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DRIVING

Reader question: Can I take the Austrian driving licence test in English?

If you have to take an exam for your driving licence in Austria, it may be worrisome to imagine that it would have to be in German. So what are the rules?

Reader question: Can I take the Austrian driving licence test in English?
Photo by Dimitry Anikin on Unsplash

The driving licence is a required document for anyone looking to drive a vehicle in Austria. If you are staying for more than six months and your permit is from a non-EEA country, then you’d have to swap it for an Austrian one.

Even if you have a document issued by a European Union country, you can also choose to convert it to an Austrian one.

The requirements for exchanging your foreign licence will depend on where it was first issued. They may include a theory test and a practical test. If you have to go through the entire process from scratch, you will also have to pass the written and practical exams.

But can those be taken in English?

The theory driving test

The written driving licence exam in Austria can be taken in English.

The theoretical part of the test is taken as a computer exam in the driving school where you are doing the process. It can be done in German, English, Croatian, or Slovenian, as well as in sign language, according to the government website.

READ ALSO: Can I use my foreign driving licence in Austria?

In order to take the test, you need to have a valid medical report and complete theoretical training in a driving school.

If you want to practise, the website of Austria’s traffic authority ÖAMTC has a page with an online practice test and where you can also download an app with real questions issued in the driving exam.

The practical driving test

After passing the theory test – or during the process of swapping foreign documents for an Austrian one in some cases, you need to take the practical exam.

READ ALSO: ​​COMPARE: Which countries in Europe have the strictest drink-drive limits?

According to the federal government, an interpreter can be present during the practical part of the driving test to help you in case you don’t speak German. It is not uncommon for driving schools to have teachers that speak English and can offer the exam in English – or in other languages, especially in Vienna.

Do I need to take a knowledge or driving test?

Some driving licences from non-EEA countries are considered equivalent to those issued in Austria and can be exchanged for an Austrian one without having to take a theory or practical driving test.

Non-EU/EEA countries exempt from the driving test rule (for all licence categories) are Andorra, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Japan, Jersey, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Switzerland, Serbia, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.

READ ALSO: Brexit: What happens if you haven’t exchanged your UK driving licence in Austria?

Additionally, people with a driving licence from Australia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hong Kong, Israel, Canada, North Macedonia, New Zealand, Republic of South Africa, Republic of South Korea (if issued after 1 January 1997), USA and the United Arab Emirates are exempt from having to take a driving test for a category B licence.

A category B permit allows holders to drive a vehicle with up to eight passengers and a maximum weight of 3,500kg.

Drivers will still need to show a medical certificate before swapping their documents for the local ones – and the original licences must still be valid. People who have these documents issued in other countries will generally need to take at least the practical exam.

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TRAVEL NEWS

What will Europe’s EES passport checks mean for dual nationals?

The EU's Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport checks will usher in big changes for travellers - here we answer readers' questions on the position for dual nationals.

What will Europe's EES passport checks mean for dual nationals?

The EU is preparing, after many delays, to introduce the EES system for travel in and out of Europe.

You can find a full explanation of how it works HERE, but in essence it is an enhanced passport check – registering biometric details such as fingerprints and facial scans and introducing an automatic calculation of how long you have stayed within the EU/Schengen zone in order to detect ‘over-stayers’.

And it’s already causing stress for travellers. We asked readers of The Local to share their questions here – and one of the biggest worries was how the system will work for dual nationals ie people who have a passport for both an EU country and a non-EU country.

EES: Your questions answered

EU passports 

One of the main purposes of EES is to detect ‘over-stayers’ – people who have either stayed in the EU longer than their visa allows or non-EU nationals who have over-stayed their allowance of 90 days in every 180.

As this does not apply to EU nationals, people travelling on an EU passport are not required to do EES pre-registration and will continue to travel in the same way once EES is introduced – going to the ‘EU passports queue’ at airports, ports and stations and having their passports scanned as normal.

Non-EU 

Non-EU travellers will, once EES is up and running, be required to complete EES pre-registration.

This means that the first time they cross an EU/Schengen zone external border they will have to go to a special zone of the airport/port/terminal and supply extra passport information including fingerprints and a facial scan.

This only needs to be done once and then lasts for three years.

Non-EU residents of the EU/Schengen zone

This does not apply to non-EU citizens who are permanent residents of an EU country or who have a long-stay visa for an EU/Schengen zone country – click HERE for full details.

Schengen zone passports/Irish passports 

EES applies within the Schengen zone, so people with Swiss, Norwegian and Icelandic passports are treated in the same way as citizens of EU countries.

Ireland and Cyprus are in the EU but not the Schengen zone – these countries will not be using the EES system at their borders, but their citizens are still EU citizens so can continue to use EU passport gates at airports and will be treated the same as all other EU citizens (ie they don’t have to do EES pre-registration).

OK, so what if you have both an EU and a non-EU passport?

They key thing to remember about EES is that it doesn’t actually change any of the rules on immigration – it’s just a way of better enforcing the rules that are already in place. 

Therefore the rules for dual nationals remain as they are – for most people which passport to travel on is a matter of personal choice, although Americans should be aware that if you have a US passport and you are entering the USA, you must use your American passport. 

But it’s also important to remember that the passports of dual nationals are not ‘linked’ – therefore if you present an American passport at the Italian border, you will be treated exactly the same as every other American, there is no way for the border guard to know that you are also Italian.

Likewise if you are a UK-Germany dual national and you travel back to the UK on your German passport, you can expect to be treated the same as every other German at the border, and might be asked for proof of where you are staying in UK, how long you intend to stay etc – the system has no way of knowing that you are also British. 

Therefore whether you have to complete EES pre-registration or not is entirely a matter of which passport you are travelling on – if you use your EU passport you won’t have to do it, if you use your non-EU passport you will.

It’s also possible to use two passports for the same trip – so let’s say you’re travelling from Spain to Canada – you enter Canada on your Canadian passport, and show your Canadian passport again when you leave. However, once you re-enter Spain you show your Spanish passport in order to benefit from the unlimited length of stay.

If you’re travelling between France and the UK via the Eurostar, Channel Tunnel or cross-Channel ferry, you need to remember that the Le Touquet agreement means that French passport checks take place in the UK and vice versa. You can still use both passports, but you just need to keep your wits about you and remember to hand the French one to the French border guards and the British one to British guards.

In terms of avoiding immigration formalities using two passports is the most efficient way for dual nationals to travel, but some people prefer to stick to one passport for simplicity, or don’t want to keep both passports together in case of theft.

Basically it’s a personal choice, but you just need to remember that you will be treated according to the passport that you show – which includes completing EES pre-registration if you’re showing a non-EU passport.

It’s also worth remembering that if the changes do cause border delays (and there are fears that they might especially at the UK-France border), then these will affect all travellers – regardless of their passport. 

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