Just Landed. Drivers License, Chinese in Alberta

[AlexKaren]

My wife landed in January and now we are going through the process of getting her a drivers license. She has 10 years of driving experience in China, so she can drive just fine. We are finding the process in Alberta rather strange and difficult.

She can write here learners permit written exam at any time. However, to get the actual driving license she has to either a)surrender her Chinese license permanently, making her unable to drive in China. b)wait a year to take the test.

I find this rather odd due to the fact that she was legally allowed to drive freely for three months after landing here.

Has anyone else in Alberta found a suitable solution to this?


Thanks

Alex

 

[MaryLou6]

My wife landed in January and now we are going through the process of getting her a drivers license. She has 10 years of driving experience in China, so she can drive just fine. We are finding the process in Alberta rather strange and difficult.

She can write here learners permit written exam at any time. However, to get the actual driving license she has to either a)surrender her Chinese license permanently, making her unable to drive in China. b)wait a year to take the test.

I find this rather odd due to the fact that she was legally allowed to drive freely for three months after landing here.

Has anyone else in Alberta found a suitable solution to this?


Thanks

Alex

I went through this process. First you have to surrender your license (I know it's stupid, but it's illegal in Canada to have 2, make a copy of your old one, just in case), you can also get an international DL so you can drive in China. Or when she's in China she can get in again
After you pass the written test (must have 25/30 right) and they check your driving history (2-4 weeks), you can challenge the Advanced Road Test - it was 145$ as I recall. If you pass that you get the class 5, so you skip the GLD. If you live in Edmonton I can tell you where I passed mine, super nice examiner.

 

[yuz]

your wife can report her DL as lost to the Chinese authority and she can get a new one when she go back

 

[zardoz]

your wife can report her DL as lost to the Chinese authority and she can get a new one when she go back

That may be considered as fraud. Normally, when a foreign driving licence is surrendered, it is my understanding that it's returned to the issuing authority in the originating country. Therefore, they will know....

 

[AlexKaren]

That may be considered as fraud. Normally, when a foreign driving licence is surrendered, it is my understanding that it's returned to the issuing authority in the originating country. Therefore, they will know....

Good to know. Also International Drivers License is not recognized in China, so that option is out....