I am South African and have been living in the Netherlands as a student for two years. I know that I was only allowed to drive with my Non EU license for 6 months but what if I wanted to drive in say Belgium or Germany to visit would there be issues with that?
For reference also Have an International Drivers Permit that’s valid for 2 more years.
As a tourist you can always drive with your valid license in any country that accepts it. You can’t drive in Netherlands after 6 months if you are a resident, but that doesn’t apply to other countries you don’t live in.
That makes sense thank you!
Yep that's correct, same situation as you, and could drive with my license in other EU countries
This is correct
I once asked a police officer about renting a car in the Netherlands after the 6 months period and he told they don’t care as long as the car is not registered to you and clearly is not a regular thing.
I doubt that’s the law so I never did it but interesting nevertheless.
Usually the rule is if you stay here for long term and longer then 185days you should exchange your driver's license to Dutch one you just turn in your and they give you here one with one caveat you need to check if they acknowledge your country drivers license sometimes you might need to pass an exam if they don't
OP was asking about driving in other EU countries. They can’t in the Netherlands but it’s fine in other countries since they are a tourist.
There are multiple things to consider I think.
Who issued your international drivers license and which countries accept that license from that entity? If this works out you now have a legal right to drive a car on the road.
Insurance. Are you planning on renting a car, borrowing from a friend or buying your own? For each scenario you will need to make sure that the insurance is properly organised. Sometimes there are limitations on how long can drive where etc.
No that’s not allowed since you been a resident of NL for 6 months now.
In theory other police officers can ask to see your visa and there will be questions as to why your licence wasn’t converted.
I understand within the Netherlands it is not allowed but outside I am surely just a tourist?
German Police were on point checking my legal residency when I got randomly stopped, you might get away with this in Spain though.
Not true. It has more to do with registration in the country, not a visa. And not everyone can convert their license.
Mate I worked with auto insurance companies, those rules are EU wide for residents.
You won’t have valid insurance if you use a drivers licence from a country you haven’t lived in more than 6 months/year.
Lol, that’s nonsense man. I have license of multiple countries I don’t live in, and they are accepted by both car rental companies when I travel, and by insurance.
I suggest you read the insurance terms and conditions next time, they are very specific about licence issuance being your current residence country.
You might find yourself suddenly uninsured in an accident, due to violating the terms of insurance.
Meh, I’ll be fine. I have the valid licenses required to drive. Insurance companies can’t make my license invalid arbitrarily.
Afaik this is the correct answer. I also came here as a non-EU student years ago and was told to not drive in other EU countries before getting a EU license. There might be different rules with an international license though.