Motorbikes and Licenses

Since we plan to be here more than 30 days, we needed to obtain driving licenses.  From what I understand Thailand will only recognize an international driving permit for 30 days.  Motorcycle and passenger vehicles are separate licenses which is different from the United States where you have a passenger vehicle license and receive different endorsements such as motorcycle.  Richard arrived with an international driving permit for a passenger vehicle, Christina did not have an international permit, and I had an international permit for passenger vehicle and motorcycle.

Our options were: Go to the Department of Land Transportation and figure out the process, hire a concierge company to walk us through the process, or attend a driving school that is certified to administer the driving tests (5,500 Baht).  We needed a motorcycle licenses first since we wanted to all buy motorbikes.  Buying a vehicle to fit all 6/7 of us was more than we were ready to pay right now, around 790,000 baht.

Since Christina had never operated a motorcycle, she opted to attend the driving school and Richard  decided to attend with her.  The other advantage to the school is they handled all the paperwork, so once the course was completed all you had to do was go to the Department of Land Transportation and obtain the license.  Sounds pretty simple, ha ha ha ha ha!!!!

So, here is what happened:  

On a Thursday at 0700 Christina and Richard arrived via a Grab car (Uber/Lift) at the driving school. Class was supposed to start at 0700 but nothing started until about 1030.  The first thing they did was watch videos in Thai with no English subtitles for a few hours, took the color (red, green, yellow) recognition test, gas/brake reaction test, depth perception test, and then they drove around a course on some decrepit motorbikes for the rest of the day.  Oh, and they took a practice written test which they failed miserably, because all the training was in Thai.  

The next morning, they returned at 0700, to of course wait around.  This day started a little earlier at 0830, more practice tests, and after the third test they finally passed, and then some more driving on the course followed by 2 1/2 hours of sitting around until 1800.  The driving school course consisted of 15 hours (5 hours first day and 10 hours second day) at the school so the school was not going to let you leave till you had been there exactly 15 hours.  At this point they should have been done but we had not yet obtained residency permits so what they thought was the official license test was not.

             

 

To obtain a residency permit we needed to rent a place to live and have the landlord register us at the Immigration Bureau.  Once we were registered by the landlord then we could go to the Immigration Bureau and get the residency permit.  We moved into our house on that Saturday and Richard moved into his condo on Sunday.  Both landlords registered us on Monday, and we received the registration receipts that day.

On Tuesday we got dressed up, government offices in Thailand have a dress code, no shorts, no tank tops, revealing clothing, you get the idea, and we called a Grab SUV to take all seven of us to the Immigration Bureau.  We arrived and went next door to an agency that fills all the paperwork out for you, takes the photos, and provides all the copies, of course for a modest fee.  Since we didn't know what we were doing at this point we used the agency, they provided everything we needed for our visa extension, which we also needed, but when we inquired about residency permit they said the receipt that the landlords gave us was our permit.  We headed over the Immigration Bureau and inquired about the residency permit and again were told that our receipts were the permit.

This was our first time at the Immigration Bureau, and I was a little nervous because I had read nightmare stories online about the Immigration Officers.  Our experience could not have been more different from the stories.  The Officers were very friendly, and they had fun sneaking our kids candy while we pretended to not be looking.  Maybe having cute kids is the key to a great experience at the Immigration Bureau.  It only took about an hour to get our visa extensions.  Anyway, since Christina and Richard already had their residency permits, or so we thought, they headed back to the driving school on Wednesday morning to take their test. 

Once they arrived at the school via a Grab car, they were promptly told that the receipt from the landlord was not a residency permit.  They provided a copy of what a residency permit looked like, so another Grab car and back to the agency next to the Immigration Bureau.  They showed the example and they quickly whipped up the required documents and photo to take to the immigration bureau.  I also went with them since I needed a residency permit to later obtain my licenses.  Immigration provided the certificate within an hour and we returned home.  The next morning which was Friday, Christina and Richard arrived at the driving school, provided their residency permit and health certificate and they were allowed to take the official driving test.  Of course, at this point they had taken at least four practice tests, so they passed it the first time.  The health certificate was nothing more than going to a local clinic, paying between 100 to 200 Baht, having your blood pressure, weight and height recorded and they give you an official certificate of health. 

Now off to the Department of Land Transportation.  Since the school prepared and provided everything they needed to get the license this process was easy.  They went, paid the fee of 105 Baht, had their picture taken, waited 15 minutes, and they had their motorcycle license which is valid for 2 years.  By 1400 they were at the Honda dealership where I purchased my Honda Click 125i.  Christina chose a pink and black Honda Scoopi Club 12 Edition, and Richard purchased a Blue Click 125i.  Finally, we all have transportation and no longer have to use Grab.  We really like Grab, but it does add up quickly, they spent around 3,000 Baht getting to and from the house, driving school, Immigration Bureau, and Department of Land Transportation.

The whole process sounds like a real pain in the rear, but if you compare it to getting a license in the United States it was not bad at all.  If we were Thai's moving to the USA, I doubt we would have a license in a week.  And then it probably would cost at least 10x what it cost us. 

Now for my license, I already had a motorcycle endorsement and an international permit. Last week Richard and I went to the Land Transportation Department to get our passenger vehicle license and for me to get my motorcycle license.  All we had to do was show up with our Passport with visa, international permit, and residency permit (x2 for me since I was getting both licenses). We were told to come back two hours later, where we, along with about 15 others showed up and had to do the color (red, green, yellow) recognition test and gas/brake reaction test.  Then we paid the fees (105 baht for motorcycle and 205 baht for passenger vehicle), had our picture taken, waited 15 minutes and we were done.  Time spent at the Land Transportation Department was just over an hour, not bad.

The licenses are considered temporary and are good for two years.  If we renew them in two years, then we will receive a permanent license which is issued for five years.  Christina does not have a Thai passenger vehicle license; next time we are in the states she will pick up an international permit and then come back and get her passenger vehicle license.  The process is simple if you have the international permit. Well, that is all on getting our licenses and motorbikes, if you are enjoying our blogs please like and share. Thanks for reading!!