We wrote about the introduction of this bill for consideration earlier.
The law introduces the following changes:
- foreign and international driving licenses of foreigners permanently residing in Russia will be invalid after one year fr om the date of obtaining a residence permit in Russia or citizenship of Russia
- foreign and international driving licenses of foreign citizens who also have Russian citizenship will be invalid after one year from the date of the first entry into Russia after receiving a foreign national driving license
These persons (foreigners who have a residence permit in Russia and who have Russian citizenship) will need to obtain national Russian driving licenses in order to continue legal driving in Russia.
An exception is made for national driving licenses issued in the Republic of Belarus, held by citizens of Russia and citizens of the Republic of Belarus who have received a residence permit in Russia - their licenses issued in the Republic of Belarus remain valid.
Foreigners who do not have a residence permit in Russia and Russian citizenship will be able to drive vehicles on the territory of Russia with the license of a foreign or international standard without a time lim it.
It will be possible to obtain a Russian license on the basis of national foreign driver's licenses after passing a theoretical exam without undergoing training, subject to the presentation of a medical opinion on the absence of contraindications, unless otherwise provided by international treaties of Russia, regulatory legal acts of the President or the Government of Russia. National driving licenses issued in countries with which Russia does not have such agreements will be possible only in cases provided for by regulatory legal acts of the President or the Government of Russia (except for the right to drive vehicles of categories "C", "D", "CE", "DE" and subcategories "C1", "D1", "C1E", "D1E", in this case, training and successful certification are necessary).
Foreign driving licenses issued in countries with which Russia does not have international agreements on road safety, or do not meet the requirements of these agreements, will be considered valid until the expiration of the specified period only if there is a notarized translation into Russian, unless all entries in such a certificate are made in Russian (in the current edition, it was enough that all entries were made or duplicated in letters that coincide in spelling with the letters of the Russian or Latin alphabet).
Also, after the entry into force of the law, the following persons will not be allowed to take exams, and the following persons will not be able to obtain driver's licenses:
- a driver's license was revoced;
- who did not return the driver's license after the expiration of the period of revocation of a driver's license;
- subjected to administrative punishment* for driving while intoxicated without a license or it was revoced, including for failure to comply with the requirement to undergo a medical examination for intoxication or the requirement to prohibit the driver from consuming alcoholic beverages, narcotic or psychotropic substances in cases established by law Russia;
- deprived of the right to engage in activities directly related to driving vehicles.
* a person is considered to have been subjected to an administrative penalty from the day the decision on the imposition of an administrative penalty comes into force until the expiration of one year from the date of completion of the execution of this decision, and in the case of punishment in the form of an administrative fine, if the fine is paid before the entry into force of the decision - within a year from its payment (Article 4.6 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Russia).
The federal law will come into force on April 1, 2024.
Foreign national and international driving licenses of foreigners with a residence permit in Russia and citizens of Russia (except for national rights issued to citizens of Russia and the Republic of Belarus in the Republic of Belarus) received before the date of entry into force of this law will become invalid after a year after the entry into force of the law, i.e. April 1, 2025, if such citizens entered Russia before the entry into force of this law. Foreign driving licenses of Russian citizens who entered Russia after the entry into force of this law become invalid after one year from the date of entry of these citizens into Russia.
For more information, please contact the consultants of the Confidence Group company.
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