The system for issuing a driver’s license in Russia will seriously change from April 1, 2024. Earlier today, the State Duma adopted the relevant bill in the third reading.
According to RBC, innovations, among other things, will change the procedure for exchanging foreign rights for Russian ones. So, a document of national standard will need to be received no later than one year after receiving a residence permit in Russia or citizenship. This requirement will apply to both foreign citizens and Russians.
According to the updated text of the bill, foreign national and international driver’s licenses will be invalidated in Russia after one year from the date of legalization in Russia. The Russians will also have to replace these documents.
According to the rules prescribed in the Code of Administrative Offenses, if a motorist drives with invalid rights in Russia, he faces a serious fine.
In the case of Belarus, there is a nuance: the driver’s license will not have to be changed if we are talking about citizens of Russia or Belarus who have a Belarusian-style driver’s license.
It is also noted that employees of diplomatic missions and consular offices of foreign states in Russia and members of their families will be able to replace national rights with Russian ones without passing exams, training and presenting medical certificates. This can also be done by employees of international organizations and their representative offices accredited by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Russian national driving licenses based on foreign national rights of the most popular categories (“M”, “A”, “B” and subcategories “A1”, “B1”) will be issued after successfully passing the theoretical exam. You do not need to take an internship with the traffic police. At the same time, it is worth emphasizing that it will be possible to obtain rights only if there is a medical certificate confirming that there are no contraindications to driving vehicles.
The authors of the document explained the need to strengthen control over drivers with foreign driving licenses due to the high frequency of road accidents involving holders of foreign driving licenses.
Source: Rosbalt
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