during the coming 2-12 months and rent cars.
Thank you for your patience if your are repeating what's already been explained here.

Munster - a NZ driver's licence needs to be exchanged within 185 days of establishing residence in Portugal. Just paperwork - no test required.


An Irish licence should be registered with the IMTT within 60 days of establishing residence. It can be exchanged for a Portuguese licence but there's no need to do so - the process is slightly quicker and easier for registration and you don't temporarily lose the licence (and therefore the right to drive overseas).


If resident in Portugal, you definitely do not want to get caught driving a foreign-plated vehicle unless it's your own and in the process of matriculation.

Red Eric THANK YOU...clear as a bell....and yes we know about driving our beloved French Santa Fe here and the (official) E9,500.00 matriculation fee...we just didn't own it for 12-months plus 1-day to be able to register it within the 6-month deadline. SHOOT, SHOOT, SHOOT. So we are driving it back to its people to sell it and will buy a Portuguese car. "So it goes." says Kilgore Trout (quoted from the seminal read for all hippies of the day Trout Fishing in America)

Your unbounded joy may be tempered slightly by the documentation required for the NZ licence exchange :-

• Original DL
• Photocopy of ID and show original
• Doctor's certificate for drivers
• Consular declaration attesting authenticity of licence, date of emission and validity, categories covered and that the licence was obtained by sitting a test.

If the licence is for categories other than light vehicles, you may additionally need to pass a psychological exam to retain those categories.


There's a requirement for a consular-authenticated translation of the licence in some cases but it looks as though that doesn't apply if the licence is in English (they do speak a sort of English in NZ, if I remember correctly from my childhood?).


I should think they might need proof of address and probably contribuinte card as well, even though they're not mentioned.


Cost €30


I think I've got all that right. The consular declaration might be fun - in your shoes, I'd probably get the Irish licence registered and enquire about the exact requirements for the NZ exchange at the same time to get it from the horse's mouth, as it were.