This recognition applies to driving licenses to which the issuing State is a signatory of a bilateral agreement with the Portuguese State, provided that no more than 15 years have elapsed since the issue or last renewal and provided that the holder is less than 60 years of age.
Holders of driving licenses issued by member states of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) can now drive in Portugal without changing their licenses.
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According to the amendment published on Tuesday in the Diário da República (Official Gazette), driving license exchanges are dispensed with, “enabling driving in the national territory with titles issued in those states, through the recognition of foreign driving licenses. This recognition applies to driving licenses in which the issuing State is a signatory to a bilateral agreement with the Portuguese State, provided that no more than 15 years have elapsed since the driving license was issued or the last renewal, and provided that the holder is less than 60 years of age.
The published decree-law emphasizes that these driving licenses only allow driving in national territory “if their holders have the minimum age required by Portuguese law for the respective license, and are valid and not seized, suspended, expired or revoked by virtue of a legal provision, administrative decision or court ruling applied to its holder in Portugal or in the issuing State.
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“Freedom of movement is an essential element for the full exercise of citizenship,” says the published decree-law, stressing that “Portugal has sought to strengthen the rights of foreign citizens who travel to our country, whether in the case of temporary travel for tourism purposes or in the case of travel to work or invest in our country.
In the document, the government reiterates its commitment “to the integration of migrants, which includes improvements in their quality of life,” stressing that it is “essential to simplify the qualification to drive motor vehicles,” an element it considers “fundamental to guaranteeing mobility throughout the national territory.
