Chile Forum

I'm sure I read somewhere that you were fine to drive your license issued in another country as long as it is valid.

have been happily mooching around with my UK license for the past year. Recently got stopped for the first time (to check papers etc.) and when he asked how long I had been here advised it had been ' a couple of weeks'. had no problems and was on my way after a few minutes- particularly speedy I think because he couldn't fit my license number in his box and I think just gave up on the process!!!

on the basis my uk license is valid until 2035 will I be required to take a Chilean one if I don't want to ??

By law, once you receive permanent residency you are obligated to apply for chilean license. you could in theory get by for sometime on your foreign license, but it is just a matter of time before a standard roadside police check turns in to a mess.

Long story short, convert you foreign license to a chilean one before you loose it or it expires.

i had a similar problem last year. I didn't have the original diplomas, but i had high quality scanned images that i sent to myself before i left. the municipality wouldn't accept the black and white print-outs that i made of my documents...so....i went to a print shop and i paid for some good quality color print-outs on good card stock, then i took those to a notary. she thought they were the originals. i said...no....but they are copies of a legitimate document. she notarized them, then i took the notarized copies to the municipality. apparently, they were satisfied that i have an 8th grade education (in english....which doesn't mean i understand anything in spanish.....although i do). they let me take the driver's test....now i have a chilean driver's license, valid until my work visa expires in november.