SanNico

I wouldn't worry too much. You need to be in Spain and be a Spanish resident to apply for it.

My son turns 18 this week so he'll be going through the whole process. I'll update the thread as to how hard or easy it, complete with Kevin the Teenager huffing, puffing and terminology if you're really unlucky.

Stingychips

does he speak Spanish?

Ronnyone

It makes perfect sense that someone who is a resident in a country and drives no doubt frequently should have a decent level of the language of that country. How would you like it if someone bumped into your car in UK and just started speaking Chinese and wasnt able to do any of the process needed for insurance companies. Or worse they caused a serious accident and weren't able to act to communicate to emergency services. What if there is a dispute as to culpability and they simply shrugged their shoulders and walked away. If you want to make Spain your home then learn the language if not dont complain about how the rules work.

agree_to_disagree

The driving licence is about you skill at driving and has noting to do with speaking Chinese! Madness!

How you manage communication with insurance companies or indeed at the scene of an accident are wholly a different matter!

Richielisa

A bit of clarity needed for me - can an iIrsh driver simply exchange their licence for a Soanush one without a test? If so, that akes a mockery of it as the Irish drive on the same side as us Brits.

Joppa

Ireland is in EU and UK isn't - that's the major difference. Cyprus and Malta both drive on the left and their licences can easily be exchanged for Spanish ones, as they are both EU member states. Exchange of EU licences is governed by EU law, while exchanging a third country licence into Spanish one requires a special legislation, which Spain hasn't yet enacted for UK licences.

SanNico

Not fluently, he got a 9 (A*) in his Spanish GCSE. I'm not sure what that equates to in fluency levels.

Lefty2021

Ive no idea what fluency level would be required to take a driving test or what level of competence GCSE level Spanish at school consists of, from my own experience I have only been taking Spanish lessons for 11 months and at basic A1 level we have already covered a lot of things which would probably be asked on the test such as understanding personal questions and giving answers such as name, address, phone number and understanding directions which would be asked on a test, I bet somewhere on the internet will be examples of Spanish spoken driving tests.

Has anyone taken the test yet and what fluency level did they have ?

DLC

Nationality of the driver doesn't matter, it's which country that issues the licence. An Irish driver with a British licence would be just as screwed.

Joppa

Yes, the same situation will arise if an Irish national has a Chinese or Russian licence.

Ronnyone

My ex took the test and she speaks fluent Spanish so she even did the theory in Spanish. She said the test was stressful as other candidates are in the car with you and the examiner talks to you in Spanish as in a type of conversation as they want you to be relaxed. So I imagine you are perhaps going to need more than A1 probably B1 minimum. You have to talk about the engine and accident procedures too.

airways

My dumb brit mate took his test in January and is just about capable of ordering beer in Spanish.....

Lefty2021

how did he do and how did he find it?

growinspain

7 States licenses out of 50 are recognized in France. Do not know which ones but it was not mine so I took the test in France, in French and paid alot more than I would have here..

Joppa

They are Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Kentucky so only six. If you exchange one of these state licenses into French one, it can still be used in Spain (for up to 6 months) but cannot be exchanged for Spanish one. The exchanged licence carries a code which identifies the original licence.