I have been in Japan since 18 y.o. (now 22 y.o.) and planed to live here in long term. I never have a driver’s license neither in Japan nor my home country, and I want to drive. The driving school course in Japan is really expensive (around 400,000 JPY for English speaking one).
At first I want to get back to my home country, get an international driver’s license and convert to Japan’s one.
However, a driving school website stated that people who want to convert driver’s license have to stay at least 3 months in the issued country after getting international one. But I do not have that much time to stay for 3 months because I get a job here after graduate.
Any suggestions? Are there any other ways to get or convert to Japan driver’s license? Is the 3-month rule really strict? Or is there any way cheaper?
19 comments
The rule is very strict, and is in place to stop people from getting their licenses abroad for the main purpose of converting it (rather than genuinely using it in that country first). So yeah, I don’t see an easy way for you to make it work.
No shortcuts here: either do it in Japan or stay 3 months in your home country (and be sure to keep hard copy proof)
Yeah, it’s a very strict rule.
I lived in my home country for years and years, even got my driving license many years before I even bothered getting a passport.
Did that help me? Nah, lol. They wanted some sort of absolute proof that I was actually there for at least 3 months in a period of over 10yrs and proving this to them was somehow very difficult (I didn’t have any stamps in my passport apart from for Japan because lol, I’d not been anywhere and somehow that “proved” nothing for them) I ended up having to use some old tax documents, sheesh. Idk how that even proves anything honestly, I could have been living elsewhere and just paying tax there lmao (but I didn’t tell them that ofc). It was a PITA.
The 3 month rule is to prevent people from doing what you’re trying to do. So no, there’s no way around it. You’ll also need proof of residency for the 3months and the license you need has to be a full license, it can’t be a learner or new drivers license(depends on the country). If you haven’t had your license for a year, you’ll need to display the new driver sign.
No. This is strict.
When I converted I even had to bring my expired passport in order to prove the 3 month thing.
I’m sure there are certain ways to cheat it if you really put your mind to it but I doubt it’s worth your time and energy.
Which is cheaper, the cost of taking multiple trips back to your home country to get a license and stay there for 3 months, or the cost of driving school?
Edit: also forgot to mention that those three months do not need to be consecutive
There is no international driver’s license, you would get your country’s DL. There is an International Driver’s Permit which is basically a standardized official translation of your DL in multiple languages and you need to carry your DL as well. An IDP is not needed to convert a DL.
Yeah I was in the middle of that process and while I did get the paperwork to prove that I lived in Canada for 3 months, I still haven’t gone to cover to a Japanese license yet lol
There needs to be at least 90 days between the issue date on your driver’s license and arrival stamp in your passport for coming to Japan. You also have to show that you were in your home country for all of those 90 days through arrival and departure stamps.
For example, I renewed my license in February, so my ‘issue date’ was listed as 02-22. I arrived in Japan in april. They needed to have a full driving record from my home country with a governmental seal on the document and a translation. 15 years of driving and I had to get a ton of extra documentation because of the renewal date being awkward.
You’ve been here 4 years? You must be able to speak/understand some Japanese by now.
Go to a normal Japanese school. The ones you can do it in about 2 weeks. That’s what I did a few years ago and got it for 180,000
First Japan only accept to convert driver licenses from some countries, for example Canada is ok, but most of the US is not.
And the 3 months is after receiving your full driver licence. I know it’s a log time ago, but when I got mine, it was an apprentice licence for a full year and I had to be with someone who have a real driver live in the car if I wanted to drive. That is without counting possible requirement to go to a driving school, the exam/drive test, etc. It will likely take time to get a driver licence then you need to wait the extra 3 months.
If you know how to drive already, you don’t need to pay for driving school. You can pick up a study guide and take the test at the license center…
Just go to a driving school. If you’ve never had a license I can only assume that you don’t know how to drive. There are cheaper schools out there than the 40万 you’re talking about.
Or you could find a sweet deal on an electric scooter.
Must have some really safe roads in your country if you can go from zero experience to full licence in under 3 months.
Sorry to hijack this but I have a UK license, pretty sure I just need to convert mine right? Please dont tell me I need to go home as well
#1 you can’t get an IDL without a driver’s license from your resident country first.
The 3 month rule is iron clad. DMV will not process even the first stage of your conversion (which is verifying you have a valid foreign license and lived there for 3 months afterwards).
The only way you can do this is:
get citizenship or PR > get a remote job > go back to your home country, get the license and stay 3 months > convert it back in Japan
Which is an absolute pain in the ass
Is it easy for Australians to convert?
Just bite the bullet and get enrolled in a school.
For me it’s more about the time, my office hours vary depending on the workload so I probably won’t be able to take lessons on weekdays. The classes are crowded on the weekends and time is limited so I’m gonna need a lot more time to get my license if I **only** go during weekends.