Won't the Strassenverhersamt at some point ask you to come in to get a picture taken to get in replaced on your license? Or is the picture the same for the rest of your life?

I have the same situation,

I left Switzerland in 2013 and came back to Russia. Of course here I use national Russian driving license.

The Swiss one has no expiration date (point 4b). Soon I am going to move to Austria and technically, according to the Austrian law I can use Swiss license lifetime or on a voluntary bases convert it to Austrian driving license WITHOUT any test or exams....

So I have the same question, does CH license still valid after 5 year of leaving Switzerland?))) Is it already striped or not?))) I am a bit afraid to write this question directly to the Swiss authorities, because it might be valid but after my question they will strip it))) ha ha.

It is valid forever and it does not expire (at least according current law and regulation which may change). As it is a driving license and not an ID the picture does not matter much. But you are supposed to update your address with the StVA/SAN when you move, even if aboard.


Are you sure? You are aware that Switzerland is neither a member of the European Union (EU) nor the European Economic Area (EEA)?
So for example the interpretation regarding France given by someone else is also wrong:

PS: Here a new working link https://permisdeconduire.ants.gouv.f...duire-francais

In France a non EU/EEA driving license is valid up to one year after taking residence in France and must be converted into a French one if you wish to drive after the one year grace period.

The same goes for Austria. A non EU/EEA driving license is valid six months after taking up residency in Austria. If you wish to drive after this grace period you must convert it in an Austrian one.

https://www.bmvit.gv.at/verkehr/stra...rnational.html
https://www.help.gv.at/Portal.Node/h...te.040500.html

__________________
"Okay, I just hope we don't wake up on Mars or something surrounded by millions of little squashy guys."

Absolutely

1)https://www.help.gv.at/Portal.Node/h...e.1390000.html (Official Austrian Gov. site)

2) http://www.come2upperaustria.com/wel...ng-licence.php (Please note:
Only valid foreign driver's licences can be assigned. An examination (driving test) at a driving school >> is required, except for driver's licences issued in:

all categories
Andorra, Guensey, Isle of Man, Japan, Jersey, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland)

Please read and understand what you link to...

From the above link:
Once again. Switzerland is not an EU state and also not an EEA state.

Yea

You are right.

There are too many contradictory sites and information.

Well, ok(((( So I will have to do "KontrollFahrt" again... ( Every time new exams...

Anyway, thanks for making it clear)

No Kontrollfahrt for Andorra, Guensey, Isle of Man, Japan, Jersey, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland. Just an easy, peacey swap.

Maybe the case for Spain is useful. It is based on a bilateral convention agreement with Switzerland. You can use the Swiss license in Spain for up to 6 months (since starting residence in Spain), and then need to swap it for a Spanish one. There is one requirement for the swap, which is a psychophysical aptitude test, that you usually get at your health provider. Oh, and a 28€ fee.

I left CH in 2018 and now move to Ireland. I will soon know if my CH licence is still valid to exchange to an Irish license (without exam). Stay tune guys

That depends on Irish law, I'd presume. If you left CH before Sep/Oct 2019, pretty sure you can just swap it. I don't know any EU/EEA country that doesn't have bilateral agreement with Switzerland for swapping the license.

I do. I do. Ireland, Norway, and many other come to my mind. For others which do not have an agreement see https://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classifi....74.html#0.741

But the most important part: A Swiss license might not be exchangeable abroad when it was acquired by exchanging a foreign license. Such a license will have code 70 (XY) where XZ is the country code of the original license.

Where on the license?

Tom

On the back, under the categories. Mine says 01, which means I have to wear glasses or contact lenses. All codes are explained here (Italian and English version) http://www.astra2.admin.ch/media/pdf...-15_2263_i.pdf

Yours might got "lost". Either because of your canton or because you initially exchanged it for a blue paper license which might not had this information.

My blue one listed all except 125cc as 'OP', but I have no codes on this other than 3,5t;106 for D1.

It also wrongly list the dates for all categories as my 16th birthday! (I had no licenses at all on that date)

Tom

My paper license had a remark "must wear glasses" so him originally having a paper license should have had no effect.

This is how it looks on mine:

Attached Images

code70.jpg (65.2 KB, 46 views)

The "censored" part is the number of the original driving license.

This is accurate, they don't honor my CH DL as it was obtained by swapping my Vietnamese DL. So I have to apply for a new Irish license after one year.

I almost finish my mission in Ireland and will be back to CH in a couple of months. The question now is if my CH DL is still valid to drive in CH? Do I need to register my new address with any department who manage driving license?

Yes, you need to tell your local StVA your new address. You can often do this online or by mail.

Yes. And Yes. The latter part specially once you move back to Switzerland.
As stated this can be done online at the webpage of your new cantons StVA/MFK.
Links can be found here: https://asa.ch/strassenverkehrsaemter/adressen/