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Hi everyone . I did a thorough search in the forum on this topic but didnt find any related posts. I hope i didnt miss any related posts.

So heres my query .

I have a dubai license , a 4 wheeler license .And I have a indian 2 wheeler license. I already bought a car and want to convert this Dubai license to the Indain 4 wheeler license. I tried searching the RTO websites also but theres no procedure provided for the same . If someone could throw some light on this , if they know of the procedure and the forms to be filled for the same . I dont wanna go through the entire driving lessons and driving test thing.

Any help and suggestions is much appreciated .

Although disappointed that I didnt get any replies on this one , I didnt lose heart. I did lose a lot of petrol in my quest to convert my Dubai license to a Indian Driving license. At one of point I'd lost hope and I though it would be better to take driving classes again and go through the same A,B,C's of driving get my learners licese and be done with it . BUt waiting for a whole 30 days seemed just too long . And so I decided , no matter what am gonna get this done .

I searched numerous RTO websites , I read through the FAQ sections of almost all regional RTO websites and didnt get the info that I desparately wanted.

So then I decided to attached the RTO officer himself . And then I walked up to him and I said I already have a UAE driving license which by the way is a bench mark in itself. They follow both the US and Euro driving norms and I see no reason why I should be taking driving license. And then he said to me , we never said you have to take driving lessons again . And then I said you never said I didnt have to and he smiled . I thought he would get angry at me for being rude but fortunately enough he wasnt rude , probably was just one of those good days when no matter what you do nothing goes wrong .

So I told him that I've done all my homework on this and I couldnt get the info on any of the RTO websites. And he said , Son , all you need to do is fill up form NO 4 and submit it along with a ID proof and address proof .

So after all the document collection I made a huge bunch of documents collecting every possible ID and address proof and toot it to the RTO officer. And unfortunately this particular day wasnt my lucky day cuz I rode 25 KMs to the RTO office just to come back home with the same for and documents cuz I'd forgotten the photos at home. Ha ! Stupid me !

So , three days later I rode back agian and this time I had everything handy and I told the officer that today I havent forgotten anything. I have all the documents with me and just when you think you've done the unthinkable , he popped another question . Do you have a translation of the UAE driving license . And then I said to myself , what the hell , the license is already in english which other language does he want it in , Polish , french , russian ?and so I said the same thing to him thats its already in English I dont think we need a translation . For that he had a amazing reply , he said this is the Maharashtra RTO and we need it in Marathi , so i walked out cuz my brain cells dont work as fast INtel processors. And then I though even the Indian driving license is in English , what the hell !!

So , I walked back and said the same to him and he was like- " Oh ! yes " slipped my mind . I couldnt believe what I was hearing . here was a RTO office and he couldnt remember that the Indian driving license is in english too .. What the hell again . So finally he signed it . NOw the big question - Where do I submit this form . So I walked back into his cabin and asked him the same and to that he said I am not your customer service rep here . Please dont waste my time and what he was doing with his so called valuable time was reading the marathi news paper .. wow just my day. So after battling through with numerous enemies and calling various worthless people ( read Babus ) SIR , that is what they like to be addressed as , I finally managed to find out that I need to submit the form on the cash counter , and all this after 2 hours of making rounds around the same stinky RTO office and calling numerous babus , SIR .

Ha ! So I stood proudly at the cash counter with a thousand rupee note and all my papers and my form and then the lady there took my form and she had a disgusted look on her face , why , because i hadnt stapled some of the papers and she was almost about to send me back when I used my old trick , this time the processors worked a lil faster , I said the magic word "MADAM !!!!! Please " wow and all that disgust just vanished . She got the stapler from another cashier and stapled it for me even arranged all papers in the right order and she had explanations for why the documents should be in that order . So i said to myself as long as she is doing my work I dont m ind listening to what she has to say . I had a expression on my face that said " MADAM ! please forgive ignorant and dumb people like us" and after all her explanations she said dont repeat this again .. I was about to laugh out loud . What did the lady think , I was gonna come back in 20 days and apply for another license just for the joy of it ????

Well after all that she made that face again after seeing the 1000Rupee note and I was like Oh ! My ! God ! not again and then I repeated the magic words and voila , does that magic again. She noted my mobile number on the note and said its all because of teh fake note racket going on .. I added a occassional "yes " just to assure here that I was interested in what she was saying. And just to scare me she said dont give a fake mobile number our cashier head will call this number in the evening and if someone else answers we will cancel your license .. HA ha and she expected me to believe that

Well finally after making all teh payments , now came the next step . The high fundu Biometrics and you would be forced to believe that it must be some super room with some advaced ID management system , but sady its the same stinking room , the walls coloured in blue decorated with spider webs all over and the walls interestingly are 2 tone , blue and red , the red because the employees there didnt bother to walk out after eating all the Manikchand. They choose to sit and eat and spit all from the same chair.

Finally a lady in the corner calls me - " Ayee , ithe yay" ( Hey you , come here ) so I walked up to her . She had a intex webcam on her table and a stool beside the . So i handed over the form to her and my payment receipt. And her next sentence was " Basaiyla special request karu ka ?" ( should I make a special request to you to sit down) , I didnt know whether to speak back or laugh , I was kinda enjoying all this. So I sat down with my goggles on my head and my mail man bag around my neck. And then she looked at my image through the webcam and said " Goggles ghalun photo kadhuya ka ?" ( Should i take a picture of you with the goggles on ?) and I read between the lines and took off my goggles and then she repeated a sarcastic statement for my bag asweel . So I took my bag off . I though finally and then she started digging in her drawer for somethin and I though is she gonna spank me or what :Shockked:.

Then she took out a tissue and said " tond pusa ani kes barobar karaa " ( wipe your face and tidy up your hair . I had gel on my hair and had nice spikes on , I wiped my face and said "Madam kes rahu dya " and then she said "kaay aaj kal che mula , changle kes kharaab kartaa , changla tel laun bhaang karaiycha sodun wede wakde kesa karun firta " ( you kids of today generation , spoil you hair with all this stuff , you should be applying oil to you hair and setting your hair properly but instead you choose to do all these crazy hair styles. ) Anyway after all that drama she finally took my photo my thumb print and said come after 20 days and you wil get your license .

And then I was like shocked - 20 Days. TO that she had the best reply in the world . I said how will I drive my car for the next 20 days . And she said just drive it like you did till now , without a license and laughed .. And then she clarified and said if a pandu catches you just show him the receipt and he will leave you .

And so that , my friends was my most amazing experience. So all that and 200 Rs and I shall have my license on the 20th of May ( Fingers crossed )

ROFL! That was one heck of an experience!

I did not know this form 4 existed! Never the less, I did apply for a LLR and after a month, did a customary drive round a block for the test inspectors viewing from his 2nd floor office and voila, license given.

:D

That was one piece of hilarious conversation and overall a good(entertaining) experience.This is just the RTO; wait till you reach to other government offices!

and Welcome to India Sirjee.!

Did you have to surrender the UAE license here? Hope that wasn't the case.

Couple of years back, I had lost my Kerala issued Indian license, and had to take a duplicate one from the RTO. One of my uncles suggested me to approach an agent, a lady, rather than approaching the officials directly.

She told me to tell the officer (i don't remember the post) that I had my purse with the license pick pocketed. She did all the paper work. The duplicate license was issued the very next day, the delay was only because the concerned official was on leave that day. I guess its all about contacts.

When I came down to Oman from Dubai, I went along with the company PRO to the ROP (royal oman police). Here, unlike Dubai, the officials speak only Arabic, and I don't speak much of it. Anyways, there was an eye test. Then the Omani licence was issued then and there. They just verified my Dubai license and gave it back.

MY EXPERIENCE IN CONVERTING A UAE LICENSE (WITH A VALID INTERNATIONAL DRIVING PERMIT) INTO AN INDIAN DL IN JUAT 2 DAYS

Well, I have seens guys taking more than a month in converting an international DL into an Indian Driving license. But here i have a different experience as far inssuing a permanent Indian DL by converting an IDP (UAE) in just 48 hours. Its completely possible and purely Legal as far as Indian laws are concerned. All you need is to approach the RTO with all documents.

I currently live in oman and have an OCI status with an Australian passport. On the driving license front , there are three licenses that are used depending on where I travel - an Omani license , an Australian license and an International Driving License .

I now intend to relocate to Kerala for the next couple of years at least and would like to obtain an Indian Driving License. Any ideas on how to get one as the RTO sites are frankly very unhelpful . Thanks.

As far as I know you have two licenses - Oman & Oz. the third is just an IDP based on either of these. Technically, your licenses will have the role of Learners Licenses and then after a formal driving test you should get the India license. In practice they just do the paper work and not bother about the test.

Gautam

Thanks for a very useful thread , came across your post whilst looking for info regarding the conversion of my British License to Indian License , I am an nri visiting India often and regularly drive in Hyderabad with my British License without any major hassles , I'm planning for a Driving holiday this time which involves travelling across multiple states in India and thus the thought of obtaining an Indian Driving License so as to make my journey easier, have the following questions and would be ever so grateful if you can provide some pointers.
1) Do you have to surrender your International License to obtain Indian License ?
2) Any idea if Form No 4 is used across India for the stated purpose or just exclusive to MH ?

Any info will be highly appreciated.

Regards
Vickzkool

You don't need an Indian licence if you are not a resident of India, and you probably aren't even eligible for one (you need to supply an Indian address proof, for example). If you return to India permanently, you can get an Indian licence on surrendering the foreign one. You can't keep both licences. If it is just a holiday, there is no reason to get an Indian licence, but it is advisable to get an IDP (international driving permit) in your home country. [edit - note that the IDP is not a licence, but together with your British licence it allows you to drive in several countries, including India which has ratified the 1949 convention on road traffic.]

Thanks rsidd , I was under the opinion that as an Indian national you are eligible for an Indian License , I definitely see no reason as to why one cannot have driving licenses of 2 different countries at the same time , unlike passports I have seen many friends and relatives have Indian License as well as another country's driving license which they use whilst driving in India , proof of address and identity are not an issue as I still hold bank accounts in India , pay utility bills etc , maybe I will have to go through the entire process of obtaining the license from stage 1 rather than swapping the license as you have done so , my preference for an Indian License stems from the fact that I'm seen as a walking ATM by police and transport officials as soon as they see me holding an IDP with my British License :Frustrati.

There is no need to surrender your license. If you are a Indian citizen, you can very well go ahead and get a license through the prescribed channel.


Would recommend you get a International Driving License when you come down to India, since this gives one less chance for the police to fine you, while you are working towards your Indian driving license.

If you want to avoid going through the test etc, you need to surrender the foreign licence. You could of course pretend you don't have the foreign licence, but I think it's technically illegal to keep both. I don't see clear instructions on Indian sites, but in New York for example, you can't exchange your foreign licence (except Canadian) and must apply afresh, but you must surrender your foreign licence anyway. Sure, you may not get caught if you don't, but in this increasingly interconnected and computerised world, who knows how long before they can just look up your driving licence status online

Er, there is no International Driving License. There is an International Driving Permit, which I mentioned above, but it is not a licence -- it is a translation of your valid licence, which you need to carry anyway.

I have now got concrete information from the Hyderabad RTO , I will have to go through the license application from stage 1 if I want to have an Indian License without surrendering my British License , absolutely allowed to have both Indian and British License legally , USA might be different in terms of surrendering your license but there is no such caveat of surrendering your home country license in UK , similarly in India if you are an nri you can still apply and get an Indian License and there is no conditions regarding surrendering other DL that you hold , I definitely knew about this rule as I had made enquiries in the past as well , I do not have any issues going through the process as I have been driving for ages and pretty confident of passing the test , but my trip to India lasts for 3 weeks at a time which doesn't give me the required time to go through the process.:Frustrati