Driving instructors are concerned that expat drivers who exchange their foreign licence for a Dutch driving licence without taking lessons are causing dangerous situations on roads in the Netherlands. 

Should all expats take lessons before driving in the Netherlands? 

Internationals who move to the Netherlands from EU and EFTA countries have five to 15 years to exchange their licences for Dutch ones, depending on the category of vehicle. Expats with highly skilled migrant permits that are eligible for the 30 percent tax ruling can also choose to swap their licences without completing driving lessons. 

Instructors and safety experts believe this causes dangerous situations on roads, especially in Amsterdam where there is a large expat community. Driving instructors are particularly concerned that new arrivals don’t understand Dutch road signs and traffic rules. 

Together with the Dutch road safety organisation, Veilig Verkeer Nederland, instructors believe that everyone should have to take at least some lessons before driving on Dutch roads. “We should not want to have people driving around who don’t know the rules,” spokesperson Willemijn Pomper told Het Parool. “The expat ruling should not be at the expense of road safety. Let employers pay for driving lessons.”

No evidence of increased risk to road safety

Based on figures from the Dutch vehicle authority, RDW, 26.264 expats took advantage of the licence exchange option in 2023. Most of these internationals came from India, Turkey, South Africa, Russia and Brazil. 

Despite this large number of internationals using cars without first having driving lessons, research from the transport ministry in 2022 showed that there are “no indications of an increased risk to road safety posed by this group of drivers”. There was also a lack of evidence of accidents or traffic offences by expats given in the report.

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