My husband who lives in Europe (Sweden) has a driver's license there and he wants to know when he comes to Canada (Alberta) will he be able to drive using his license until he gets an Alberta one? Is there any special documents he would need to get? As well, since he has a license, what does he need to do to get an Alberta license? Would he have to do everything as if he is a new driver without a license?
Driver's License
- Thread starter SadGirl:(
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There is a thread about a very similar question. http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/can-i-exchange-my-swedish-licence-t21955.0.html
Check it out, hopefully it may answer some of your questions.
Check it out, hopefully it may answer some of your questions.
Alberta does not have an exchange agreement with Sweden so what he needs to do is get his drivers license translated to English. If there is no issue date on his license, he should also try to get a letter from his insurance company stating how long he has been driving. When he gets to Alberta, he should go to a registry office and tell them he wants to take the drivers exam. He can take the written exam right away if he wants to and get a learners permit but they will take his license and send it to the government. He should ask the registry for the phone number of the government office because they will not let him know when they have approved him to take the test. It takes a couple of weeks. Once they are through, he can book and take a road test and then he will have his Alberta license.
If he wants to drive for a while on his Swedish license before changing his license, he can do that for up to 3 months.
If he wants to drive for a while on his Swedish license before changing his license, he can do that for up to 3 months.
Thank you so much for the information!
I have a few more questions.
You say that he needs to get his license translated, where would he go to get it translated? Would he get it translated from the company that issued him his license?
Does it matter/make any difference how long my husband has been licensed to drive?
As well, in the other thread a poster said that "you can get an international drivers license from 'motormännens riksförbund,' that should be valid for at least a year." If he gets an international drivers license does it also need to be translated? Also, if he gets an international drivers license, will the registry office still take his license and send it to the government to get approval to take the road test? Is there any benefit in getting an international license or the process will be the same thing either way? Please advise.
Thank you!!!
I have a few more questions.
You say that he needs to get his license translated, where would he go to get it translated? Would he get it translated from the company that issued him his license?
Does it matter/make any difference how long my husband has been licensed to drive?
As well, in the other thread a poster said that "you can get an international drivers license from 'motormännens riksförbund,' that should be valid for at least a year." If he gets an international drivers license does it also need to be translated? Also, if he gets an international drivers license, will the registry office still take his license and send it to the government to get approval to take the road test? Is there any benefit in getting an international license or the process will be the same thing either way? Please advise.
Thank you!!!
He can get it translated by a certified translator. The reason it's better to do it in Sweden is because it's a lot easier to find a Swedish-English translator in Sweden than in Alberta.
If he gets an international drivers license, he would not need a translation but then he's missing the issue date of the license/how long he's been driving because the international license will not have that and the registry will not guess where it is on his original license without a translation. The reason that matters is because if they are not convinced he's been driving for a while, they will not let him take the advanced road test, just the one for the GDL license. If he doesn't care about that, he can do that. The only difference between a GDL license and a full license is that he needs to maintain a zero alcohol level and he will lose his license at 8 demerit points instead of 15 and he would not be able to take courses to get a bus/taxi/truck license.
If he has an international license, they will still take his Swedish license but let him keep his international after they make copies. However, you are not allowed to drive with only an international license, it's supposed to be used with your original drivers license. If it is so important to him to not miss a day of being able to drive and he doesn't mind being a bit dishonest, he can go to the drivers license issue in Sweden and say that he lost his license and get a second one. Then he will have two and can give one to the AB government and keep the other one. He can't tell them he's doing that though because Canada only wants you to have one license.
If he gets an international drivers license, he would not need a translation but then he's missing the issue date of the license/how long he's been driving because the international license will not have that and the registry will not guess where it is on his original license without a translation. The reason that matters is because if they are not convinced he's been driving for a while, they will not let him take the advanced road test, just the one for the GDL license. If he doesn't care about that, he can do that. The only difference between a GDL license and a full license is that he needs to maintain a zero alcohol level and he will lose his license at 8 demerit points instead of 15 and he would not be able to take courses to get a bus/taxi/truck license.
If he has an international license, they will still take his Swedish license but let him keep his international after they make copies. However, you are not allowed to drive with only an international license, it's supposed to be used with your original drivers license. If it is so important to him to not miss a day of being able to drive and he doesn't mind being a bit dishonest, he can go to the drivers license issue in Sweden and say that he lost his license and get a second one. Then he will have two and can give one to the AB government and keep the other one. He can't tell them he's doing that though because Canada only wants you to have one license.
Leon, so are you saying that getting an international license is not necessary at all? And all that my husband needs to do is get his license translated and all should be good? As for being dishonest, Leon, LOL!!! Boy, do you know how to get through loops ( wink 
wink )!!!
wink )!!!I don't know how things work in Alberta, but:
In Ontario you're allowed to use an out of province livense for no more than three months. I went to the Swedish consulate in Toronto and they translated it for me. Because of this I only had to write the first of Ontario's two driver's license tests and I only had to go through one of the two driving tests and they backdated the Ontario license to when I got my Swedish one.
Is the person you're sponsoring Swedish or just living thre?
In Ontario you're allowed to use an out of province livense for no more than three months. I went to the Swedish consulate in Toronto and they translated it for me. Because of this I only had to write the first of Ontario's two driver's license tests and I only had to go through one of the two driving tests and they backdated the Ontario license to when I got my Swedish one.
Is the person you're sponsoring Swedish or just living thre?
I was in exactly the same situation about 2 years ago. I was told by the registry, either get a translation of your license or get an international license. I could not find a certified translator for my mother tongue in Alberta so the other option would have been to mail my license back home and have somebody there do it or get an international license. Getting the international license was easier. However, then I found out about the issue date being important. The international license doesn't have one and like I said, they will not look for the issue date on a license they don't have a translation for so they said I could only take the GDL test which was fine by me.SadGirl:( said:Leon, so are you saying that getting an international license is not necessary at all? And all that my husband needs to do is get his license translated and all should be good? As for being dishonest, Leon, LOL!!! Boy, do you know how to get through loops ( wink
However, the registries are privately run. You would think they all go by the same rules but having a lot of German coworkers who are actually so lucky they can exchange their licenses without taking a test, each one of them had a different experience with changing their license. One was even given a license to drive every type of vehicle possible even though he was only supposed to have a regular license. So I guess if the registry is not being very nice, it doesn't hurt to talk to another
No, not really. Not unless he is originally from one of the countries that has a license exchange agreement with AB and it sitting on another license from there, then it would make it even easier. That would be Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) as well as the USA. You can read about that here: http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/drivers_licence.cfm#Exchanging_a_Non-Alberta_Operators_LicenceSadGirl:( said:
Thank you so much Leon!
Leon, this is off topic, but how long did it take for you to come here? I just need some hope and encouragement that everything will be over soon. I really want my husband to be here before December (before my birthday and before Christmas, which are both in December).
Leon, this is off topic, but how long did it take for you to come here? I just need some hope and encouragement that everything will be over soon. I really want my husband to be here before December (before my birthday and before Christmas, which are both in December).
My timeline is 100% irrelevant to your husbands because I came in as a skilled worker plus it was years ago and in the meantime, rules and timelines have all changed. My experience with immigration over the years has been that they truly work in mysterious ways. Sometimes things can take way less time than they are supposed to and sometimes way longer, even completely without an explanation. I wish you speedy processing and good luck.
I am Swedish and got some papers regarding that licence from the government. Have him write to the issuing authority (Vägverket) at vagverket@vv.se and ask them for an official document verifying the driver's licence and they will send it to him. They will do this free of charge and the turnaround time is very quick (1-2 weeks to receive it from Sweden to Canada, obviously faster if he is within Sweden).