What type of visa do I need to renew my Thai motorbike license?

Thai driving license Visa requirements Visa exemption SETV Non-immigrant visa Residence certificate License renewal process Driving license Thailand

Sep 27, 2018

6 years ago

Magnus ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

What visa is required for thai motorbike license renewal?

Would it be possible to renew it on visa exemption or am I more likely to be successful if I first get a SETV? I did manage to get a replacement license (after losing my license) when I was in Thailand on exemption in April.

From what I can read at: [members only]/ it sounds like I need a non-immigrant visa and that not even tourist visa is enough. (Which seems a bit strange since I actually got the drivers license on a tourist visa and got a replacement when it was lost on a visa exemption)

HAVE TO PREPARE THE DOCUMENTS AS FOLLOW

1.

ORIGINAL TWO-YEAR THAI DRIVING LICENCE

2.

PASSPORT WITH NON-IMMIGRANT VISA (ORIGINAL AND PHOTO COPY)

3.

ORIGINAL PRESENT RESIDENT ADDRESS IN THAILAND CERTIFY FROM EMBASSY / IMMIGRATION BUREAU (VALID FOR 1 YEAR) OR WORK PERMIT WITH ORIGINAL AND PHOTO COPY

4.

ORIGINAL MEDICAL CERTIFICATE (5 DISEASES FORM) FROM CLINIC OR HOSPITAL (VALID FOR 1 MONTH)

Does anybody know what’s required to get a new drivers license, especially regarding visa? 

Thanks.. any input appreciated.

872

views

likes

all likes

replies

images

users

TLDR : Answer Summary

The renewal of a Thai motorbike license can be done on a variety of visa statuses including visa exemption and tourist visas. It has been stated that as long as you have proof of residence and a medical certificate, you can obtain a temporary two-year driving license regardless of the visa type. However, some users note that obtaining a residence certificate may require a visa longer than 30 days, which could complicate the process for those on a short-term stay.

Tod *********

Unfortunately I'm not seeing in the least how getting a thai drivers license is related at all to Thai Visa Advice :O

You can get a 2 year temporary Thai drivers license on ANY type of entry to thailand as long as you have proof of residence and a medical certificate. Makes no difference if you're on a 30 day visa exempt entry, a 15 day visa on arrival, a 60 day tourist visa, a 90 day Non-Immigrant visa or any type of extension on those things.

I think we're done :/ sorry people

6 years ago

Andrew *******

I'm also interested in this (and have been trying to chat with a couple of visa agencies in CM about it recently). As far as I can tell, although

@Robert ******

seems to be correct from the perspective of the Department of Land Transport, the main sticking point seems to be getting the residence certificate on a short-term stay/visa-exempt entry (at least in CM - I know some immigration offices elsewhere are perhaps more flexible).

One of the visa agencies in CM told me today that it's necessary to have a visa of "more than 30 days" to get the residence certificate (their words, not mine - some info may have been lost in translation), and I've read elsewhere about generally needing an apartment contract longer than 3 months. So this might be the real issue for renewing a licence during a short-term stay. I haven't yet been able to figure out whether there's a solution to that?

(My situation is that my first two-year Thai licence expired a couple of months ago and I'd like to renew it so I can drive legally while I'm visiting CM next month for a couple of weeks on an exemption (or SETV, if necessary)).

6 years ago

Andrew *******

Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't have a UK motorbike licence and I lost my UK car licence when I had my wallet stolen on a beach in China years ago. Hence trying to renew the Thai licence. :) I was also thinking about trying to get the residence certificate from the UK embassy, but that would mean a special trip to BK and the requirements didn't seem any less onerous (besides the added expense).

6 years ago

Robert *******

Apply for the certificate of residence at your Embassy, saves times but will be more expensive.

6 years ago

Robert *******

If you stay less than 90 days inside Thailand you can drive legally with your National Driving license in combination with the Thai Driving license.

6 years ago

Reply to

Robert *******

Serge ********

It's also possible to get a license in Vietnam which doesn't expire and is valid across asean

6 years ago

Serge ********

And BTW most of currently available TH visas require to leave every 90 days which makes Vietnamese license fully valid

6 years ago

Serge ********

True it's requirement but in that case its also easy to get long term license. I'm replying to that specific case of person who is asking the question

6 years ago

Magnus ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

hehe thanks for the suggestion. I am actually planning to get a Philippine visa before I go to Thailand as well. I believe all ASEAN visas with English text is valid all over ASEAN for up to 3 months at a time.

6 years ago

Robert *******

That depends on how long you like to stay inside Thailand. If you stay more than 90 days than you need the Thai driving license.

6 years ago

Reply to

Robert *******

You can renew your driving license on every visa or visa exempt entry. If you're inside Thailand using Visa Exempt or Toursit Visa you will get "temporary" driving license which is valid for 2 years.

6 years ago

Magnus ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Robert ******

ah thank you. So, any visa (or even exempt) is OK but and long as I'm in Thailand as tourist I will keep getting 2 years temporary license instead of 5 years standard... I can live with that. Thanks for clarifying. 👍

6 years ago

Reply to

Magnus ********

Thai Visa Advice

... members · 40% approval rate

The Thai Visa Advice group is a specialized Q&A forum for visa-related topics in Thailand, ensuring detailed responses.

Join the Group

Thai Visa Advice

View the Conversation

Thai Visa Advice

Can you apply for a motorbike license in Thailand on a 60-day visa extension?

6 comments