Car and driving licence in Thailand: the car stays here, the licence you get there

No, taking your car to Thailand is an option for almost no one, and that is not only down to the cost. For a used car Thai Customs demands an import permit from the Ministry of Commerce, applied for before the car arrives, and at import a foreigner must show not only a non-immigrant visa but also a work permit. Whoever comes on a pension does not have one. The driving licence is a different story: a Thai licence is quite obtainable, with a proof of address from Immigration, a medical certificate no more than thirty days old and an hour of online training.

Can you take your car?

Temporarily yes, permanently hardly. Customs distinguishes two routes:

Route	Conditions according to Customs
Temporary import (visit)	re-export within 1 to 2 months, at most 6; a cash deposit or bank guarantee; extension to 8 months only in cases such as a breakdown or an accident
Permanent import of a used car	import permit from the Foreign Trade Department before arrival; for cars under 3,500 kg also a permit from the Industrial Standard Institute
Number	one used car for personal use
Foreigner (non-resident)	at least a year's stay, with non-immigrant visa and work permit at import
No permit before arrival	fine of 10 per cent of the value, at least 1,000 and at most 20,000 baht

On top of that come the ordinary levies: import duty, excise and VAT, calculated on the value including freight and insurance. Whoever exceeds the deadline on a temporary import loses the deposit.

A retirement visa does not open permanent import. Customs asks a foreigner for a work permit at import, and with an O-A visa working is explicitly prohibited. So don't count on an exception, and sell the car in the Netherlands.

What do you arrange for your car in the Netherlands?

If you sell it to someone in the Netherlands, the transfer of registration is enough. If you sell or ship it abroad, register it for export with the RDW: only then do the insurance obligation, the MOT obligation and road tax stop. You receive an export certificate and may drive for another fourteen days on export plates. If the car goes to a country outside the EU, you also make an export declaration with Customs, and with the Tax Administration you check whether you get part of the bpm back.

May you drive in Thailand on your Dutch licence?

As a visitor yes, with an international driving permit alongside your Dutch one. Thailand recognises the international driving permit under the Geneva convention (1949) or the Vienna convention (1968), and only together with the licence from your own country. The embassy in The Hague writes that at a check you show it with your passport and your national licence.

Whoever lives in Thailand gets a Thai driving licence. The embassy speaks of a temporary licence of one year for those staying temporarily in Thailand, to be applied for at the Department of Land Transport or a provincial office. Ask at the office about the validity and the renewal after that: the embassy does not mention it.

Which papers do you need for a Thai driving licence?

• Your passport with the visa and the entry or extension stamp, with at least fifteen days of permitted stay left; a tourist visa does not count.
• A proof of address: a residence certificate from the immigration office of where you live, a certificate from your embassy, or a work permit. The Immigration certificate rests on the TM30 report your landlord makes within 24 hours of your arrival.
• A medical certificate at most thirty days old.
• Your Dutch driving licence, valid for the duration of your permitted stay, with a translation into Thai or English if it is not in English, certified by the embassy.
• Proof of the one-hour online training for foreigners, via the Department of Land Transport's e-learning site.

The residence certificate takes time: at the immigration counter for LTR holders in Bangkok, Immigration counts on fifteen days after the application. So make sure the TM30 is in order before you start; how that report works is in renting in Thailand.

Why would you arrange the licence straight away?

Because the international driving permit is tied to your Dutch licence, and because an accident without a valid licence turns out expensive. The immigration service warns that whoever rents a car without a valid licence and has an accident may not be entitled to cover or compensation. The embassy adds that you apply for the licence directly at the Department of Land Transport: an agency is not needed and only costs extra money.

How this runs together with your extension and your other reports is in the four clocks of your Thai stay; the order of the steps is at /thailand.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.4: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Thailand or go straight to step 4.4 in the open plan.